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."

2012 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting (Full Version)

Daylight Saving Time 101 | National Geographic

View All

How a Great White Shark Strikes | Shark Attack Files

In Muscle Bay, South Africa, Allison Towner and Enrico Janari investigate if speed is what makes a great white’s jaws so deadly. Other investigators have seen how a bull shark’s bite works. Now, getting a bite impression might help them solve the mystery …

Australia's Housing Crisis is Insane.

So we open the bidding, ladies and gentlemen, at 1,100,000. I’ve never seen a situation in housing like we’re seeing today. Australia’s housing crisis will likely get worse before it gets better. A system where it’s arguably easier to buy your second hous…

Writing standard equation of a circle | Mathematics II | High School Math | Khan Academy

[Voiceover] So we have a circle here and they specified some points for us. This little orangeish, or, I guess, maroonish-red point right over here is the center of the circle, and then this blue point is a point that happens to sit on the circle. And s…

Eutrophication and dead zones | Ecology | Khan Academy

We’re now going to talk about something called UT tropication. UT tropication comes from, or it’s derived from, the Greek for well-nourished, referring to “well,” and then “trophic” or “trophia,” referring to nourished or nourishment. You might think that…

The Genderbread Person | Gender Revolution

KATIE COURIC: Let’s unpack this whole gender conversation. You use a device, or a character, called the Genderbread Man. SAM KILLERMAN: Person. KATIE COURIC: Oh, sorry. Oh. Sorry, sorry. The Genderbread Person. SAM KILLERMAN: It’s OK. I find it really …

🇬🇧🔥 Brexit, Briefly: REVISITED! 🔥🇪🇺

Hey, what’s going on with Brexit? Well, there sure has been a lot of political squabbling here at ground level. Let’s float away from all that for a look at the big picture. Up here it’s easier to see the one-two-three of the impossible Trinity. But firs…

The Power of Transportation | Origins: The Journey of Humankind

More Articles