Human technology has evolved over time, in response to our needs and desires. Let’s take a look back in time, at real and imagined technology before now, to see a reflection of our own human evolution.
The word “technology” is now commonly understood to mean only the electronic and digital devices that have become central to our everyday living. But the broader meaning of technology, from the word’s Greek roots, is simply “the way we do things” – and the way can be manual and mechanical as well as electronic. With all three forms of technology active today, what got us to this point – first with manual technology then with mechanical and now with electronic? What do we see, when we look back at previous generations and the directions they were headed with the technology they developed and dreamed of? Maybe we will recognize some of our own present in that reflection, and as we take ourselves back in time to see things their eyes can we rediscover a new way of looking at our own time?
The public demand for science fiction movies in the 1950s spawned many lower-budget films. Many were gimmicky, but a number were surprisingly imaginative and over the years have become cult classics.
In the 1950s, the movie screens were full of tales of science fiction that gripped the human imagination. As millions flocked to the theatres for entertainment before TV and the internet took over, we explore how their hopes and fears for the future were reflected in the motion pictures.
With rocketry and other technology emerging in the post-Second World War space race, outer space gripped the imagination of millions and helped put the first human on the Moon less than three decades later, in 1969. We take look back in time to see how people then thought the future might unfold. Are we like them, when we imagine our own destiny?
The discovery of a 2,000-year-old device that calculates astronomical movements with incredible precision continues to puzzle. How was its complexity and engineering possible? Scientists are coming closer to understanding its mechanisms and purpose.
What inspires the young to imagine the possibilities of the future, and what role do they see themselves playing in the unfolding drama? We offer a personal perspective on one thing in particular that triggered the imagination as much then, decades ago, as it does now. What was your inspiration?
See how technology for the home and office was imagined, over half a century ago, and how different that evolution turned out to be. How do we imagine tomorrow, today, and how will it actually turn out?
The Quantum Record is a non-profit journal of philosophy, science, technology, and time. The potential of the future is in the human mind and heart, and in the common ground that we all share on the road to tomorrow. Promoting reflection, discussion, and imagination, The Quantum Record highlights the good work of good people and aims to join many perspectives in shaping the best possible time to come. We would love to stay in touch with you, and add your voice to the dialogue.