(Last Updated On: July 31, 2013)A long time ago, it crossed my mind to make a very short analysis on tools that mankind has used most frequently in the last century and the specific way people used to interact with these tools. I was not very interested in historical or geographical classifications. I was thinking only of how people managed to control their tools or, in other words, the interface between human beings and the tools they worked with. Let’s start from 1900, when industrial revolution was marching all over the world. Tools were not yet elaborated, people needed a lot of physical effort to drive them. A common way to interact with a tool was a lever and you really needed to be strong for that. Just remember the first airplanes or automobiles and you will understand what I mean. As time passed by, levers have become more and more efficient, being sometimes helped by hydraulic systems, which were able to amplify the force of the human operator. More and more mechanisms have been introduced between the human operator and the machine, making the lever unnecessary. Slowly but irreversibly, the lever turned into a button. For a long time, the whole world could be ruled using buttons. Pushing a button was very easy and could have huge effects, like launching a rocket or a nuclear missile. Some of us thought that the button is the ultimate interface between human and machine, but we were wrong. Starting with touch screen revolution, the button became virtual. The virtual button is always new, it never gets dirty and it can easily change its colour, shape or size. Some of us like it a lot, because it cannot break, but others don’t like it, because touching a screen does not give you the same feedback as touching a real button. Again, some of us thought that the touch screen is the final step of evolution, but we were wrong again. The evolution of micro cameras, joined with the talent of great programmers, allows us to control devices using only gestures. Indeed, it’s something still under development, but most likely it’s just a matter of years until we will be able to drive our vehicles without using a steering wheel.   Conclusion? As machines become more intelligent, humans are able to do more with less physical effort. This should help us save time for other activities, like learning and taking care of our evolution. But does it really happen this way?...