rev·o·lu·tion n.
¤— a sudden, radical, or complete change
evo·lu·tion n.
¤— a process of gradual and relatively peaceful social, political, and economic advance
Before highways were roaring and lightbulbs were illuminating; humans could travel at night. Before the creation of steam boats and locomotive trains; humans were capable of living in smaller communities, and all of the work was done by hand. The four industrial revolutions have advanced anthropology into a convenient manner of living.
How did modern human lifestyles come to be?
The first major human technological advancements occurred in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. This revolutionary era introduced humans to the world of machines. Farming and agriculture became easier; and the introduction of steam engines lead to the creation of steam-boat and locomotive systems– accelerating global economies. The second major revolution started around 1870, and this introduced new energy sources such as: gas, oil, and electricity. Some notable inventions during this era are: combustion engines (automobile/airplane), telephone/telegram, and assembly line production. A century later, the world saw large introductions of: electronics, telecommunications, computers, space science, and nuclear energy; sending the world into its third industrial revolution. [Significant inventions of this revolution are Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) and robots.]
And humans began working towards a world of automation…
Today the world is revolutionizing once again. This ongoing anthropological change is much unlike the previous revolutions— intending to connect the world around us with the internet and all of its things.
This ongoing change has been hard to understand, and in some ways, difficult to acknowledge. After all— revolutions and evolutions have never happened over night. The advent of the internet has allowed the world to connect in ways that have never before been possible.
Much like candles not becoming obsolete as the first people made use of lightbulbs; I certainly didn’t own the first generation of smartphones. In the 2010’s, introductions of things such as: social media platforms, streaming services, smart phones/appliances, and artificial intelligences (Hey, Siri!) started becoming more globally available and accessible to most humans.
The current Covid-19 pandemic has shown a small magnitude of how far along this round of human evolution has developed. Take for example, the initial stay-at-home orders: many workers were capable of continuing work from their homes. Coincidentally, several new and creative job opportunities have also arisen on the internet because of many being out of work. In both scenarios, the invention of the internet and the worldwide web has allowed new economic opportunities to be created. As the new era of 5g networks begins implementation, factories and infrastructures are gearing up to take on some of these similarly new principles and opportunities.
Entities such as factories, agriculture, supply chains, electrical companies, transportation and many other fields are already beginning to incorporate their own internet of things. The Industrial Internet of Things is creating ways of robotic communication without human interaction. This modification is becoming easier with the dawn of cloud based storage systems. The input of data can now be stored on one or more hosting devices making the output of data available to all wireless capable connective devices. Previously, the information was stored across an entire network of wired internet connective devices. In the not so distant future, it is immensely likely that humans will be communicating with artificial intelligences in many aspects of their typical lives.
The movement of cryptocurrencies and blockchains has even started to push the boundaries of existing monetary and governance systems. As with anything, how each individual responds in a revolution has significant impact. Being at the dawn of an evolution, and in the midst of a pandemic has created a world of new opportunities (many of which were a fantasy only a few years ago.) Entering into the unknown can be uncomfortable. Change is often awkward and unfamiliar, but with more awareness of life around us, humanity can become capable of creating a lifestyle on Earth that has not yet been possible.
These are the days of our lives. What will you do with them?
“The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.” -Malcolm Gladwell
Very informative! Thank you
Wow! Eye opening for me!