by Phillip J. Longman

About the author: Phillip J. Longman is a reporter for U.S. News & World Report.

America, everyone knows, is in the midst of a high-tech boom. Each week brings news of faster chips, speedier relays, and broader bandwidths. Yet how does today’s pace of technological change compare with that of two or three generations ago? Do we really have reason to proclaim that we are living in an age of super-inventiveness"

To gauge how today’s technological marvels stack up against earlier ones, just flick on Nick at Nite and watch any of those family sitcoms from the 1950s. When Ozzie and Harriet made their television debut on Oct. 3, 1952, they didn’t have Internet access or a cellphone, but their living conditions were otherwise very...