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."

15 Ways to Get Rich in the New Economy

I Am Associated With Red Straps Now #shorts

View All

how to procrastinate productively

Do you procrastinate a lot? I’m sure you do. There are countless videos, books, podcasts, any sort of content about how not to procrastinate and, you know, just get up right away and finish all of your tasks. There are so many of them, and I’m sure that y…

The Cost of Living Crisis Isn't What You Think

Is the cost of living crisis actually real? Hear me out on this. According to the Survey of Household Economics and Decision-Making, and as reported by the Financial Times, when people are asked about the health of the US economy year by year, more people…

People Don't See It - Anthony Hopkins On The Illusion Of Life

I had one moment when I decided to change my life. When I was a little boy, I dreamed of where I am now, and I remember saying to my father, “One day I’ll show you.” Certain moments in our life, we get little signals, little flashes. I may have had a visi…

15 Ways to Train Your Brain Like a Genius

Your brain is the most powerful weapon you can train to use. If you fine-tune it to your advantage, you can unlock its true potential and there’s really not much to it. It’s been said that the brain stops developing at 25, but that’s not entirely true. Yo…

Metallic solids | Intermolecular forces and properties | AP Chemistry | Khan Academy

Let’s talk a little bit about metallic solids. Here is an example of what a metallic solid might look like: they tend to be shiny, like this. Some would say lustrous. Some of you might be guessing maybe this is some type of aluminum or silver. It actually…

Possessive pronouns | The parts of speech | Grammar | Khan Academy

All right, grammarians, let’s get down to it and start talking about possessive pronouns. A possessive pronoun is a pronoun that we use to show possession of something, which is just sort of a fancy way of saying you have it. So possession equals having s…

The Power of Transportation | Origins: The Journey of Humankind

More Articles