Leonardo to the Internet, Research Paper Example

As an inventor, Thomas Edison was greatly regarded as one of the few people who completely changed how things work today. Born in 1931, Thomas Edison perhaps did not know what impact some of his inventions would have in the future. However, some inventions like the motion pictures and the light bulb ended up being of phenomenal importance in the world today. Referred by his peers as the Wizard of Menlo, Thomas Edison first applied mass production when manufacturing his inventions placing him in the league of not just inventors, but also a great businessperson. In the past, many of the processes and inventions that people enjoy did not exist. It took the effort of the great inventors who created a revolution in technological advances to have the world as it is today.  In the technological world today, Thomas Edison has thousands of patents in both the U.S and the U.K accredited to his name and his inventions. More importantly, some of the inventions of Thomas Edison have great significance in the world today and are produced by some of the largest global corporation that perhaps is a sign of their importance.

The light bulb, for example, is used in almost every homestead. Other power utility inventions are part of the everyday life process and the motion pictures have greatly influenced mass communication in the world today. The greatest impact of Edison’s inventions was mainly in mass communication and the electricity sector. What, however, is interesting about Thomas Edison is that he did not have much knowledge in electronic appliances let alone advanced electric engineering skills. With the little knowledge he had, he was able to develop a system that dealt with electric generation and distribution while he was still a telegraph operator. The nature and capacity of his influence in the history of technology is immeasurable.

The military industrial complex is regarded as the period when there were many connections between politics, monetary policies, and other influential sectors such as the military. However, this period was not characterized by any significant changes in both the infrastructural, industrial, or even technological advances. The reason given for this lack of change is cited as the lack of flexibility by the political wing and the extent under which the military was being monitored by the government in the United States. This period was accompanied by a lot of lobbying for funds by the army to undertake its operations. However, any authorization for funding depended on whether the reasons were given and the underhand deals cut met the threshold for such authorization.

As stated by Misa, (41) “historians of late have not treated the “industrial revolution” kindly.” However, the industrial revolution, on the other hand, had a lot of significance in American history by being the period when a new manufacturing transition was achieved. Some of the major characteristics that were observed during this period include the fact that most industries shifted from manual labour towards the use of machines in production. The use of machines in production subsequently increased efficiency, allowing major related advantages to be achieved including urbanization. Most history scholars have over the years tried to identify the exact date or period when the industrial revolution began. One of the arguments is that the revolution took place in phases, beginning in England and subsequently spreading to other Western countries. However, the particular period that the industrial revolution took place has been cited as the period between 1840 and 1870. This is because, the said period was characterized by immense technological and economic changes that had an overall effect on human work force and how industries operated.

Reference

Misa, T. J. (2013). Leonardo to the Internet: Technology and Culture from the Renaissance to the Present. JHU Press.