Technological Development: a Conclusion

Technological Development: a Conclusion

Technology has been with us humans since the beginning of time. The quest for fire was one of mankind’s biggest challenges. It meant roasting meat, as well as healing wounds. With evolution came movement, and humans started to migrate from Africa to other regions. Their facial and physical features began to change as well, adjusting to local weather conditions. Agriculture turned nomadic tribes into towns and then cities, giving us the first civilizations. The Egyptians were the first Big Empire. Their legendary settlements across the Nile allowed them to be close to water, key to irrigation and survival of the species in harsh climate. Astronomy and space exploration started even at that early age, religious myths transmitted from generation to generation to explain the most mysterious question of all: why are we here? Great technological advances accompanied them, the pyramids a symbol so majestic that many people believe that they could not have been built by men. They spanned for centuries, leaving fantastic developments behind them.

On the other side of the Earth, the Western Hemisphere technology also advanced but at a slower pace. Consider that humans moved from Africa to Europe, Middle East and Asia, and entered America from Alaska at a much later stage. The Mayans were great at mathematics and astronomy. As all Indian civilizations, they were at peace with their environment and less invasive. They also built great pyramids and symbols of power, similar to the Egyptians even if they had no contact with each other and were in totally different historical periods². The Incas were a short lived but very advanced civilization. In the field of medicine, they were actually more advanced than Europe, so life expectancy was higher. The Greek are considered the pillar of Western Civilization. The philosophers, the students of human nature, of the physics of the World. They were great conquerors, their empire stretching through distances unimaginable at the time. They were great inventors, their creativity reaching sky limits. Think of what their have left for us: the first analog computer, the first robots, automation. They were also great at entertainment, displaying fantastic musical shows, together with operas and theater. They are my personal favorite, unmatchable.  The Persians are undervalued by Western Civilization. They gave great battle to the Greek, until conquered by them. They spanned through vast inhospitable territories, which as well forced their abilities in irrigation and channeling. They built great buildings and architecture, and they had a superior understanding of nature, medicine, mathematics and philosophy. Many of their beauties persist even today, majestic reminders of a glorious empire. The Romans took over the region that was once occupied both by the Greek and the Persian Empire. They introduced changes unimaginable in different fields. They were the masters of warfare, most of their budgets going to the military. As always warfare boosts innovation, their weaponry pushing their civilization forward. Law was one of their strongest, a large part of the Justice system in Western Civilizations based on Roman Law even today. Also in darkness to the West, the Chinese were the most advanced civilization for an entire millennium. They thrived in commerce. They developed technology undreamed of to the west for centuries. They mastered Iron, their population growing rapidly. They did not hop on to the Industrial Revolution, their agrarian society remaining in underdevelopment during most of the 19th and 20th century. In the last decades they reverted this tendency, their immense growth positioning themselves to compete with the US as world leaders. India also introduced advances in astronomy, medicine and mathematics. They are also a millenarian civilization that has been very famous for philosophy and religion. Their very rigid beliefs however created a caste system from the basis of it’s foundation. This produces strong inequality even today.

The Middle Ages in Europe, also known as the Dark Ages, saw European countries submerge in the shadows for a 1000 years. Things did not develop much, religious debates and superstition taking the scene over scientific and technological development. This changed during the Renaissance, when the knowledge of Ancient Civilizations was rediscovered through the translation of ancient texts. A new era of awakening invaded Europe, with the birth of Modern Science.  Understanding a country’s history and culture is key to see how we arrived at our situation today, the reasons behind their technological development as well as potential for the future. We see as a result of this research that the Greek and the Roman were responsible of most of Western Civilization’s developments. The Middle Ages saw Europe go into darkness, the knowledge of the Ancients lost to them. The Renaissance took upon these ideas and built upon them. The Chinese were the most advanced though, but lost their advancement and made a comeback in the last few decades. The Persians, and later the Islamic Empire, are a mystery to Western Civilization, but have also innovated and extended to a very large intent in their time. The Mayas in Central America and the Incas in South America developed sustainably accompanying their environments. At one with nature, their life expectancies were higher than Europe. This overview allows us to understand that the history of the world is actually richer and more interesting than we think. Whereas the World always looks towards Europe, the magic of Technology and Innovation has extended itself through all civilizations throughout history. Many are the similarities, as well as the differences. But the important thing is to understand that some cultures were better in one thing, whereas others were better in other. However, the spark for innovation is present in us all human beings, regardless of cultural and regional differences. The road to the Fourth Industrial Revolution remains open for us all, where the cultures and regions that have invested the most in education and achieve higher levels of integration and collaboration will quickly step forward to lead society, whereas others are left in shadows.