In the introduction Mokyr supports the idea of “‘free lunch,’” that is, an increase in output that is not commensurate with the increase in effort and cost necessary to bring it about.”1 He believes that four processes work together to make economic advances; investment, trade, the correct amount of population growth and technological innovations, and he chooses to focus solely on technological advances. There is a “residual” part of economics that cannot be explained by a certain event in time or innovation that was made, it was simply an advance that would be called “free lunch.”2 Francis Bacon actually thought that there were two separate types of invention, one that could have been made any time in history and one that had to happened at …show more content…
Europe knew a “level of violence and frequency that Roman citizens had not known,” which hurt them economically.12 Eventually, when they got past the violence, they began to produce inventions and innovations that slowly spread throughout the country. Agriculturally, the plow and “three-field system” was introduced to the Europeans.13 Letting the cows graze and fertilize one field, leaving one crop for spring weather and one for winter weather, and rotating them yearly. Wind power, in the form of windmills also was popular during the 1200s. The invention of the horse stirrups and innovations of the horse collars, led to higher productivity levels. Actually more energy was used by the animals than by the water mills during this time period, due to the innovations and inventions made for animals. “The Moslems were enthusiastic collectors, but they offered little in the way of interpretation or theory,” while there were great inventors during this time, they were not as worried about philosophy and thought as the Christians had been.14 Against popular belief, Islam was “more tolerant and cultured” than the previous societies had been, accepting others beliefs and traditions.15 They went ahead, with many introductions and inventions until the 1300s when they eventually plateaued. In the water, the compass was a great invention …show more content…
Mokyr believes that some inventions that was made in the Renaissance period was not documented during this period, “‘If inventions were dated according to the first time they occurred to anyone’…‘this period may indeed be regarded just as creative as the Industrial Revolution.’”17 An example would be the submarine, that was invented during the 1600s, but not produced until centuries later during the Industrial Revolution. Labor was increased across the field, in agriculture they had new crops to produce and pick and they began to feed the animals in the stall instead of allowing them to fallow. The creation of a seed drill allowed for a bigger crop and yield. The windmill supplied a “cheap, clean, and inexhaustible source of energy that is the envy of today’s ecologists.”18 Along with the windmill, coal and peat was found in abundance under Europe. In the western Europe country of the Netherlands, the “Dutch Golden Age” was created by the peat and coal helping with production.19 They lead the hydraulic engineering field, they created the Dutch loom that was more efficient in mass production, a sailor created a separate topmast which lowered cost and the removal could be used during “bad weather” at sea and they also found a way to preserve fish that made them be able to be shipped inland, and the telescope was created.20 In 1450, mining became popular in
I feel that the thesis of the article “An Intellectual Free Lunch” by Michael Kinsley is that people often share strong, uneducated opinions on topics that they do not have adequate information on, and this tends to cause issues.
“Evaluate the effects of the spread of scientific and technological innovations in Eurasia from 1000 to 1450.”
Cipolla, Carlo M. Guns, sails and empires; technological innovation and the early phases of European expansion, 1400-1700. Manhattan, Kan. : Sunflower University Press, 1985.
The modern world is linked through networks of communication and exchange between peoples. These exchanges between regions has changed cultures, economics, and politics. Through time the cultural influence between regions has consisted of many factors and elements but comes down to the spread of religion and religious teachings , movement of peoples, technological and cultural advancements affecting trade and commerce. Beginning with the Middle Ages in the years 1100-1500 , Africa, Asia, and Europe developed and influenced each other in several different ways. Starting with religion. The birth of Islam in the Middle East rapidly spread throughout Afro- Eurasia. Islam was attractive to people who were uninterested in the requirements of Christianity and the Church.
“Socialized Medicine.” The term throws shivers through the American population. For some this brings great joy. They see a world where they can visit a doctor and get the medicine they need for little or no cost. Others, however, see a world of rationed care and long waits for procedures. “Socialism” is the term that bothers. It sticks deep in the American psyche, conjuring up images from the Russian Revolution and George Orwell’s Animal Farm. In Animal Farm, the animals experience a very oppressive leader, and it represents the cruelty of the Stalin Regime. Some wonder where they might fall in the hierarchy of animals that Orwell laid out. In the current healthcare system “all animals are equal but some are more equal than others”. (Orwell) America is built on the assumption that “all men are created equal” but there is a hot debate about how that equal access to healthcare should look. Access to healthcare is a basic human right that provides economic benefits and makes for a more fair and just society.
The factory system was the key to the industrial revolution. The factory system was a combination of Humans and new technology. New technology was arriving every day. The greatest invention during this time was the steam engine. The creation of the steam engine was credited to James Watt. There had been other steam engines before James Watt’s but none of them were efficient. Watt’s engine was the first efficient engine that could be used in a factory. The steam engine had the strength of ten thousand men.(Pollard) This was not the only invention that helped the factory system evolve. Textiles were a major product of the Industrial Revolution. Production was slow at first in the factory. In 1764, a British inventor named James Hargraves invented the “Spinning Jenny.” This lowered production time which enabled the factory to produce more per day. In 1773, John Kay, an English inventor, created the “flying shuttle” which lowered the production time even more.(Encarta) If production had not been speed up, the Industrial Revolution would have not had that big of effect as it did in North America.
Hollar, Sherman. Pioneers of the Industrial Age: Breakthroughs in Technology. New York: Britannica Educational Pub. in Association with Rosen Educational Services, 2013. Web.
Mokyr, Joel. The Lever of Riches: Technological Creativity and Economic Progress. Oxford University Press, 1990.
Industrial Revolution, which took place over much of the nineteenth century, had many advantages. It provided people with tools for a better life; people were no longer dependent on the land for all of their goods. The Industrial Revolution made it possible for people to control nature more than they ever had before. However, now people were dependent on the new machines of the Industrial Age (1). The Revolution brought with it radical changes in the textile and engine worlds; it was a time of reason and innovations. Although it was a time of progress, there were drawbacks to the headway made in the Industrial Revolution. Granted, it provided solutions to the problems of a world without industry. However, it also created problems with its mechanized inventions that provided new ways of killing. Ironically, there was much public faith in these innovations; however, these were the same inventions that killed so many and contributed to a massive loss of faith. These new inventions made their debut in the first world war (2) ).
middle of paper ... ... These three are a great answer to how was the process of industrialization and subsequent urbanization that began in England in the 18th Century a problem, progress, AND promise? After reading this Historical Analysis, I hope you have learned why the Water Frame, Steam Engine and the Sewing Machine were great inventions of the Industrial Revolution. Works Cited http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVomz8TXrqE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVomz8TXrqE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFo_FnozIM8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ML8CMNzW6Tg
A case could be made that the Great Divergence ultimately grew on the basis of European technological invention and innovation. According to historian David Landes, pre-eminence had been present since the Middle Ages, due to the inventions created that had allegedly aided society in an effective manner. Landes cites the inventions of the waterwheel, eyeglasses, and the mechanical clock as having had a great impact on society. It is to his belief that working life was increased and the manual labor decreased with the aid of the waterwheel, and that the invention of eyeglasses helped to path the way towards more revolutionary inventions such as the gauge, micrometer, telescope and microscope. He ultimately attempts to highlight the multitude of methods in which Europe utilized invention and innovation, prior to and after the Great Divergence.
There are many terms used to describe the period after the fall of Rome and before the Renaissance, three main terms being the Middle, Medieval, and Dark Ages. In general, these terms are used interchangeably, but are these fair substitutions? In recent years the term “Dark Ages” is becoming less and less acceptable as a phrase which describes the span of years it is meant to refer to. The use of the term “dark” implies a period of stagnation, which is becoming a questionable concept. In particular, the span of time referred to in this paper is 530-1452 BCE, with specific attention paid to the scientific discoveries and innovations rather than art or literature. These dates are significant because in 529 the Academy and Lyceum in Athens were shutdown by the Byzantine emperor, thus ending the Greek intellectual influence. The date of 1453 is chosen because many Greek texts arrived in Europe in 1453 after the fall of Constantinople at the hands of the Turks, thereby reviving the struggling European scientific fields (Bunch 93). This essay will show that the medieval period was not a so-called “dark age” because of scientific innovation in the Islamic world, and is only referred to as such because of the popular bias in the West of focusing on Europe. In order to make this clear, firstly, two objections to this proposition will be analyzed and clearly refuted. Following these counter arguments, the main weight of historical facts and events in the identification and explanation of Islamic scientific innovation will be presented, showing the inaccuracy of referring to the medieval period as dark. Finally, I will show that the misleading perception of the medieval era as stagnant is due to the modern bias for the superiority of Western...
In addition to all of these natural assets, there was also great innovation and technological advance in Britain. One of the b...
Horn, Jeff, Leonard N. Rosenband, and Merritt Roe Smith. Reconceptualizing the Industrial Revolution. Dibner Institute Studies in the History of Science and Technology. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2010.
Findon, Joanne. Science and Technology in the Middle Ages. New York: Crabtree Publishing Company, 2004.