What invention do you think made the biggest impact on human civilization?
- Thread starter sas
- Start date
bobgote
Trousers
ummm, maybe gunpowder, or the maxim machine gun, the printing press or the light bulb (or some other original electric invention).
Richard III
Duke of Gloucester
As I said in that other thread, birth control pills. Giving WOMEN the power to control conception is an enormous social change with far more day-to-day impact on our social structure than, well, pretty much anything. And it's a pretty entertaining little idea, too 
omichyron
Highly-Pixelated Globe
Agriculture. That's why we have civilization.
The English philosopher, Francis Bacon, once said the three most important inventions in human history are the magnetic compass, gunpowder and paper. These are all invented by the Chinese. 
Of course he lived in the past few centuries and thus didn't have the benefits of knowing the next few centuries.
Of course he lived in the past few centuries and thus didn't have the benefits of knowing the next few centuries.
dannyevilcat
DESTROYER OF FURNITURE
Currency. Where do you think the money for other inventions come from?
Pillager
League of Empire Loyalist
Fire, agriculture, cities, paper, electricity, the wheel...
Take your pick.
Take your pick.
G-Man
A One Man's War
I'm not sure fire qualifies as an invention. Controling fire, on the other hand, does.
Pillager
League of Empire Loyalist
Learning how to create fire was surely an invention.
bobgote
Trousers
God invented fire. Technically it still fits as the thread title isn't human inventions.
Paper is a good one too.
Paper is a good one too.
Pillager
League of Empire Loyalist
Learning how to create fire is similar to learning how to create electricity, surely. It involved realising how one can control the creation of a natural product.
allan2
Gone Fishing
I can't say there is one KEY invention that made mankind what it is. But here are some favorites:
The printing press--the invention that made possible the mass disemmination (sp?) of information and knowledge. Before it existed, hand-written books were very expensive and thus only accessible to the elite. After its invention, literacy could increase and Mr. Everyman could contribute more and more to solving various problems man faced: he could give more knowledgeable input, or he could dedicate himself to the study of various sciences that become more and more collaborative with their complexity.
Agriculture--this made possible man's advance from a precarious position not always at the top of the food chain, to masters of the entire planet. Continued innovations in this field ensured more efficient food production that made cities and civilizations possible.
Use of fire--the first advance in chemistry! Man controlling natural phenomena, rather than being controlled by them all the time--this was the first step.
Rule of law--advanced man from an animal into a more responsible, sentient being with a sense of higher purpose. "Might makes right" still rears its ugly head from time to time when we forget this concept, but the concept would evolve into a sense of man's natural rights, and equality of all in a moral framework.
Space flight--our key to expansion beyond our crowded planet. I would say interstellar flight will be a more significant invention, but we haven't invented that yet....
The printing press--the invention that made possible the mass disemmination (sp?) of information and knowledge. Before it existed, hand-written books were very expensive and thus only accessible to the elite. After its invention, literacy could increase and Mr. Everyman could contribute more and more to solving various problems man faced: he could give more knowledgeable input, or he could dedicate himself to the study of various sciences that become more and more collaborative with their complexity.
Agriculture--this made possible man's advance from a precarious position not always at the top of the food chain, to masters of the entire planet. Continued innovations in this field ensured more efficient food production that made cities and civilizations possible.
Use of fire--the first advance in chemistry! Man controlling natural phenomena, rather than being controlled by them all the time--this was the first step.
Rule of law--advanced man from an animal into a more responsible, sentient being with a sense of higher purpose. "Might makes right" still rears its ugly head from time to time when we forget this concept, but the concept would evolve into a sense of man's natural rights, and equality of all in a moral framework.
Space flight--our key to expansion beyond our crowded planet. I would say interstellar flight will be a more significant invention, but we haven't invented that yet....
TheStinger
Warlord
GOD, think of all the wars and persecution, and genocide.
Richard III
Duke of Gloucester
Originally posted by ainwood
Except that for most of human history, invention has not been driven by capital.
...although I feel compelled to note that most of human invention has been driven, it has been driven either by war or by capital, and I prefer we try more of the latter than more of the former...
R.III
gr8ful wes
Deity
the hot dog
Ribannah
Fighter Druid
This question again?
Shoes, obviously.
Shoes, obviously.
