by Roger Bourke White Jr., copyright October 2015
Technology is important because it has such a dramatic effect on how we live. For this same reason it has a dramatic effect on the patterns of history.
One example of the difference it makes is in communication. If the fastest way to send a message is shouting and running, what happens over the next hill makes a little difference, and two hilltops away is another world.
One difference is speed of communication, another is how much the communication will be formally edited. The speed difference is obvious, the editing difference is more subtle. When a communication must be heavily edited before it can be transmitted, then it is easy for people in power to censure what is transmitted. Think of the difference between World War Two movie newsreels and the Rodney King police beating video.
This is just one example of the difference technology makes, and this is why it is such an important part of the fabric of history.
Technology is a variable part of the fabric that becomes the patterns of history. Which technologies are in place during a historical incident affect how it will evolve. This is why knowing which are in place is important.
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