One can only wonder whether, some 2,000 years from now, Steve Jobs will be as well remembered as Heron of Alexandria.

What? Who was Heron of Alexandria? His friends called him Hero, and for good reason. He was a Greek mathematician and engineer whose inventions, circa 100 AD, included the steam engine, wind power and the vending machine.

These three inventions, as it happens, had a decidedly spiritual dimension. The steam engine was used to open temple doors, the "windwheel" to power an organ and the vending machine dispensed holy water.

Hero's other inventions included the force pump and the syringe. He certainly had a flair for the dramatic, having created a mechanical theater using ropes, cogwheels and metal balls dropped on drumheads for special effects. I'm sure it was insanely great.

As Robert Wolcott of the Kellogg Innovation Network notes, it apparently didn't occur to Hero -- or anyone else at the time -- that his steam engine or vending machine or any of his other inventions might have commercial application (see page 9). How might history been changed had these inventions been developed and applied thousands of years earlier?

Our grandparents probably would have been enjoying Coca-Cola Freestyle 100 years ago, for one thing. But, seriously, what Hero accomplished all those years ago is a reminder that the future is indeed ever-present, and it's up to those with fertile, prepared minds not only to see the possibilities, but also develop their potential.

This issue of the Hub is dedicated to the inventions of Hero of Alexandria and the innovations of Steven P. Jobs. It is inspired by the collective imaginations of us all.