Inventions are uneven by time.
Long periods of time have passed in human existence with few or no inventions. For instance, the first 240,000 years of human existence was as a hunter gatherer culture. In that long time period, very few inventions occurred. This period constituted 96% of human existence but produced less than 4% (68) of the top 2000 inventions. In 3500 BCE, hand written language triggered the Big Bang of Technology. The period of stagnation was over. Major data inventions are the likely cause of why inventions are uneven by time. These stagnant periods interjected with invention explosions is called punctuated equilibrium. Originally described by Stephen Jay Gould in his discussions of evolution, punctuated equilibrium is a theme in technology history as well.
Since 1450 and the invention of the printing press, an steady acceleration of invention production has occurred with time.
By comparison, the last 250 years (since 1770) has comprised 0.1% of human existence yet produced 75% (1500) of the top 2000 inventions. Clearly, the history of inventions is highly uneven.
My blog, “Technology Quantified”, discussed the acceleration of technology and inventions over time as evidenced above.
Major data inventions cause the unevenness of inventions by time.
The Big Bang of Technology
The Big Bang of technology was the explosion of inventions with the invention of written language in 3500 BCE.
The invention of written language, cuneiform on clay tablets, triggered the Big Bang and the beginning of history.
The Big Bang of technology occurred in Sumer, Mesopotamia is 3500 BCE with the invention of cuneiform, the first written language. Clay tablets record written data. Hundreds of thousands of clay tablets exist from ancient Mesopotamia. Most of these clay tablets are not yet translated.
Within 500 years of the invention of written language, several other important inventions occurred: 1) The ard or scratch plow (3500 BCE) 2) the wheel and axle and cart (3500 BCE) 3) the wood hulled and oared sailboat (3000 BCE) 4) bronze smelting (3300 BCE). 5) hydraulic engineering in Indus river, Egypt, and the Sumer, Mesopotamia civilizations (3100 BCE). The big bang resulted in 5 of the top 15 greatest inventions of all time. Lesser inventions from Sumer, Mesopotamia occurring during the same time frame include: creation of the first city, Uruk (3200 BCE), use of wine as anesthesia (3500 BCE), lubricating grease on axle (3500 BCE). Never before and never again have such a huge explosion of inventions occur in such a limited geographical area over such a limited time period.
The first civilization to develop was Sumer, Mesopotamia on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in about 3500 BCE. Within three hundred years, independent civilizations developed in the Indus river 3300 BCE, in Egypt on the Nile river 3200 BCE, Newgrange Ireland 3200 BCE, Greece 3200 BCE, Peru 3200 BCE, Iran 3200 BCE. Later by 2600 BCE, civilizations in China and Mesoamerica would appear. The Big Bang of Technology was not just an explosion of inventions, it was also an explosion of civilizations.
The invention of the printing press in on paper with movable type in 1450 produced the Big Surge of Technology.
Similarly, in 1450, the Big Surge of Technology occurred with the invention of the printing press on paper with movable type. Also, the printing press triggered an acceleration of the Renaissance, ending the Dark Ages and initiating the Reformation and Scientific Revolution leading to the Enlightenment. Importantly, within 100 years, thousands of printing presses were active in Europe producing millions of books and publications. Also, the surge of inventions which started in 1450 with the Renaissance has continued to accelerate and gain momentum up to the present day.
The Big Surge has gained momentum with time and other data inventions. The telegraph was the next leap in data. Electronic data crosses across great distances almost immediately. The telephone was better than the telegraph because no intermediary person was necessary to translate the spoken word. Wireless communication, particularly with video, was another leap forward in data transfer. Now, data was accessible virtually anywhere. With the internet and search engines, all data systems became linked and accessible, another leap forward in data. The Big Surge of Technology has been 0.22% of human existence but has produced 83% (1653/2000) of inventions. In summary, more than other potential causes, major data innovations cause the inventions to be uneven by time.
