Lost Technology essays

Lost Technology essays The new age of discovery began during the 16th century with the renaissance and western exploration. Great advances in science and medicine were being made and the mechanized world came to life with the industrial revolution. Most of what we consider modern science and ideas has been developed since the 1500s, but the ancient Greeks were making similar discoveries two millennia before that. Due to constant invasions by outside forces and the suppression of Greek learning by the church, many of the teachings and innovations of the ancient Greeks were lost to the western world. The ancient Greeks made discoveries in the sciences such as medicine, astronomy, and technology that were far ahead of what most people associate with the ancient world. In medicine the Greeks studied the brain and human anatomy under the physician Herophilus. Herophilus discovered the human nervous system and was aware that the brain controlled these systems (McKay). The Greeks were also aware of the benefits of drugs to treat illness and used pain relievers such as opium. Despite the great work of some of the Greek physicians, there were still many people who claimed to be able to heal using magic and potions. These abuses caused many Romans to reject Greek medicine and as the Romans became more powerful these medical discoveries were forgotten by most of the western world. Astronomy was another area that the Greeks explored in depth. Without the use of telescopes, the Greek astronomer Aristarchus determined that the earth was not the center of the universe and developed the heliocentric theory that the earth and other planets revolve around the sun (McKay). Eratosthenes, a Greek scientist from the 3rd century BC, realized that the earth was actually round and was able to calculate its circumference accurately within 200 miles. Eratosthenes made the claim that a ship could sail around the globe to the east 1800 years before Colu ...