Technology Origins

"History clearly shows us that many of the technologies that we use and depend on in everyday life have their origins as military technology that has become de-classified and then commercialised. Indeed, the modern phenomenon of computer technology owes much to trying to win World War II. For example, in the U.S. the ENIAC machines were developed to help the US Army with artillery aiming by quickly calculating ballistic trajectories. In Germany, Konrad Zuse and his Z series computers were helping the German war-effort in no small way. In Britain, the Colossus computer was developed to decode the German Enigma cipher that allowed the allies to know where to find and destroy the U-boats that were taking such a toll on the supply convoy ships carrying materials across the Atlantic from the US to Britain. These were truly breakthrough, game-changing technologies. Highly secret at the time, in the 1950’s and beyond, much of this computer technology was later commercialised, leading to the world as we know it now in the 21st Century. Indeed, wars and conflict throughout human history have been responsible for rapid advances in technology. It is a little-known fact that Leonardo da Vinci, known for his love of humanity, not to mention his art and science, was also a well-paid military engineer whose inventions helped the wealthy city states of Renaissance Italy defend themselves against plunderers."