https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/01/08/silicon-city-a-peoples-history-of-the-bay-areas-housing-crisis-tech-industry/

Although it might be tempting to compare the dramatic rise of Silicon Valley’s tech titans to the Gold Rush that drew ’49ers west, a better comparison is the arrival of the Transcontinental Railroad — at least the way Cary McClelland sees it.

The train shrunk the size of the country; it distorted time. It was disorienting in the same way technology warps time and space, putting far-flung communities no more than a few clicks away, McClelland says.