Why was European technology more advanced than in most other societies

Darth Guilder wrote:I'm currently reading a book called Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harrai, and it explains many aspects of humanity and our development. One of the thoughts I've taken from the book is that a combination of capitalism, scientific revolution, and the desire to conquer coalesced in Europe and in the past few centuries this mix has been the perfect storm to drive both military and civilian innovation.