The Great Invention of Histories

What is history?

a story in which one person or group of people recount an event in time. A historical account of the events that brought about change. History can be viewed as documentation of past occurrences through documentation. In particular, each society uses history to understand the social order and its structure. Historical accounts help us learn about our past, examine its relationship with other societies and to understand the relationships surrounding us that make up our present society. Through history, we gain knowledge about ourselves, our communities and the world around us. There is also the understanding of the past and future and of how both impact one another and what makes it a “great invention” for global history. Throughout this blog post, I hope to outline some things I have learned by reading various articles and books on this concept through the years. Let’s begin!

Greatest inventions: World history

What do we use to find out about the greatest inventions and innovations in the world today? When did most of these devices come about? How long have they been around? What were their origins and where are they used? How did they become so successful? To help illustrate my point below, let’s look at a few topics I mentioned above and see if they apply to any of you.

Art — Ancient Egypt

Art is a part of ancient Egyptian religion and artistry was an important part of their life. Art and architecture of all types were often thought of highly and their work was regarded as highly important for the overall preservation of the human species. Many of these products survived until very modern times without much use by the Egyptians themselves but now the craftsmen and artists who created them are more revered than gods. They are still used today to build museums, for burial practices, and for creating jewellery. Notable examples: Tutankhamun (a sarcophagus), kouros and hieroglyphics.

Paper — prehistoric Europe

Paper is perhaps one of the oldest materials in the world, and while paper was not invented in Europe, it is believed that we inherited the practice of making and utilizing it from Neanderthals, Homo sapiens, and apes. Paper works well in both glass-making and in ceramics.

Nails — early China

The Chinese have used many things and methods of making nails since the late Paleolithic (earlier known as the Bronze Age) era. While there are certain techniques such as cutting in wood and rock to shape the desired nails, it was the 19th century that saw the development of cast nails and nail clips. These tools were essential in the construction of boats and ships, making them necessary for trade routes. Nowadays, cast nails are being utilized in a variety of industries. All over the world including car manufacturing, household cleaning, cosmetic surgery, construction, automotive, plastic production, and even on aeroplanes. This method is particularly useful for those who wear prosthetics due to the ease of manipulation. Also for dental implants, these nail clippings are sometimes cut off and replaced with new ones. On some occasions, nails are made into decorative accessories and clothing using different types of steel wire called wires. Nail clippers to hold wands or braids were used during the medieval and Renaissance periods. Today, lace crochet is popular.

Paper & aluminium – modern western nations

Paper and aluminium are two common materials found in the modern world through most of the industrial revolutions. It wasn’t until the 1800’s that aluminium began to become widely used throughout the entire world. Aluminium helped increase the speed of locomotives, shipyards, aeroplanes and trains. As is well with rail, it was originally used to create rails, then later used to convey mail when the United States began moving its mail via horse transport and steam engines. Both paper and aluminium were fundamental to almost every type of industry. Early transportation and electronics included bicycle use and radio transmission. We would get news from far away, we moved goods fast, and we were able to communicate with others. For instance, before Morse Code and electronic messaging, we sent text messages by hand and received letters from distant lands through the Postal Service. After using the telegraph to transmit the news, we quickly became dependent on communication technology. As the 20th century progressed, so did aeroplanes and automobiles in our daily lives.

Hackers — 1950s to 1970s

In the 1940s, computers and electricity were becoming ever closer to widespread availability. If you were in an office building, your computer could be connected remotely to a larger network of computers. Computers were available in homes, schools and banks to make calculations, write programs, print text or drawings, and even play games. Computer programming was beginning to become more complex and complex. With machines doing more complex tasks, programmers were becoming increasingly fascinated with ideas about computer science and artificial intelligence. By 1960, “hackers” had taken advantage of widespread, cheap information to help people make use of computing power. Hackers were hackers bent on causing trouble or just fun so they could steal computer codes, break into buildings and networks, wreak havoc on businesses and government agencies, and generally cause chaos. One famous hacker, Richard Mathew Atkinson, had already written software that allowed the FBI to track computerized victims across computer networks. His code name was Breakout, and he was dubbed the “granddaddy of hackers,” because the first program to achieve this goal, named Breakout, was developed in his garage. He was quoted asking, “Can the NSA read email, monitor telephone records and track down criminals?” This question was eventually answered. Later he released programs to spy on computer users and governments, search computers for evidence, and to crack open system vulnerabilities. Eventually, a wide variety of hacking groups emerged, including nation-states like North Korea, Cuba and Vietnam, along with private companies like Netscape Navratil, Microsoft’s Project Zero, and IBM’s Sandbox. Over time, this form of media has evolved, growing more difficult to pull off, more expensive, and less trustworthy. More advanced forms of data attacks have begun developing; malware and viruses start taking root. Ultimately, the hackers who created these threats did it to draw attention to themselves. Some of the biggest organizations hacked, stole intellectual property from corporations, corrupted elected officials, and planted false stories. Governments and individuals are also vulnerable, as evidenced by the 2008 Equifax breach, wherein thousands of confidential credit reports on millions of Americans ended up with random addresses. Security breaches in our personal and professional lives affect individuals and the government alike.

Digital Revolution — 1951–

The digital revolution started early on but took very little place in the 21st century. Digital information began entering the public sphere through the internet — the World Wide Web — as the internet was created. Though most people knew of the Internet, they didn’t know the true extent of it. Thanks to World Wide Web research, it appears that there are thousands of websites and countless ways to access them. Beginning in 1996, websites such as Yahoo, Facebook and YouTube, became prevalent. However, websites that were merely online forums for discussions did not only take hold. Rather, websites like Netflix and Amazon now provide direct links to movies, TV shows and music. Websites like LinkedIn and Google, now called the “web 2.0”, are making up content and advertising themselves almost entirely in the digital realm.

The rise of smartphones — 2010 and beyond

Smartphone phones came into existence in 2001, though actually the smartphone was produced in 2007. Smartphones were initially limited to communicating via voice contact until 2011 when Apple introduced iPads that launched the iPhone 3GS and 4G/5G into being. Since then, smart devices have changed the way consumers interact with each other and their environment. Much of the world is now moving towards using smartphones to access entertainment, send emails and texts to loved ones and interact with their surroundings. Whether this impact will continue to grow as more and more users begin purchasing smartphones for everyday activities will depend heavily upon consumers.

Social Media — 2012 and onward

Social media began with blogging, Twitter and Instagram. Social media has grown tremendously in the last few decades and continues to grow year after year. Major platforms allow us to reach each other through words, pictures, videos and other forms of media. Popular social media sites include Facebook, Skype, Snapchat, WhatsApp, Twitter, Snapchat, Tumblr, Pinterest and Instagram. Although social networks have existed for a considerable amount of time, what we consider social media today was created in 2012 with the inception of Snapchat. Unlike traditional media outlets, the likes of Snapchat make it easy to share photos and videos through stickers, GIFs and gifs. Snapchat launched the Snapchat app in June, allowing our favourite celebrities and influencers to tag other stars and share behind-the-scenes clips and video clips, giving them real-time validation and feedback from fans. Within minutes, Snapchat surpassed 250 million users, proving that social media has grown exponentially. Snapchat continues to expand its user base through advertisements that target ads related to specific demographics and encourage younger generations to join the platform. From 2017 onwards, Snapchat plans to release Snapchat Originals, further expanding the service. This is something that gives me hope for the future of mobile apps. Especially from 2020 onwards, I plan on seeing all sorts of mobile apps emerge onto the market such as Bixby, Drip Coffee and Voat.

Online Dating and dating apps — 2014 and onwards

Online dating and dating apps allow us to easily connect to a fellow individual remotely, all with no need for meetings, travel or dates. Before apps surfaced, we met up with people on television sets and in newspapers through letters. Online dating allowed us to stay distant; however, we still maintained connections, especially those