The Power of Transportation | Origins: The Journey of Humankind

less than 1m read

·Nov 11, 2024

[music playing] [motor revving]

JASON SILVA: What does it take to power a global civilization to connect billions of people across continents? It takes the power of transportation. From the beginning, speed and strength were paramount in the hunt, on the battlefield, for holding together far-flung empires. We sought new forms of power, harnessing the forces of nature to drive us forward—the horse, the wheel, steam power, jet engine. Every new innovation powered our next great leap.

Transportation has become our exoskeleton allowing us to transcend our biology. [music playing] Faster than sound, farther than the moon, our inventions give us a level of power we never imagined. With our machines we carved through solid rock, tunneled beneath the sea floor, connecting the world, mixing distant cultures. Freedom of movement has given us freedom of mind.

The flow of people and materials exposes us to new ideas and new understanding. This is the story of how transportation turned society inside out, how engines and animals powered the rise of civilization, and how the innovations that drive humanity forward made us modern. This is "Origins."

Paul Buchheit: What traits do startups need to succeed?

Could this be the oldest known human burial? #archaeology

View All

Planet or Plastic? | Explorer's Fest

[Applause] Some of you may have seen or heard about that classic film called The Graduate, starring Dustin Hoffman. As a young graduate was advised by the crusty businessman, “The future, my boy, is plastics.” Think 1960s, when plastics in our society wer…

How I got banned from sports betting... - Arbitrage Betting Explained

I know you’re thinking that thumbnail was clickbait, but it’s not. It’s definitely true! Today, guys, I’m going to go through exactly how I got banned—I’m not joking—how I got banned from a sports betting website here in Australia. This is actually a pret…

Economic profit for a monopoly | Microeconomics | Khan Academy

In this video, we’re going to think about the economic profit of a monopoly firm. To do that, we’re going to draw our standard price and quantity axes. So, that’s quantity and this is price, and this is going to of course be in dollars. We can first thin…

Male Polar Bear Fight Club - Ep. 2 | Wildlife: The Big Freeze

(Polar bear whining) - It’s been four months since your last bite. (Snow crunching) You may fool yourself into digging out some frozen kelp, but you know that dinner actually sits comfortably (seal purring) 200 miles away. It’s so frustrating. (Polar bear…

Compare decimals word problems

Al is comparing two recipes for homemade bread. The recipe for white bread calls for 4⁄10 of a kilogram of flour. The recipe for whole wheat bread calls for 0.385 kilograms of flour. Which bread takes less flour? So, the white bread calls for 4⁄10 of a …

I’m Averse To People! (A Stoic perspective)

The dynamics of desire and aversion lie at the basis of Stoic thought in regards to how we relate to the world. Aversion means a strong dislike and disinclination towards something or someone. Even though this might seem harmless, it can cause a lot of tr…

The Power of Transportation | Origins: The Journey of Humankind

More Articles