From telephones to radio and television appliances, the art of communicating information has become so important that life without these machines for many of us would be difficult to comprehend.
And now there are these things called computers that can "package" much of that information all around us. Using binary data to simulate reality, computers can mentally transport us to people or places in entertaining ways.
The primary objective of technology is to transport information or goods. Whether it's knowledge for our minds or food for our bodies, the science of transporting things keeps us going.
Second to the science of transportation is the art of agriculture. Of these two technologies, there exist a nation that excels in both.
The United States of America is known for its aerospace and agriculture technologies. From remarkable space ships to the vast farmlands that feed many other nations, the technology of the United States help keeps the world going.
It is interesting to note that, according to ancient stories from the age of Atlantis, our ancestors were also once capable of unique flight and farming technologies.
Although most probably not capable of space flight, the Atlanteans did master the art of "kite-plane" construction. Why no samples of their work has been found by archeologist to date is because such aircraft were not built to last very long.
Moreover, the situation that destroyed Atlantis also erased the few aircraft that were created. Since all aircraft are built out of very light materials, the longevity of any is no match to the forces of nature over many hundreds of years.
Most aircraft of today rely on aluminum skin and steel framework. Like other forms of land-base transportation, they use wheels on the ground and burn fossil fuel that drives a friction generating shaft to pull or push the craft through the elements.
While some operate from water, this became unpopular about a half a century ago in favor of aircraft that were not expose to the corrosive effects of oxidation associated with metal and water.
One can only imagine how the Atlanteans designed their aircraft. Although much of this lost aeronautical technology is covered elsewhere on this web site, it should be noted that Atlantean aircraft probably looked much like today's deltoid hang-glider - the most simplistic and easiest to construct method of human flight available.
Located "in the far western realm" from the Mediterranean view, the Hesperides, like the very Garden of Eden itself, was protected by a dragon-like apparition.
In Genesis 3.24, the statement "at the east of the Garden of Eden...a flaming sword which turned every way" sounds very much like some sort of gimbaled device that could destroy a moving target by way of beaming heat.
If such a powerful weapon once existed in ancient times and was used to protect a valuable garden of golden apples from pirates, then is there a great treasure garden awaiting rediscovery by some archeologist somewhere?
Imagine the recycling possibilities if this "electromagnetic sandblasting" technology could divide our "trash" into reusable elements.
Or think of the construction possibilities if "super farms" were created by cutting the landscape into irrigated gardens. (A warning should be noted on this suggestion because the science of agriculture has destroyed - and continues to destroy, much of the natural hydrology of this planet.)
Speaking of agriculture technology again, because the purpose of farming is to provide nutritional elements for the public, then perhaps the science of farming itself is really the art of gathering, transporting and marketing valuable elements from the soil by way of plants and animals.
If one wanted to "mine the soil" for profit, then why not harvest the noble elements - like gold, silver and platinum from the plants that have "packaged" these rare elements.
It may not take much of these noble elements to give good nutrition. Gold can go a very long way if it is properly "packaged" microscopically within the plant or animal. In fact, too much of it, like anything, may be harmful.
Too much silver can be harmful - however, because gold does not oxidize, it may be better biochemically usable within our bodies. A rule of thumb may be that if you can "see the noble element" in your food, then it may be too large to be absorbed.
Present agricultural and medical technology is just beginning to realize that certain elements can be very nutritious to the memory of body cells. Because the modern periodical table of the elements is relatively a recent discovery, we are just beginning to realize the value of the noble elements within our food.
We know of certain "bad elements" for the body like lead, mercury and other toxic elements. And other than the "good elements" like calcium and potassium among others, perhaps some "really good elements" like gold or silver may help our longevity if "absorbed" properly.
Whether the inhabitants of the Hesperides realized the value of gold in their golden apples is not knowable, but perhaps they did - because why else would they be so defensive in protecting their garden?