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."

One-sided limits from graphs: asymptote | Limits and continuity | AP Calculus AB | Khan Academy

I Looked Inside A Live Egg .... Smarter Every Day 254

View All

15 Ways Rich People Prepare for WW3

We’ve had World War One. World War Two. The question of a World War Three is not an if, but a when. And in the last couple of years, there’s this feeling floating around in the air of political, economic, and social unrest. Somebody screws up a nuke, goes…

YC SUS: Eric Migicovsky hosts founder office hours

Cool! I think so, yeah. Hi everyone, my name is Eric Michalski. Whoops! I just got a gift from Zune. My name is Eric Michalski. I’m a partner here at Y Combinator, and I’m the course facilitator for Startup School. Welcome to a new experiment that we’re g…

Why “Looking Poor” Is Important

What’s up you guys, it’s Graham here. In the last few months, you might have come across one of these videos: the importance of looking poor. After all, when you really dig into it, it is insane how many people these days are pretending to be rich, diggi…

Weather | Weather and climate | Middle school Earth and space science | Khan Academy

Have you ever gotten up in a good mood, put on your absolute favorite outfit, went outside to have a fun day in the sun, and then ended up soaking wet, caught in a sudden rainstorm? Yeah, same. Unfortunately, we can’t control the weather. Weather changes …

Worked example: rational vs. irrational expressions (unknowns) | High School Math | Khan Academy

We’re told let A and B be rational numbers and let B be non-zero. They had to say let B be non-zero because we’re about to divide by B. Is A over B rational or irrational? Well, let’s think about it. They’re both rational numbers, so that means that A, s…

Mapping a Mayan Crypt | Lost Cities with Albert Lin

I’m deep inside an ancient pyramid on the trail of a mysterious Maya dynasty called the Snake Kings. I’m so far into the heart of the pyramid my radio doesn’t work. Within these twisting tunnels, it’s impossible to know just how deep I am. But if my team …

The Power of Transportation | Origins: The Journey of Humankind

More Articles