why is technology moving so fast and brain cells so slow?

Is it because change is hard to swallow e.g. Wall Street, Banking and Investments, Industry, Insurance Programs, Welfare Programs, Health etc. Are the programs and rules that guide society being updated fast enough to keep up with technology. Next week a Pharmaceutical Company may introduce another R/X drug claiming to speed up the old processor !
Employ the kiss method (keep it simple stupid)
In todays lingo we don’t “change” the existing programs, we download “upgrades”

What is this tool used for?

I have a bonus assignment for my history of technology class. I can’t find anyone who has any idea what this tool was used for. The professor even admits he has no idea. Any help would be much appreciated.
Snapshot_20120422_1
The bottom of the tool has 3 prongs. 2 are stationary and the third rotates by twisting the wood in the middle. Also what ever the person is holding would be parallel with the shaft, not an angle of any kind.

Physics question below?

A communications satellite is in an orbit that is 3.80* 10^7 m directly above the equator. Consider the moment when the satellite is located midway between Quito, Equador, and Belem, Brazil; two cities almost on the equator that are separated by a distance of 4.40* 10^6 m. Find the time it takes for a telephone call to go by the way of satellite between these cities. Ignore the curvature of the earth.