[joshbaptiste]

Indeed.. just completed "Chip War" by Chris Miller which delves into the history and the Geopolitics of this wonderful invention. After WWII Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea owe their prosperities to the transistor.

[Victerius]

Your comment reminds me of a line by Boromir (Sean Bean) in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

"It is a strange fate we should suffer so much fear and doubt… over so small a thing. Such a little thing."

Where the little thing here is the transistor.

[thwarted]

Which reminded me of the mine scene from Back to the Future 3

Doc Brown examining a microchip with a magnifying glass

"Unbelievable that this little piece of junk could be such a big problem. No wonder this circuit fails, it says 'Made in Japan'."

Marty "Whadda mean, Doc? All the best stuff is made in Japan."

Doc "Unbelievable"