A New Technological Order


The second half of the 20th century has been a period of enormous scientific achievement and technological change.  The challenge this week is not to understand what these changes produced—simply look around you for that—but to understand the historical meaning they carry.

The key technologies discussed this week include the development of aviation, nuclear weapons, spaceflight, and the electronic digital computer.  There are many web sites for the exploration of these topics, and you are encouraged to explore on your own if you wish, using such web search tools as Google to find particularly useful sites to visit.

The discussion of globalization has many dimensions, and there are many possible web sites to explore. A good discussion of one key element of this--the development of climate science--is discussed on this excellent site from Skeptical Science: History of Climate Science. Read this or find alternative sites on this topic.

Here are some useful places to start in exploring a couple of the week's key topics:

On Aerospace History:

Air Power and the Cold War

President Kennedy's Explanation for the Space Program

On the History of the Computer and the Internet

Virtual Exhibit on the ENIAC computer

The History of Computers - Computer History Timeline

The Birth of Modern Computing

Hobbes' Internet Timeline-history of the Internet (this is a bit long -- simply scan to get a sense of the history available).


red arrow For your portfolio, bring in the results of your explorations of two of the topics above, attaching to each a paragraph explaining your selection and its significance for 20th century technology.

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