We always want to pretend that we're better and more evolved than those knuckle draggers of ages past -- simply because someone else made a computer for us to use.
That does seem like an orthogonal question to me. That we are wealthier and better off now doesn't really say much about the raw capabilities of the people now vs then, when it's obvious that technology has a truly gigantic role in the wealth of modern times (and compounds onto itself: many technologies making developing new technology easier).
