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AgoraiosBum t1_ir1oyjf wrote

Reply to comment by doctorcrimson in Why No Roman Industrial Revolution? by Magister_Xehanort

That didn't matter; the Romans weren't on the verge of a big tech or science breakthrough by 200 AD.

That's the point of the article; it took the confluence of a whole bunch of unique factors to make the creation of an engine and then decades of further investment to refine it even worthwhile.

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doctorcrimson t1_ir2yhj8 wrote

I don't think engines have any real place in this discussion. Almost completely nonsequitur, a better example would be things like even the basics of modern chemistry, efficient manpowered or mill powered machinery, or architecture. Not to say romans were bad builders or that their food preservation was poor, far from it, they simply hit their limits far before what would imply an industrial revolution of the time period.

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