Subject: Has the rate of new inventions/technologies increased recently?

I seems like new inventions/technologies in all areas of science are 
coming fast and furiously in recent years.  I was wondering if "new" 
inventions/technologies have actually increased, or if it's just that 
there are more inventors/researchers, or more areas of science being 
studied?  Or is it just that we only learned about the really "big" 
discoveries in science history, so it seems like there weren't so many in 
the past few centuries compared with now?  And how would you find all this 
out?  I am sure this is a multi-part question.  Thanks.

Re: Has the rate of new inventions/technologies increased recently?