Before and After the Scientific Revolution

It's easy to take for granted how quickly modern technology develops because the scientific revolution, which began in the 16th century, has been in full force for as long as anyone can remember. To offer some perspective on just how important this is, consider the differences in technological advancement before and after the scientific revolution was in effect:

• In a roughly 300 year span of the 13th-16th centuries, purely mechanical clocks (that is, ones that don't rely on the metering of water) went from chiming just hours to ticking seconds.
• In a roughly 300 year span of the 17th-20th centuries, human propulsion went from the horse-drawn carriages to rockets that took us to the moon.

Both of these advancements represent the pinnacle of technological and scientific thought at the time, but things have moved notably faster since the beginning of the Scientific Revolution. In my opinion the magic behind modern technological advancement is being able to use mathematics to characterize reality. This was the key to unleashing the floodgates, and so began the rush in the 16th century which has continued to this day