What's new since 1950? - Straight Dope Message Board

The steam engine existed long before the industrial revolution. Hero of Alexandria played around with steam engines a couple thousand years ago. He thought of them as interesting novelties, but missed the practical implications that could have started the industrial revolution all the way back then.

So your example of the steam engine is just as evolutionary as the modern things others are listing.

Most inventions are evolutionary. I wouldn't discount computers and cell phones just because they existed in some form prior to the 1960s. The hardware and software that makes a computer small and affordable was revolutionary at the time, even if it was an evolutionary invention. The compilers used to make software have evolved incredibly rapidly in the last few decades. Without those, developing modern software would be too time consuming to be practical. Two way communications existed long before the 1950s, but the basic idea of low power radio cells that transformed into the modern cell phone technology, even if it was an evolutionary step, was revolutionary in its impact.

Even though you disagree with them, the personal computer and cell phone would both rank pretty high on my list. Parts of their technology may have existed prior to 1950, but they were revolutionary inventions nonetheless.

Back in the late 60s and early 70s, the practical method of breaking up data into packets and letting them find their own way from their source to their destination was developed. This did not exist back in the early days of computers, and it was fundamental to the development of the modern internet. No matter what you say about computers, this invention was revolutionary.

Source: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=668045

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