How We Got to Now

Imagine a world without clear glass windows, fresh produce out of season, recorded voices, safe drinking water, accurate clocks, or light that blinks on with a switch. It may seem distant, yet these essentials were not always so common. Each came about through centuries of messy experimentation and unexpected breakthroughs.

This book invites us to step back and view innovation on a grand scale. It connects the dots between scattered ideas—cold storage in tropical markets, mirrors shaping Renaissance art—where leaps forward in one field sparked bigger changes in others. It’s what some call the “hummingbird effect.”

As you explore these stories, you’ll see how technology rarely moves straight from point A to point B. Instead, it swirls and converges over time, involving a cast of curious authors, scientists, and everyday tinkerers. Each small insight compels a larger shift, often in surprising ways.

In the end, the book aims to prove that nothing evolves in isolation. If you dig beneath any breakthrough—be it a mobile phone or a skyscraper—there’s a wide web of discoveries interlocked beneath it. The unglamorous, overlooked details often light the spark that changes the world.

Glass has a remarkable story: once mere desert sand, it took centuries for craftspeople to realize its clarity and versatility. In medieval Venice, glassmakers on the island of Murano unlocked techniques that made glass stronger and more transparent than ever. This progress quickly moved beyond simple windows or cups.

The leap from transparent glass to lenses changed how we see both ourselves and the universe. Magnifying spectacles helped monks read manuscripts in dim candlelight. Then, telescopes revealed distant galaxies, and microscopes uncovered hidden worlds of cells and microorganisms.

As glass mastery spread, mirrors stirred the artistic imagination, fueling the grand shift we now call the Renaissance. The simple act of seeing oneself clearly was profound. It didn’t just lead to more realistic painting; it encouraged introspection and a culture focused on the individual.

Today, glass is central to everything from fiber-optic cables powering the internet to screens on our phones. This sustained shift—starting with heated sand and culminating in digital screens—illustrates how a single material, perfected over centuries, can influence reading, science, and self-expression.