>[!abstract] >The Great Acceleration is the dramatic, continuous and roughly simultaneous surge across a large range of measures of human activity, first recorded in the mid-20th century and continuing into the early 21st century. Within the concept of the proposed epoch of the [[Anthropocene]], these measures are specifically those of humanity's impact on Earth's geology and its ecosystems. Within the Anthropocene epoch, the Great Acceleration can be variously classified as its only age to date, one of its many ages (depending on the epoch's proposed start date), or its defining feature that is thus not an age, as well as other classifications. > >Related to Great Acceleration is the concept of accelerating change. While not explicitly commenting on whether the Great Acceleration as a whole is set to continue into the near future, the common implication is that the particular trend of accelerating progress will not cease until [[Technological singularity|technological singularity]] is achieved, at which point technological growth becomes uncontrollable and irreversible, resulting in unfathomable changes to the Earth and possibly even the universe itself. Therefore, while adherents of the theory of accelerating change do not comment on the short-term fate of the Great Acceleration, they do hold that its eventual fate is continuation (Wikipedia, 2025). >[!related] >- **North** (upstream): [[Anthropocene]] >- **West** (similar): — >- **East** (different): — >- **South** (downstream): [[Technological singularity]]