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Chapter 2561 Technological Explosion (Third Update, Please Subscribe)
Although Li Yi'an had witnessed the technological advancements of the 21st century and their profound impact on human life.

However, a little investigation reveals the existence of so-called "black technologies" that have profoundly changed human production and life in the 21st century.

Most of them originated from the Cold War era.

During the Cold War, the Soviet bloc and the Western bloc, under pressure to survive, invested in science and technology at an unprecedented level. Their goal was not merely to gain a technological lead over the other, but to survive in the event of a future major war.

Under this pressure, both the US and Soviet governments became investors in dreams. It was the golden age for scientists. As long as they dared to dream, the government dared to invest.

Amidst the polarized confrontation and the looming shadow of uncertainty, both sides are on edge, striving with all their might to suppress the other. From land, sea, and air competition to a space race, they've veered from one extreme to the other, and in this process, many groundbreaking research projects have received support from both sides.

Even something as seemingly mystical as supernatural abilities has been the subject of significant investment of human, material, and financial resources by the United States, the Soviet Union, and other major powers.

It's not because they're too radical, but because they're all too afraid to gamble—it's impossible.

If they think it's impossible, what if the other party actually achieves it?

Therefore, during the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union were engaged in an unprecedented scientific exploration in all fields and aspects.

In-depth exploration was conducted from various fields and directions. Even 30 years after the end of the Cold War, human technological progress continues to benefit from it, and scientists from all over the world are still conducting archaeological research on it.

Every archaeological excavation yields corresponding discoveries. Scientific explorations that were considered impossible, or even absurd, during the Cold War have become a reality under the conditions of new technologies.

This also largely illustrates that sometimes human imagination is ahead of its time.

This is precisely the fundamental reason for the rapid iteration of technological development in this world.

Li Yi'an introduced some new technologies ahead of time, and those technologies were more widely used and studied more deeply in the context of the Cold War.

No one can imagine what kind of brilliance science and technology will unleash in the face of national will.
In fact, even now, Li Yi'an finds it difficult to describe what era his technological level is equivalent to in this world that is about to enter the 80s.

Was it the 1990s?
Or was it the 00s?

This is a hybrid era of technological explosion, possessing the skeleton of the 70s, the muscles of the 80s, the fists and feet of the 90s, and the soul of the 00s.

The rapid pace of technological development is due to the intense confrontation of the Cold War – no one dared to relax their scientific exploration, because any slackening could cost the entire country dearly.

Therefore, from this perspective, although the Cold War kept humanity living in fear, it was precisely this fear that brought out the limits of human wisdom.

In a sense, the Cold War was great, and so was the competition between the United States and the Soviet Union.

This kind of competition, like kindergarten kids having their own ideas and experiences, can be a form of improvement for children.

Like now.

In order to reach Mars, both the Soviet Union and the United States had to push the limits of human engineering, electronic information technology, chemistry, and other fields.

And this challenge and its achievement will ultimately benefit the whole world.

Of course, sEA will also benefit from this, and may even be the biggest beneficiary.

"By overcoming difficulties and pushing limits, we can ultimately achieve technological breakthroughs."

Yuan Jialiu said:
"This is precisely the significance of scientific research; human exploration in the field of science is always making breakthroughs."

He paused slightly at this point, then continued:
"Over the years, whenever I've seen the rapid progress of human science and technology, I've always felt a sense of disbelief, as if I myself were—" After a moment's thought, Yuan Jialiu said:
"Explosion, that's right, it was an era of technological explosion, where countless advanced technologies were completely transformed in just a few decades...

Technological explosion!
Upon hearing this term, Li Yi'an wholeheartedly agreed.

"Indeed, you're right. This is an era of technological explosion. In the past thirty years, the speed of human technological development has surpassed that of hundreds of years of human development. Such a speed of development is unprecedented, and may even be unparalleled in the future. This technological explosion will undoubtedly benefit all of humanity, I think..."

Looking into the distance, Li Yi'an said:
"I think we'll see that day come."

When he said this, his tone was solemn, not because that day was far away from now; in fact, they had always been there.

What was the level of human technology thirty years ago, and what is it now?
Thinking of this, Li Yi'an thought of another world, on the eve of the transformation of artificial intelligence from artificial stupidity to artificial intelligence, and people's evaluation of that critical juncture.

"Jia Liu, we are now standing on the edge of a transformation, and to some extent, this transformation will be as significant as the emergence of humankind! The fundamental reason for this transformation is that the speed of human civilization's development has entered a completely new stage, namely, the accelerated development of humankind!"

Then, he took a cigar from his cigar case, cut off one end, handed one to Yuan Jialiu, lit it himself, took a puff, and then slowly said:
"Regarding the accelerated development of humankind, I believe it is a law of accelerated returns. This law occurs because a more developed society has a greater capacity to continue developing and develops at a faster pace—which is itself a standard of greater development. People in the 19th century knew far more than people in the 15th century, so naturally, people in the 19th century developed at a faster pace than people in the 15th century."

People in the 20th century knew more and developed faster than those in the 19th century; this was accompanied by changes in education, such as the popularization of compulsory education. And now, university education is also becoming more widespread in various countries.

As Li Yi'an spoke, he sorted through these points, suggesting that this content could serve as the theme for the next "Science Salon."

Although he holds a salon at his official residence every month, inviting young scholars to participate and discuss academic issues with them, the topics they discuss are not limited to the scientific field, but also include the humanities and other fields.

“这样的加速回报定律。50年-80年的平均发展速度，要比20年-50年的平均发展速度要快，因为50年的世界比20年的更发达，起点更高，所以过去30年的变化要大过之前30年的变化。”

Yuan Jialiu, puffing on a cigar, agreed:
"So that means we're making more and more progress and developing faster and faster."

"Yes, so that means our future will be very interesting, right?"

With a cigar between his fingers, Li Yi'an smiled.

"If we take the invention of the transistor as a turning point, we can see that in the following thirty years, human technology has progressed even faster than in the previous 100 years. The current rate of development is five times that of the early 20th century."

At the current rate, it would only take 15 years to achieve the progress of the previous 30 years—which also means that it would only take 15 years to achieve the progress of the previous 100 years. And then, starting around 1994, it would only take 7 or 8 years to achieve the progress of another 20th century.

Around the turn of the 21st century, humanity will experience a period of explosive technological advancement, with breakthroughs occurring at an unprecedented rate. Around the 2020s, we might achieve several times the progress of the entire 20th century each year, and perhaps even once a month thereafter. Based on accelerating returns, humanity's progress in the 21st century will be 1000 times that of the 20th century.

Is this science fiction?
This is certainly not science fiction, but science. Of course, factors such as artificial intelligence are taken into account, but in any case, after entering the 20th century, humanity will truly enter a stage of development that will expand by a huge margin.

For a moment, Yuan Jialiu was stunned by the number Li Yi'an had just mentioned. While he was speechless with astonishment, Li Yi'an said:

"It might sound a bit thuggish, but this isn't science fiction. Historically, it's logically predictable. The world just twenty years from now will be completely different due to technological advancements. What we see now in 1979 will seem unbelievable to people in the 1950s. So what about the world twenty years from now? It might very well be a completely different world."

In fact, even if we take twenty years as a unit, the world is completely different. Just like 2020 and 2000 are completely different worlds, and 2000 and 1980 are also different, but the gap is not as big as in the 21st century. And this smaller gap is precisely a manifestation of accelerated development.

Seeing Yuan Jialiu's jaw drop in astonishment, Li Yi'an suppressed his smile and said to him:
"So, I think we're currently on the eve of a technological explosion, or rather... at dawn. When it actually arrives, I think you and I will both be scared to death!"

You'd be scared to death!
Yuan Jialiu was even frightened at this point, because it was the first time he had heard such a detailed analysis of the speed of human scientific development. Anyone would be frightened in his shoes.

After all, in the past they only saw the development of technology, and while he was marveling at how fast the development was, he didn't expect that someone would tell him - no, you're wrong, the current speed is not fast enough, it will be even faster in the future.

(End of this chapter)