What's the most significant advance in the history of science?

[Kozmos]

Sledge Hammer!

 

[Rad Chris]

The telephone (or telegraph). Opening up more or less instant communication changed human society. Im a great believer in the Kardashev scale, and the internet (which is just a fancy telephone) is the closest thing we have to a Type I invention.

 

[Bozo Erectus]

the problem with fire is that it, like language, is so universal and so old, that it cannot be linked to specific progress. Lots of cultures that had fire (and language) never got out of the stone age. Even though fire may be needed for science, having fire does not mean the culture will actually earn a place in history. All the cultures that developed writing became significant and shaped the downstream historical record in important ways.

I know what you mean, youre right. I mention the mastery of fire because thats what truly finally seperated us from all other animals and started us down the road to space shuttles. Not all societies that had fire got out of the Stone Age, true, but without fire, no people anywhere would ever have. Fire made it possible, whether or not some groups here and there never progressed much beyond it, for whatever reasons.

 

[Paradigne]

The introduction of 0.

Dang you... I went through three pages of posts looking for this answer, laughing the whole time. I agree the zero was the most significant advance in the history of science.