Historical Tech Tree

This is a repost promoting content originally published elsewhere. See more things Dan's reposted.

Screenshot from HistoricalTechTree.com, highlighting how the invention of electromagnetic induction in 1831 led to the development of the dynamo and alternating current, amidst a collection of other 19th-century technological developments and a mess of connecting lines.

This wonderful project, released six weeks ago, attempts the impossible challenge of building a Civilization-style tech tree but chronicling the development and interplay of all of the actual technological innovations humanity has ever made. Even in its inevitably-incomplete state, it’s inspiring and informative. Or, as Open Culture put it:

Our civilization has made its way from stone tools to robotaxis, mRNA vaccines, and LLM chatbots; we’d all be better able to inhabit it with even a slightly clearer idea of how it did so.