There is a mix-up between brain capacity and which technology people use. On one hand simple technology is equalled to people would have been stupid. On the other hand it is claimed we should have developed high technology very long ago. The limitations of the external environment is then not spend a thought at. Neither is it considered it takes time to develop technology. It can’t arise all at once.
Much of the development of technology resembles evolution theory. Of cause the eye can’t arise all at once. This does not mean eyes can’t arise naturally. Instead eyes have to come into existence one step at the time. It started with a spot of light-sensitive cells. Then an animal can tell the difference between light and darkness. It continues with a depression for the light-sensitive cells which later forms a hollow. The animals can then discern shapes. Later the hollow is sealed by a transparent membrane. The lens is added inside it and eventually the cornea. Each of these steps is useful to the animal. Moreover there are eyes which are rather differently built. They still work well although the resolution is less.
In the same way technology has developed from the already existing. The difference is that different technologies can be combined with each other. (This is unusual in evolution other than among the Archaea.) A good example is printing which developed over more than a thousand years. Stamps used as seals have existed for millennia. In East Asia woodcuts were already invented in Antiquity. In the Middle Ages there were attempts with moveable types out of metal. But the Chinese writing system is poorly suited for this purpose. If one has thousands of characters one need at least as many types. So the next step was first taken after this technology reached Europe. Johannes Gutenberg invented the press, that is, a machine constructed for squeezing the types against the paper. This made the production of books five times as efficient.
Another example is the stream engine which consisted the world’s first motor. In the 17th century metalwork and knowledge of pressure came far enough to make them possible. The first ones may rather be considered fire and air engines. Pumping up water from mines was the only thing they were good for. James Watt had as his job to make scientific instruments. Once he was asked to repair such a machine. He not only repaired it but improved upon it too. Based on this experience he constructed an even better. This was the first motor with several uses. Later his contribution has been overestimated.
Overall, technological development is something which in fact takes time. The fewer humans there are, the longer it takes. If there are more humans there are more individuals which could come up with ideas too. Moreover there need to be regular contact between different societies. Ideas not being accepted in one may do in another. The pace of technological development is as such determined by population density and contacts. Gradually as these two has increased the pace of technological development has increased.
What really speeded up the development was the industrialisation. It was in turn made possible by very specific conditions. The development of technology and science existed in all of Western Europe. A literate middle class had started developing too. In Britain there was moreover the possibility of taking loans for investment. At the same time to population was not so much too big. The British Islands had in 1750 a population of about 13 million. This created an economical incitement to invest in new technology. I think this was why Song China never started to industrialise. China’s population in the 1120ies was at least 145 million. This made manpower so cheap it was not profitable to invest in technology.
Inventions claimed to break this pattern I think are misunderstood. One example is the Antikythera mechanism which is often called a computer. That gives some the wrong idea of what kind of machine it is. Myself I consider it the world’s oldest preserved clockwork. Originally it was a box containing a system of cogs. When hand-cranked it simulated the movement of the celestial bodies. I think it was constructed by the Greek philosopher Poseidonios. Marcus Tullius Cicero wrote he had built a machine with precisely this use.
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