why did technology suddenly sky rocket?

The Industrial Revolution is what kicked it off, at the turn of the 20th century, imo.

The advent of advancements in electricity, railroads, automobiles, mass production, etc., etc...not to mention flight by air...

and later advancements in electronics, and space travel also greatly helped this trend to name a few....



But the big question is...

Where do we go from here?

[edit on 2/11/2007 by Mechanic 32]

Here is an good old debate thread about transistors being alien technology that seems relevant:
www.abovetopsecret.com...

I think life expectancy has alot to do with it.200 year's ago I'd assume the average person lived to be about 30.In the last 100 year's people have lived alot longer and the longer people live the longer they can work on a project.