Technological Innovations
Scenarios exploring how different technological developments or their timing might have changed history
What If Oxford and Cambridge Developed Different Technology Transfer Models?
Exploring the alternate timeline where Oxford adopted an aggressive commercialization approach while Cambridge maintained a more open innovation model, potentially reshaping the global technology landscape and Britain's economic position.
What If Pac-Man Was Never Created?
Exploring the alternate timeline where Namco's iconic yellow circle never chomped its way into arcade history, radically altering the trajectory of video game development, popular culture, and the gaming industry as we know it.
What If Peer Review Was Never Established?
Exploring the alternate timeline where formal peer review never emerged as the standard for scientific publishing, radically altering how knowledge is validated and disseminated.
What If Penicillin Was Never Discovered?
Exploring the alternate timeline where Alexander Fleming never discovered penicillin in 1928, potentially delaying the antibiotic revolution and transforming modern medicine, warfare, and global health outcomes throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.
What If Pittsburgh Transitioned from Steel Earlier?
Exploring the alternate timeline where Pittsburgh began diversifying its economy away from steel manufacturing decades before its actual 1980s collapse, potentially transforming the economic trajectory of America's Steel City and the entire Rust Belt.
What If PlayStation Never Succeeded?
Exploring the alternate timeline where Sony's PlayStation failed to capture the video game market, dramatically altering the landscape of gaming, entertainment technology, and digital media.