The flow of information as we know it in modern-day and age would have been unthinkable if there hadn’t been for people such as Charles Kuan Kao. This Chinese telecommunications engineer is one of the people you should thank for the privilege of using fast internet and being able to communicate hassle-free. He made fiber-optic communication a reality, thus making our lives infinitely easier.
It is hard to imagine having high bandwidth in our modern age without using this (at the time innovative) approach in communication. Here, we share with you some of the most famous Charles K. Kao quotes, along with his life story.
Who Is Charles K. Kao?
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If you’ve ever thought about how telecommunications work, you must have come across the term optical fiber. Fiber-optic communication transmits substantial amounts of data using light instead of electricity.
Nowadays, optical fibers are the preferred technology when it comes to the functioning of the Internet, TV, and telephone industry. Charles Kuen Kao is the telecommunications engineer who made this happen.
He was born in Shanghai, China, in 1933 to a family of wealthy landowners. This allowed him to travel, see the world, and eventually study abroad. He lived and worked in the U.K., China, and the USA.
As early as the 1960s, he presented the world with the solution to the rapid transfer of information using optical fibers. Fiber optics are now an irreplaceable part of our modern world. They are essential for the smooth transfer of information, and they are faster and more reliable than traditional copper cables.
For this groundbreaking achievement, Kao received many prizes. Some of the most notable ones include the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2009 and being knighted by Queen Elizabeth II — both honors not many people receive. He died in Hong Kong in 2018.
8 Charles K. Kao Quotes
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The legacy this extraordinary man left us with changed our world profoundly. Efficient transfer of data at high speed and the ease of access to information add value to our lives. That is why you should know these 8 inspiring quotes by Charles K. Kao.
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On Communication and Information
#1. “The introduction of optical fiber systems will revolutionize the communications network. The low transmission loss and the large bandwidth capability of the fiber systems allow signals to be transmitted for establishing communications contacts over large distances with few or no provisions of intermediate amplification.”
#2. “When information is infinite, the individual pieces of information are worth nothing.”
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Inspirational Thoughts
#3. “If you really look at it, I was trying to sell a dream… There was very little I could put in concrete to tell these people it was really real.”
#4. “Ideas do not always come in a flash but by diligent trial-and-error experiments that take time and thought.”
#5. “When you are young, you are fervent about the things you believe in.”
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About His Personal Life
#6. “Because of the earlier loss of the two elder siblings, my brother and I lived a very pampered and protected life. Nursemaids kept constant watch. With my parents busy at dinner parties and social events, we only met them as if for a daily royal audience.”
#7. “The primary school I attended in Shanghai was a very liberal one, established by scholars who had returned from education in France. The children of leading families were enrolled there, including the son of a well-known man believed to be a top gangster of the underworld!”
#8. “Maybe it was the home tutoring, or the late start to formal schooling, or an overly cautious and protective upbringing, but in any case, I never became a talkative person. As an adult, I am not always comfortable in social gatherings with small talk. I must have inherited my father’s gentle nature.”
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