Episode 6: Man and MachineTools and machines have allowed us to overcome our physical limitations, and become the most successful species on Earth. But tools are also transforming what it means to be human.150,000 years ago humans are just one of many species on the planet. But we are creative. In our hands a simple stone becomes a tool. A sharp flint becomes a Spear. It allows us to overcome our physical limitations. 12,000 years ago an Ice Age gripped the world. Our ancient ancestors come up with a miniature variation on the spear - an invention we still use today: the needle. Enabling us to make appropriate clothing, the needle allows humans to be more versatile, more adaptable, better able to survive. This eternal quest for new ways of doing things results in an invention that completely transforms how we live: the wheel. The wheel allows us to do many things, but principally it lets us move more rapidly over land. It dramatically alters trade and travel. Eventually railroad networks stretch across continents, uniting far flung communities. Henry Ford exploits the wheel to produce his breakthrough Model T motorcar. The automobile allows humans more mobility than ever before. Thanks to the mass production of the crossbow, in 300 BC Emperor Qin is able to unify the warring states of China into a giant empire. 500 years later another mass-produced weapon is instrumental in liberating China from Mongol rule: the gun. The Chinese invention of paper and block printing allow ideas to spread. But only the wealthy can afford to own books. In Germany, Johannes Gutenberg invents the printing press which revolutionizes the distribution of knowledge and religion. In the 1700s, an English inventor comes up with an extraordinary idea: the cotton mill. It's the forerunner of today's factory. The binary codes used in the machine eventually lead to Morse Code and modern computing. The roots of our current, instant communications can be found in 19th century technologies. The Industrial Age triggers a consumer revolution, and gives rise to a powerful middle class with money to spend. We become richer, happier and healthier than ever before. In 1967 a surgeon by the name of Christian Barnard makes an extraordinary breakthrough - the world's first heart transplant. We are gradually becoming at one with our machines.