The result is an interactive visualization that I call the historical tech tree. How to build a tech treeThe tech tree can be traced to the 1980 board game Civilization, widely popularized by game designer Sid Meier’s video game version in 1991. It matters that this is a tech tree, not an “everything tree” — otherwise the project would become intractable. What the tree is really forA historical tech tree is a good source of anecdotes. The true motivations behind the tech tree are not that different from those behind playing Civilization: The tree is fun, and in a way, beautiful.