Some will point to the Iron Age as a time of great technology and development. Others will cite the renaissance and the rediscovery of Greek and Roman tech’s merging with the new realities of the medieval world. For many, the Age of Enlightenment from the Sixteenth to the end of the Nineteenth century represents the biggest change towards scientific life. However whilst all of these brought global changes their effect was not felt for centuries. It’s the twentieth century where the dramatic changes and effects were felt immediately that are truly important.
- The discovery and development of Penicillin. As with many of the worlds most influential and important as this one. The resulting effects of Penicillin had meant increased life expectancy and created a quality of life underheard of before 1940. The development of and Adaptive Phase 1 Clinical Studies have all made a huge impact on our world.
- Atomic energy. On the one hand a source of limitless power generation, on the other the most destructive force that could ignite an extinction event in all mammalian life on earth. Nuclear power and Weapons have shaped our psyche having a profound effect on attitudes. Having so much power needs careful management. Can Humans do it?
- The Airplane. It is hard to conceive that in the just fifty short years from the Wright Brothers first flight that we would have jet engine powered airplanes able to transport us anywhere in the world. They have shrunk the globe.
- Space exploration. Allowing humans the chance to break out of their planet and reach other celestial bodies has heralded a wealth of technology developments back on the ground.
- The Television. Perhaps the most mundane of the items on the list. It is still the greatest medium to educate, entertain, inform and mis-inform.