The Big Switch - Epilogue - Flame and Filament

The wick was one of man's greatest, and also one of the most modest, inventions.
It tamed fire, "the soul of the house", and remained the dominant lighting technology all the way to the nineteenth century. We are still attracted to a flame at the end of a wick but we can no longer know what it was like when fire was the source of all light.

All technological change is generational change. As the older generations die, they take with them their knowledge of what was lost when the new technology arrived, and only the sense of what was gained remains. It's in this way that progress covers its tracks, perpetually refreshing the illusion that where we are is where we were meant to be.

The Big Switch: Our New Digital Destiny By Nicholas Carr