The big curveballs come when a few really big things cause a paradigm shift that alters the evolutionary rates of change. The paradigm shifts that came in the early 19th century arose from the confluence of the invention of modern tools of finance, machines that could do the work of people, the development of more inclusive societies that broadened opportunities to be inventive and productive, the increased use of books and libraries so knowledge could be more broadly shared, and the application of the scientific method.
