Scenarios from Long Ago

Two Examples of How Small Changes Affected "Industries"

Writing on Papyrus
In ancient Egypt, information was recorded solely on stone-until the advent of writing on papyrus. It was light and portable, so a monarch or leader could send messages of great length (more than a verbal message that a messenger could remember), and send it more quickly and over greater distances than creating and sending stone tablets.

Until then, a monarch's power was based on the number of subjects he had with military equipment and ability, and how much land he controlled (to generate goods/wealth). However, since people who could read and write were scarce, a new power elite was created: the first "knowledge workers" (people who could read and write, and also had the monarch's trust to convey his messages).

The leader who understood the implications of the advent of papyrus, and used it to his advantage, could accomplish much more for his people than one who did not. He also had a tremendous advantage against his adversaries.

The Invention of the Stirrup
Before the stirrup, horsemen were vulnerable and clumsy in battle. But in the eight century, the invention of the stirrup "welded horse and rider into a single fighting unit capable of a violence without precedent." Of course, rulers quickly realized the need to have large numbers of horses and horsemen/soldiers available to them. This led to several phenomena:

• Since horses require a great deal of land to feed them, rulers seized land from the church, adjusting the long-standing relationship of church and state,

• a new social structure emerged as rulers distributed the land to vassals, who not only worked the land and raised the horses, but pledged service in the army when called upon,

• and thus the rise of feudalism.

From:
Nolan, Richard L., "Connectivity and Control in the Year 2000 and Beyond,"
Harvard Business Review, July-August 1998 (Vol. 76, #4), pp. 148-166.
White, Lynn, Jr. Medieval Technology and Social Change, London: Oxford University Press, 1962, pp. 1-38.