The Universal Tech Tree
a year ago
- #history
- #technology
- #innovation
- Technologies are interconnected, with each innovation building on previous ones.
- The first movie camera, the kinetograph, was invented in 1891 by Thomas Edison and William Kennedy Dickson, inspired by chronophotography.
- Chronophotography, developed by Étienne-Jules Marey, was influenced by earlier inventions like the photographic gun, which borrowed design elements from firearms.
- The photographic revolver, invented by Pierre Janssen in 1874, was inspired by the Colt Paterson revolver, showing a lineage of technological inspiration.
- Revolvers date back to the 16th century, with innovations in firing mechanisms leading to their development.
- A historical tech tree project aims to map all major technological innovations and their connections, revealing patterns and unexpected links.
- The tech tree concept originated from the 1980 board game Civilization, popularized by Sid Meier’s video game in 1991.
- The project defines technology as human-created knowledge for practical purposes, implemented in a physical substrate.
- Technologies are discretized based on Wikipedia entries, focusing on significant innovations rather than incremental improvements.
- Dating technologies can be challenging due to scant evidence, prototypes, and independent inventions.
- The tech tree reveals surprising connections, such as drones dating back to WWI and hourglasses appearing in the 14th century.
- Bicycles, automobiles, and motorcycles all emerged around 1885, showing parallel innovation.
- Unexpected technological links include Scotch tape enabling graphene discovery and silk weaving inspiring punch cards and early computing.
- The tree highlights how inventions in one field can create entirely new fields, like gas lighting leading to electronics.
- The project aims to reduce complexity and increase understanding of technological progress, countering the 'Great Stagnation' narrative.
- The tech tree serves as a monument to human creativity and resourcefulness, especially as AI begins to automate innovation.