Never has the world changed as much as in the twentieth century, which was a century of amazing inventions and scientific discoveries. The scientific and technological progress is a powerful force stimulating the development of the civilization. All the technological inventions facilitate our every day work and there are no doubts that life now looks completely different than it used to in the past. Certainly, it is much easier but the question is whether it is also better. When we compare life today and life, for example, a hundred years ago, the differences are striking.
First of all, the possibility to travel is much better today. A century ago there were no planes or fast cars and the most popular means of communication were horses. This way of travelling was neither comfortable nor fast and long-distance journeys lasted for many hours or even days.
What is more, in the past, people had to work much harder as they did not have tools which made their work easier. Today, most of the difficult and dangerous work is done by computers and other machines. One hundred years ago the conditions of living were not as comfortable as they are now. Many houses did not have such basic facilities like running water or bathrooms. There were not many household appliances in the past; no one heard about a TV set, refrigerator or vacuum cleaner a century ago.
Besides, the access to education used to be much worse than it is now. In the past, there were fewer schools and the quality of the education they provided was much poorer. Nowadays, the open access to education gives everybody equal chances to attend schools or universities.
The nineteenth and twentieth centuries faced incredible technological progress due to all the inventions that were made and due to many scientific discoveries that took place then. It was then that Thomas Edison invented a bulb and Alexander Bell the phone and when the car or aeroplane were constructed. In the twentieth century, the Internet revolutionized the way in which people used to live. What is more, today people no longer die from tuberculosis, peumonia or smallpox, since there are vaccinations which help to prevent many ilnesses and medicines which effectively cure them.
All the nineteenth and twentieth century inventions improved the standards of life, not only facilitating people's work but also giving them more freedom and providing them with new sources of entertainment. They made our life easier and safer. But did they also make it better? It seems, that in the past life was more carefree. While all the inventions improved our life, they also created many new dangers and problems like, for example, traffic jams, pollution or car accidents. Besides, although most of our work is done by the machines and computers, life appears to be more busy than it used to be in the past. It definitely cannot be denied that the standards of living has improved, nevertheless it can be discussed whether the quality of our lives is also better.
