The Fourth Age

Human history has passed through three technological ages: language and fire, agriculture and cities, and writing and wheels.

Three major fundamental technological changes in history shape human life. In this context, “technology” means the use of material and processes to enhance human physical or mental capacity. In the first age, the original human technologies were fire and language. Around 100,000 years ago, people learned to create and control fire. Predators fear fire, so fire offered a degree of protection. It also provided warmth, which enabled people to migrate to colder climates. Fire allowed people to cook, making food easier to chew and to digest.

Language enabled people to communicate information and ideas and to cooperate to survive. Language permitted human imagination to soar and made poems and storytelling possible.

The second human age, which began around 10,000 years ago, pivoted around agriculture and cities. Cultivating food demanded a geographically settled lifestyle, which led to founding cities near fresh water and fertile land. Agriculture and cities led to the division of labor, the private ownership...