The ancient world seemed almost on the verge of industrializing. I've often wondered if that might have happened had they not all gone mad with Roman imperialism and religious fanaticism instead.
Well, did they in fact improve human condition? They probably had lots of engineering talent, with a drive to improve too, but they lacked the nescessary science to provide proper methods. Calculus means a lot i industrial engineering. And chemistry has its role. You don't get far with alchemy.
