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Crucially, he emphasizes that future transitions are not merely incremental but evolutionary, marked by systems integration into "meta-systems"—a concept whereby subsystems merge into higher, interconnected entities through communication mediums like language, writing, and digital networks. Each epoch—agrarian, industrial, digital—has set the stage for an even more profound transformation.
The Industrial Revolutions: Charting Human Progress
O'Fallon reviews the three well-known industrial revolutions:
First Industrial Revolution: Powered by steam and mechanization, fundamentally altering manufacturing and labor.
Second Industrial Revolution: The application of science to mass production—ushering in electricity, assembly lines, and urbanization.