LOCATOR: home | rundown | episode 10 Introduction During the twentieth century, the "century of the globe," humans entered space, and for the first time were able to see from afar the planet they call home. This achievement resulted from remarkable developments in science and technology. While some of these developments were used in war, creating killing fields of mass destruction, others completely revolutionized physics, art, medicine, and communications. These advances, in turn, prompted a population explosion, mass migrations, and the creation of huge urban megalopolises. The ease of global transportation and communication led to the creation of a world culture largely modeled on American styles of dress, music, and entertainment and fed by the twentieth-century propensity to change, innovate, and market. The tempo and breadth of technological change makes the twentieth century stand out as a turning point in world history. Technological development may be akin to other great human achievements like standing upright, tool making, the agricultural revolution, metallurgy, and industrialization. Global communication and transportation systems have made the globe one and have heralded a new era in politics, economics, social systems, and culture. The third Millennium may well be the Age of Space when humans fan out across the cosmos as they did across the globe so many millennia ago. It would have been difficult to predict that a century that began with world wars would end with international celebration. Such is the human drama that is reflected in the pages of history and in the video episodes of this MILLENNIUM series. back to top © 1999 Turner Learning, Inc. All Rights Reserved.