What kept man from developing all this technology in the last 200 years, thousands of years ago?

Question

Circumstances like weather, or would you say that it's evidence of evolution, or maybe just gradual learning over time? I've heard someone say that religion has halted some developments in the past.

Answer 1

The Romans had plumbing, a Europe-wide road and trade system, and knew the basic rudiments of healthcare. They also knew that the world was round and orbited in space, and could build vending machines and steam engines.

With the rise of Christianity most of this knowledge was lost, because it contradicted the Bible. Between the reign of Constantine (the first Christian emperor) and the high middle ages (say around 1,000 AD) levels of knowledge and civilisation fell disastrously in Europe.

Things started to pick up again around the renaissance (after 1200) when people began to do experimental science again and read books. The church wasn't happy with this, and locked up or executed several major scientific pioneers  (including Galileo and Giordano Bruno) - but there were too many for religion to get them all.

The speed of technological change has increased steadily since the renaissance. The coming of electronics in the early twentieth century was pretty impressive, but so was modern agricultural planning in the eighteenth century. We tend to forget just how much Jethro Tull and Turnip Townsend achieved - but feeding people is even more important than making ipods for them.

You shouldn't rely on present levels of scientific advance continuing though - especially not now that Sarah Palin is on her way to the Whitehouse.

Answer 2

The Roman Catholic Church didn't repeal the ruling of the Inquisition against Galileo till 1992.

Answer 3

We haven't evolved enough until recently.

Answer 4

The reason that there wasn't so much "technological" development 1000 years ago was that people were spending most of their time collecting and eating food. If you have to spend all day hunting, you don't have time to contemplate electricity and things like that. There was development none the less: people figured out how to irrigate and farm efficiently, they figured out how to raise cattle and other live stalk. These advances led to people having more time to do other things than collect food. Eventually, within the last few hundred years, there has been the most development because most people have to spend essentially no time gathering food compared to in the past, so they have had much much more time to invent things.

Answer 5

vast number of items were created in the last 200 years, but they are all items built on technology that was discovered 1000's of years ago. Tools, such as hammers, knives, containers, grinders, were all developed 1000's of years ago, but took longer to perfect as we only had c**p to start with. its easier to create something nice, when everything you use to create that something has already been

Answer 6

Yes, isn't it amazing! From the time of Jesus' death to about 250 years ago nothing was invented but the wheel. Nothing substantial anyway. and from the late 1800's to now we've gone from almost nothing to the computer and on. Now let me tell you something that happened in the late 1800's that happened to I think it was Pope Leo, well after he finished his mass, he stayed behind to offer up thanksgiving to Jesus in the tabernacle. While he was praying he all of a sudden heard a voice coming from the tabernacle actually two voices. One was very calm and peaceful the other was gruff and stern. It was an argument going on and God let this pope hear it. The gruff voice said, I can get all these people to leave you and follow me. The calm voice said, no you cannot. It was like a battle of wills. The calm voice said, OK how long will you need, and the gruff said Oh 100 years maybe 200 years, And at that we will see, said the calm voice, you have it. The argument was between God and Lucifer. God gave the time needed for lucifer to gain as many followers as possible and God was betting on the good of His creations not to listen to this evil one. After the pope was so frightened he composed the St. Michael prayer right then and there. The one we Catholic say today. This was all documented and it really happened. From that point on we have developed all the technology that we have up through to today. Believe it or not this really happened.

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray and do thou oh prince of the Heavenly Host, by the divine power of God, cast into h**l satan and all the evil spirits who wonder through out the world seeking the ruin of souls, Amen.

God Bless you.

Answer 7

Here is your answer a little thing called religion .

http://lizardofahaz.multiply.com/video/i...

Look at that idiot Dale A spouting nonsense and posting links to Hovind's websites he probably even thinks that criminal is being persecuted .

http://lizardofahaz.multiply.com/video/i...

Answer 8

Evolution is a lie Want Proof????

http://freehovind.com/watch-430823506614...

This is a Good question though. Buth the bible does predect computers, great knoledge, and many other things. Even the holocost. BOOOOOM Tell me there is no God NOW?????  

Answer 9

Technological development seems to occur along an exponential curve. It took a long time to get our underpinnings secure.

Of course, religion has also blunted the effort, as it's dogma assumes that it has all of the answers and it therefore discourages progress.

Answer 10

(Genesis 3:22)  And Jehovah God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever-

Man - and his helper woman - were 5removed from this perfect condition (Garden of Eden, a Paradise) and put outside to die. The responsible for all this - the dragon, the original serpent - did not have a start at that point. he and his class - other intelligent and powerful creatures living in the spiritual realm - had already been alive million years, and some of them would still mingle and cohabitate with the women of the earth, producing a hybrid species, which eventually be destroyed during the flood. From the time of the expulsion of Adam to our day, man has been on  the earth approximately 7000 to 10000 years. Our advancement into science and other fields is enormous, if we consider ourselves in relationship to these other creatures, whose existence has had millions of years. That is one of the reasons they watch us very carefully, and can't understand our progress (although you seem to believe it could have been "improved" in a shorter time), because we are "image and likeness of God", they are not.

Answer 11

first off, religion has made a lot of scientific discoveries, one being the calender.

But to answer your question, it's called laziness and no competition.  See the marvel the U.S. has been in the past 500 years has been impressive.  But now think about this 50 years ago if you bought something made outside of the U.S. you were a laughing stock (you were buying second rate stuff), what's it like today???

See after the World Wars most of the upper developed countries were destroyed, or very much damaged except the U.S.  The other countries needed to rebuild, while the U.S. just sat back.  We advanced a little, but not much.  Then the other countries started catching up. and this is where we are today.

See without competition the U.S. didn't feel the real need to keep developing, improving science, etc.

secondly the development of things like the internet and free trade helped science accelerate a lot.  Think about it you can have the top scientists in a field passing notes and such clear across the world in the matter of seconds.  and there is more willingness to share findings throughout the world.

Answer 12

Well, thousands of years ago we were not as developed as we are now, brain wise. Over time we've developed larger brains, and have thus thought of all this stuff.

Answer 13

To the other answers favouring evolution I would only add that evolution is a slow process.  However, as the world's population grows, it's probable that there will be tremendous strides in technology, medicine, etc simply because more people will focus their attention on the same issues. As well, there will always be people who will ask: Can I improve this?

Answer 14

Your answer is religion.  As people became more educated they were able to understand that god is nothing but a concept used to control the weaker minds.  That is how royalty was formed, by having the masses believe that they were chosen to rule over the masses.  And religion held back advance in everything just because they wanted to maintain their control over their congregations.  Until the 1500 hundreds the RCC was still claiming that the sun revolved around earth.  Also see in the bible Revelation that an angel stood on the sun.  Also that to make the day longer the sun could be stopped.  That is without a doubt dumb, so yes religion is your answer.

Answer 15

It was the UFO crash in Roswell that sparked a great advancement in our technology.

Answer 16

Maybe the way to look at it is this... more spiritually developed cultures dont need as many distractions like technology.

Answer 17

you have to invent the wheel before you can invent the cart.Have to tame fire before you can have an engine.Science builds on science

Answer 18

Of course religion halted development in the past. Galileo was under extreme pressure from the Church NOT to say the earth revolves around the sun. I believe they only pardoned him for his "heresy" in the 19th or 20th century.

I think it was chance. Once you have a breakthrough, more people could build on it. And maybe a learning process too. You can't go straight from stone tools to spaceships.

Answer 19

Don't know - but if you find out let me on on the secret.

Always believe there is always a price to pay

Technology is a wonderful thing  but because of it will we be here thousands of years in the future?

Answer 20

Wow...when I think back to a time when there was no cable television, no cell phones, no computers, no discs, no cassette tapes, etc...I feel old.

Recently, religion has halted the study of science in this Country. The answer to your question has many reasons, I believe. Too many to list.

Answer 21

First was organization of societies and seperation of labour allowing people to develop different areas of technology.

Then..

When there was enough people in europe to really start fighting with each other regularly in an organized way then technology started to develop more quickly. Means of production increased particularly in England which lead to their dominance.

The printing press was next then..

Electricity ws the next big step, particularly electric light allowing people more time to work, then there was communications- telegraph, radio, telephone etc. etc.

and then the market economy and the internet and through it all lots and lots of spending by the military to find better ways to kill people.

Answer 22

Not religion by itself.

Religion in government.

Religion, by itself, has done nothing bad.

The fundamentalist mindset has.  

Answer 23

Stanley Jaki has been and Distinguished Professor of Physics at Seton Hall University, New Jersey since 1975. He's a Benedictine who won a Templeton Prize and advocates the idea modern science could only have arisen in a Christian society.

I guess it was atheism then. It killed 100 million people in the last century, so there's no telling how many brilliant people they killed. Maybe they killed the guy that was going to cure cancer, or AIDS, or finish the Grand Reunification Theory, etc.

Answer 24

Simple answer, and the Christians will deny it. EVOLUTION of the Brain of man. Man's brain has grown larger and the implemention of the use of it has improved also. Yet we still use only 1/10 of 1 % of it's capability. Just think, in another 100,000 years we may be able to use 1/5's of 1 % of it.