Certain technologies open up the world and give us more access to it. Technology advances from the creations of the past, so each piece of new tech has some influence on the next part of the tree. Listing all of these pieces of technology that have revolutionized our world is impossible—these are just a few of them.

Paper

Paper may seem like an odd thing to call technology, but there was a time when people could not share their knowledge easily. Paper was the first step in recording knowledge and spreading it to everyone. Without paper, all parts of society would have taken millennia to advance to where they are now.

Electricity

Electricity is perhaps the next biggest technology that has opened up the world for the human race, lighting up the planet and powering virtually everything we use nowadays. Even nonelectric products such as desks and chalkboards use electricity in their production process.

Telephone

The telephone is another huge leap in communications for humankind, allowing for fast transmission of information and revolutionizing not only social life and global connectivity but also war.

PCBs

PCBs, or printed circuit boards, are the basis for all modern electric devices. Without PCBs, advancements in computers and more complex programming would not be possible. Even with the short history of PCBs, they’re very important to everyday life.

The IoT

The Internet of things, or IoT for short, is the connection between all smart devices over the Internet. It refers to the cloud that holds most human information and all the access points to that cloud. It’s what currently brings the world together, and it’s under constant improvement, even today.

This is just some of the technology that has revolutionized our world and that affects our everyday lives. From the electricity that powers our computers to the IoT that allows for online learning, these technologies are indispensable.