Origins of Precision

There's a way to grind mirrors optics for optics with polishing stones that aren't even flat to the naked eye. Basically the system arrives at tiny tolerances via the process of using the system. And there's way to make three perfectly flat sharpening stones by starting with three raw pieces of natural sharpening stone, just by alternately rubbing the three stones together until they flatten each other out. Paul Sellers can teach you how to flatten a large board without a planer. He also has videos on how to get a wood plane perfectly flat using a large sharpening stone (which can be made as above or with float glass). And if memory serves, you to make something perfectly round you first need something perfectly flat. Once you have something perfectly flat and something perfectly round it's off to the races. Edit: "The Origins of Precision" is a half hour well spent [this video]

How the screw of the wine press was the central part of Gensfleisch/Gutenbergs invention which allowed all the other previously existing ones to finally come together (though I also read that certain advances in metallurgy were also essential). Also see the previous video on screws, a much underappreciated invention. It then describes how the availability of books made propagation of existing technology and newer developments possible and faster. The only other comparable moments in history are probably the evolution of spoken language, the invention of writing and most recently the internet. Also much recommended from that Chanel are the videos on the "Origins of Precision"[1], and "The 1751 Machine that Made Everything"[2]. 1: [this video] 2: [link]

Agreed and to clarify: > everything in inches, foot pounds, and what not doesn't translate very well internationally when you start outsourcing It translates pretty well for the last 90 years: In 1930, the British Standards Institution adopted an inch of exactly 25.4 mm. The American Standards Association followed suit in 1933. By 1935, industry in 16 countries had adopted the "industrial inch" as it came to be known, effectively endorsing Johansson's pragmatic choice of conversion ratio. [link] See also the paragraph above referencing the precision tools enabled by Swede Carl Johansson's "Jo Blocks." For a nice video/contextual storytelling, see Machine Learning channel's Origins of Precision: [this video]