We have now developed “Artificial Intelligence” software that can connect our data and update it electronically. This will improve productivity and make work easier. We have developed software that allows us to “teach” robots to function on their own.
The Human History of discovery allowed us to advance from being hunter-gatherers to growing crops and raising livestock in 5000BC. We learned how to melt iron ore to replace stone tools with metal tools. Iron was melted with copper to form bronze. We made gold and silver coins to expand trade. We learned to turn iron into steel to improve strength. We learned to transport water using aqueducts. We heated the water to create baths. We used trenches to water crops. We created sewer systems to dispose of waste. We developed language, writing and mathematics. We gathered in groups of families to form tribes. We combined tribes to form kingdoms and empires wealthy enough to create technology.
After 400AD, the Roman Empire ran out of money and the Middle Ages returned us to agriculture. The kingdoms that survived continued to solve problems with technology including the spinning wheel, water mills, wind mills, saw mills, gun powder, the compass, glassmaking, eyeglasses, the mechanical clock and the printing press. Military technology did advance to include weapons, armor, fortifications and guns.
From 1346 to 1353, the Bubonic Plague killed half of Europe and foreign trade stopped.
In 1492, Christopher Colombus discovered America. The discovery a new continent motivated Spain, Portugal France and England to establish colonies in America. This resulted in a surge in shipbuilding.
Technological Advances have proven to be the solution to many problems. Many discoveries by scientists working alone and collaborating with each other resulted in improved methods and important inventions in the 1500s. The use of the steam engine that was used to pump water from coal mines was adapted to power railroads that allowed goods to flow to cities in the 1800s. We used the steam engine to power factories that moved us from agriculture to industry.
Discoveries in the 1800s enabled us to improve healthcare, industrial production, transportation and standards of living that included electricity.
By 1900 we had electricity, electric fans, telephones, radios, coal furnaces and refrigeration. By 1920 we were building sewer systems, chlorine water treatment plants, refrigerators and home appliances. Penicillin was discovered in 1928 and deployed in 1940 to cure bacterial infections that were common in wound repair.
The technological implementation from the 1800s to the 1900s was huge. Water borne diseases were eliminated using chlorine to treat drinking water. Antibiotics developed from penicillin are used to cure pneumonia. The diseases that killed so many like typhoid, diphtheria, smallpox, scarlet fever, cholera, tuberculosis and malaria are now treatable. Life expectancy increased from age 64 in 1800 to age 79 in 2020.
In developed countries, clean water and sewer systems are common. In less developed areas in many countries still need to solve these problems using chlorine to disinfect drinking water and septic tank systems to create sludge for agriculture and continue to improve these systems. 26% of the global population lack clean water and 46% lack sewer systems. 10% of the global population lacks electricity. The governments of countries with these problems need to improve these systems, but they need to improve their economies to pay for the improvements.
In 1960, the global population was 3 billion. In 2024, the global population is 8 billion. We have managed to improve agriculture to feed 8 billion people, Poor countries will need low-cost energy to develop their economies and continue to increase food production.
It can take a decade or two to work out the bugs in new technologies. We had to develop software to protect our PCs from viruses and malware. We are now working on software to prevent hacking our mainframes. We will need to improve batteries to lower weight, manage cold temperatures and lower the price before EVs are ready to become urban commuter cars. It took 20 years to develop the hybrid engine. Todays cell phones, flat-screen TVs and big data storage capacity required decades to develop. We now need to strengthen our electric grid and protect our power and water systems.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea
Party Leader
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