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The Unimaginable Future of Technology
The Tipping Point of Technology
A pessimistic futurologist might suggest that perhaps technology may be coming up on its peak and cannot improve further.
Generations have speculated the next advancements that will be past their times, such as the myth of the flying car. Other very accurate speculations are related to the development of mass media. Recently, cloning has become a reality.
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Hangzhou in 12th century CE China
- During the late Song Dynasty, with the innovation of printing and manufacturing, the Song came closer to initiating an industrial revolution than any other premodern state.
Living during the Song era in Hangzhou
- The average Chinese person had increased growth in their income level as the economy expanded.
- The economy grew due to new technological and agricultural advances and efficient trade routes.
- The era saw an increase in international trade, as Chinese merchants expanded their trade networks up to East Africa. Using paper money helped motivate people to deal with larger transactions than before.
- During a visit in the 13th century CE, Italian explorer Marco Polo described Hangzhou as the most magnificent city in the world.
Innovations in Hangzhou
- Hangzhou has been an important city since the 7th century CE, when its Grand Canal was built to connect the urban centre to Beijing. It is the world's longest artificial river.
- Woodblock printing developed in Buddhist monasteries to reproduce spiritual texts. During the Song era, it was widely adopted for non-religious purposes and supercharged intellectual life in the Song dynasty.
- Hangzhou was a place of great creativity. In the 11th century CE, polymath Shen Kuo (1031 - 1095 CE) invented the magnetic compass, drew the world's first topographical map, and recorded the process of sedimentation.
- Other technological breakthroughs includes the compass, the first mechanical clocks, and the invention of forensic science.
- The economic and technological advancements of the Song era translated into improving living conditions for the average person.
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Human nature is more than biology
The level of happiness is part of our genetic makeup - we have a set level and cannot rise above or fall below it.
Some scientists envision the day that we can manipulate our happiness ge...
Quantifying happiness
Happiness has always been difficult to quantify because it is subjective, depending on if you have a short- or a long-term outlook on life. Recently, researchers have started to distinguish between two types of happiness:
- Hedonic happiness that provides a mental high;
- Eudaimonic happiness, a sense of well-being which involves a life well-lived.
The staples of happiness
People will always be happy when they see their children prosper when they feel loved, secure, and well-fed.
But, this formula for happiness is so obvious that most people dismiss it. They would rather look for a secret ingredient. The answer is that there is no secret.
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