Digital Revolution: The second machine age is dawning – Business Week

by Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee

The next digital revolution will change our lives. And is certain: the digitization poses tricky challenges.

What are the accomplishments of human history? As everyone quickly realizes that asks this question, it is not so easy to answer. ? When the “human history” actually begins

answer

Priority is our initial question, but also because it is not clear from the outset what criteria we should create: What developments are really important?

Most of us would probably say, an incident or step that changed the course of world -. Which deflects the curve of human history

incisive experience

many thousands of years of human development tended the curve slowly upward – agonizingly slowly, almost imperceptibly. Animals and farms, wars and empires, philosophies and religions practiced all made little impact. The population and its social development – – but most abundant 200 years suddenly something incisive, the curve of human history occurred. Buckled by almost 90 degrees

kink coincides with a development about which we have heard so much. the industrial revolution, so the interaction of several almost simultaneous developments in engineering, chemistry, metallurgy and other disciplines

With steam it all started

We can even say exactly which technology was the most important – namely the steam engine, namely those of James Watt and his colleagues in the second half of the 18th century, developed and improved.

steam engines were extremely inefficient ago watts. They drew from only about one percent of the released energy of the burned coal. Watts brilliant gadgets from 1765 to 1776 and increased this value by more than three times.

The industrial revolution is of course not only the history of steam power, but with steam all began. More than ever, we were able to overcome the limits of human and animal muscle power and generate enormous amounts of usable energy at will.

stages of industrial development

• First Industrial Revolution

  The first industrial revolution is dated to the late 18th century. Featured she was by the introduction of mechanical production, which were powered by water and steam power. During this time, the first mechanical loom was developed.

  Source: German Bank Research Industry 4.0 – Upgrading the industrial location Germany is imminent, as of February 2014

• Second Industrial Revolution

  The invention first production lines in slaughterhouses in the United States is a symptom of the second industrial revolution. The availability of electrical energy for production purposes related from the second half of the 19th century, the introduction of labor mass production.

• Third Industrial Revolution

  In the 70s of the last century, the automated production further. From this period to no longer just division of labor was operated, but all operations were taken over by machines. The basis for this development, the use of electronics and IT.

• Fourth Industrial Revolution: Industry 4.0

  The industry 4.0 will be the fourth industrial revolution. In the “smart factory” to people, equipment and resources to communicate. This particular product is fed with information about yourself, can optimize its own production process.

allowed factories and mass production, railways and mass transit – in other words, modern life. The industrial revolution ushered in the first machine age of mankind. For the first time our development was based primarily on other technical innovation. And in this time were the most deeply-reaching changes that has ever experienced the world.

The machine age is dawning

Now breaking on the second machine age. Computers and other digital achievements have on our mental powers – the ability to use our brain to understand our environment and shape -. The same effect as the steam engine and its offshoots on muscle strength

They enable us earlier limitations to overcome, and lead us into new territory. How exactly does this revolution will take place, is still in the dark, but if the new machine age curve as drastically deformed as Watt’s steam engine or not a big deal it is all.

To make it advance forward to the point to bring: The spirit force is for progress and development – for our physical and intellectual ability to cope successfully with us and the world – at least as important as physical strength. Such a powerful and unprecedented impetus to the spiritual power of humanity should therefore give a huge boost – just as once their physical counterpart

.