High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! How the Scots Invented the Modern World: The true story of how western Europe`s poorest nation created our world everything in it (or The Scottish Enlightenment: The Scots invention of the Modern World) is a non-fiction book written by Arthur Herman. The book examines the origins of the Scottish Enlightenment and what impact it had on the modern world. Following the Great Man approach, Herman focuses on individuals and presents their biographies in the context of their individual fields and within the theme of the Scottish contributions to the world.