[Apple]: James Gosling, Mastermind of Java
During a visit to Brazil, Gosling saw the potential of the Internet realized in medicine. With many lines of code — Gosling says it’s just “a big pile of Java beans” — the Brazilian National healthcare system links 12 million people in 44 cities. “I would love to live in Brazil just to have that infrastructure,” Gosling says with a tone of unabashed admiration.
“If you look at the way that the medical system works in the U.S., it’s bits of paper. Islands that don’t talk to each other. You go to the doctor, who scrawls out a prescription. And you go to some pharmacy and they fill it out. There are all kinds of opportunities for error and fraud. You go to some other doctor who doesn’t know what another doctor might have done and who doesn’t get to see your medical records because they’re not instantly accessible.
“In the Brazilian system,” Gosling continues, “there are national databases and a doctor sticks your ID card in a little reader to see your complete medical history, wherever the doctor is and wherever you came from. Brazil has a national medical system and we have chaos.”
If you think that’s bad, or at least terribly disappointing (or perhaps pointing to a huge opportunity), see what he has to say about the perspicacity of the auto industry, and what THEY think happens once your car is on the Internet.
