[3gg3]

As someone who is half-blind, I'd rate the reading lens, or optometry, as a very important invention. I often look around me and wonder WHY so many of us need eye correction.

[rambo47]

My vote goes for the U.S. Constitution.
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iDisk: rseijas
Homepage: homepage.mac.com/rseijas


[This message has been edited by rambo47 (edited 04-08-2001).]

[alterEgo]

Originally posted by HAL9000:
... Must admit, I am smitten
... Must admit, I am smitten
... because I am smitten

Looks like a severe case of chagrin d'amour .

[HAL9000]

Ah, you noticed...

I am going to lie down for a while now

------------------
Without your space helmet, Dave, you're going to find that rather difficult.

[alterEgo]

Originally posted by HAL9000:
I am going to lie down for a while now.

May I suggest a cold shower too .

[mr_sonicblue]

Stirrups are cool. They keep you from falling off you horse when you're trying to kill someone with a heavy sword.

The printing press is cool. It spread the anarchy of religion.

The reusable space-shuttle is cool. It lets us spent $350,000,000 to see if red dye colors water red in zero gravity.

The atomic bomb is cool. It guaranteed that if any country ever goes to war with any other country that it'll be the end of us all.

Electricity is cool. Our hunger for it is ruining the earth.

Maybe we should just go back to living in caves?

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[533]

The Internet. Like a digital/virtual printing press in some way, isn't it?

[Ruddigger]

Umm....... Telephone....


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-Ruddigger
------------------
Have you had your
gigaflop today?

[Daishi]

Originally posted by mr_sonicblue:

Maybe we should just go back to living in caves?

Lead the way. I'm right behind you. I swear.



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i close my mouth now and i scream

[Treky]

Arguably the most important inventions have to do with communication and the exchange of information. Becuase without that we could not have combined our collective experiences to generate the complex machines that we take for granted today. So is my pick for the top 10 inventions of all time...

1. The standardization of a Written Language
2. The Printing Press
3. The Telegraph
4. The RADIO
5. The Television
6. The first Global Satelite Communication Net
7. The Internet
8. The Hypernet
9. The Phased Coupled Nuclei Communicator
10. The Galactic Communication Net

[theUpsetter]

I think the printing press would have to be it. It was crucial to some of the biggest events in Western History that changed the way people think and act. The Protestent revolution and the Origin of the Species are two that come to mind that might not have been possable with out the printing press. I might be a little Euro-centric here, even though i am 0.5 chinese, but I can't think of anything other invention that comes cloes to the impact of the printing press.

Brandon

[This message has been edited by theUpsetter (edited 04-08-2001).]

[PookJP]

The Zig. How else would we take off every?

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Switch the pitch gradually.

[Ruddigger]

Originally posted by PookJP:
The Zig. How else would we take off every?

<groan>

------------------


-Ruddigger
------------------
Have you had your
gigaflop today?

[poocat]

wow.
language... i think. definitely the most important thing.
without language... do the other inventions matter?

fire, while obviously crucial, doesn't count (imho) because it exists in nature... and it's not even hard to harness, as electricity is...

but...
my classic answer to this question (i hadn't thought of language) is the knife.

because it's the first, most basic tool (yes, i mean knives in any form, not any specific knife)

a sharp pokey thing.
who needs more than that (and fire) really?



poocat.

[poocat]

oh yeah.
i think lsd merits some serious consideration.

i mean, if you have enough lsd, none of these other things matter at all...
so... doesn't that make it the most important?



poocat.

[parallax]

NOT the Atom Bomb. Without it, we could have easily won WWII. The Japanese were about to be beaten to Tokyo, and with some clever moves, it would've been over.

It'd be a tough choice between macs and religion (one could argue they're the same).

Without religion, the world would *not* be like it is today. A lot of important advances come out of war, and without religion there would be no real war.

[OllO]

the sense of a solid continuously existant self being. that's a good one.

[jeffhot]

Originally posted by parallax:
NOT the Atom Bomb. Without it, we could have easily won WWII. The Japanese were about to be beaten to Tokyo, and with some clever moves, it would've been over.

what do you mean we COULD have won the war. I suspect a Nazi sympathizer. Just kidding (hah ... ugh) but I think the clever moves you're talking about are 30,000 people running into solid gunfire until one get through finally. Not that I'm arguing for the Atomic Bomb (especially not the second one) ...

I'm sticking to my original theory that LSD is the greatest invention ever. I'm sure we could all agree on that, were we all tripping really good.

[mr_sonicblue]

The atom bomb saved American lives. That's all it was good for at the time.

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[mindwaves]

Maybe cultivation. A simple idea today but extradionary several thousand years ago. It has given rise to our modern cities as we know them today.

[Not_Dark_Yet]

my classic answer to this question (i hadn't thought of language) is the knife.

Especially the Swiss Army Knife, no?

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The sound of the water says what I think. - CHUANG-TZU

[tonton]

How come no one mentioned "IT"?

[DBursey]

For reasons many and varied, the following have all had an impact on the progress of civilization:

1450 - Printing Press ------ J. Gutenberg
1800 - Electric Battery ---- A. Volta
1858 - Can Opener ---------- E. Warner
1867 - Dynamite ------------ A. Nobel (!)
1877 - Aspirin ------------- F. Hoffman
1888 - Alternating Current - N. Tesla
1895 - Wireless (Radio) ---- G. Marconi
1955 - TV Remote Control --- E. Polley
1968 - Microprocessor ------ T. Hoff
1976 - Personal Computer --- S. Jobs
1991 - World Wide Web ------ T. Berners Lee

Invention trivia question:

It started in the U.S. and has since conquered the world. In some parts of the world it sells for three times the price of liquor. It was originally sold as a brain tonic, but was poorly received. What is the name of this product?

[MikeM32]

I'd say movable type and the Printing Press is up there

I dunno maybe "The Spork"?

No question in my mind. It has got to be the industrial rodent killing device.

I know I didn't re-post the link but sheesh It's like medievil torture for Rats

"Did you hear the silence of the Rats Clarice?"



Mike

[Patrick]

I'd have to give another vote to vision correction. Thanks to glasses and contacts, those of us who are nearsighted, farsighted, or whatever can be more productive to society, and stuff.

About language, though: since it's a form of communication similar to those used by other animals, I don't think it counts as a human invention. Written language might be the exception, though.

[mindwaves]

Originally posted by DBursey:
For reasons many and varied, the following have all had an impact on the progress of civilization:

1450 - Printing Press ------ J. Gutenberg
1800 - Electric Battery ---- A. Volta
1858 - Can Opener ---------- E. Warner
1867 - Dynamite ------------ A. Nobel (!)
1877 - Aspirin ------------- F. Hoffman
1888 - Alternating Current - N. Tesla
1895 - Wireless (Radio) ---- G. Marconi
1955 - TV Remote Control --- E. Polley
1968 - Microprocessor ------ T. Hoff
1976 - Personal Computer --- S. Jobs
1991 - World Wide Web ------ T. Berners Lee

Invention trivia question:

It started in the U.S. and has since conquered the world. In some parts of the world it sells for three times the price of liquor. It was originally sold as a brain tonic, but was poorly received. What is the name of this product?

Would that be Coca-Cola?

[DBursey]

You got it, mindwaves! There's a free case waiting for you here! Congrats! Coke the brain tonic indeed!

[finboy]

You guys forgot double-entry bookkeeping and contract law. Without them, we'd be living next to the closest water source. Both allow wealth to grow beyond the sight of the owners. Pretty cool.

My favorite invention, and one which I think signals the pinnacle of Western Civilization, is crushed ice.

Oh, and on the use of the first atom bomb: we could have invaded Japan to win the war, but it would have cost between 800k and 1.3M American lives. Maybe more. If you've read anything about the end of the war in Japan, the citizens of Japan, not just the military, were ready to fight America with bamboo sticks. Schoolgirls were trained to carry explosive charges into battle and detonate them. Thousands of suicide planes, submarines, and boats were prepared against an invasion fleet.

So, in retrospect, we can say we wish that it hadn't happened. But at the time it was obvious that it was necessary. And all the apologists in the U.S. today live comfortably with the knowledge that they'll never have to live in a world where the circumstances were different -- all of the modern whiners have received the benefits of world peace and trade that resulted from a quick end to a terrible conflict.



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Shop smart, shop S-Mart! You got that!!?!!

[ironknee]

man's best inventions:

#3 Art

#2 the tv remote control

#1 god

[Robin Hood]

Originally posted by rambo47:
My vote goes for the U.S. Constitution.
-----------------

Are you MAD????? The U.S. is probaly the worst thing that ever happened to the world! It is FACISM hiding as DEMOCRACY. The only true DEMOCRACY is ANARCHY, and the U.S. hates ANARCHY!

[Robin Hood]

The greatest invention ever is obviously the bong. Come on people.

[Robin Hood]

Originally posted by rambo47:
My vote goes for the U.S. Constitution.
-----------------

Are you MAD????? The U.S. is probaly the worst thing that ever happened to the world! It is FACISM hiding as DEMOCRACY. The only true DEMOCRACY is ANARCHY, and the U.S. hates ANARCHY!

[simonjames]

I couldn't imagine life without the toilet and toilet paper

[yoyo52]

One word: plastic.

Anyone remember that line? I saw the movie not that long ago again. It doesn't age well, I think.

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[lucylawless]

Plastic is still everywhere...

anyway, adultery is timeless, and that's what he chose over plastic

In fact, that's one of man's greatest inventions...

[yoyo52]

Originally posted by lucylawless:
Plastic is still everywhere...

anyway, adultery is timeless, and that's what he chose over plastic

In fact, that's one of man's greatest inventions...

There can't be adultery without marriage--and that surely is a slippery slope

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[itomato]

I would have to say "pencil".

There is *NO* way we would be where we are without it. Or shoes for that matter. Orrr steel... Aw, hell, cast my vote for transparent cellophane tape!

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-- | T () /\/\ /\ T () --

[fobside]

Originally posted by Robin Hood:
The greatest invention ever is obviously the bong. Come on people.

im sure plenty of people will agree with you on that one. personally, i steer clear of substances that arent good for my body...besides fast food. the drive thru is a pretty good invention!


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I used to use a PC.

[Fred CHOTTIN]

The bed
a very nice place where you can increase the population and get a lot of pleasure and stay afterwards to rest and start again.

Instead of above, i could have said the women (of the others) but it would have been too rude for the female population. I know sometimes French can be very sarcastic like Jules Romains who once said 'Favourite pet? Women are pets of whom the fur is very much appreciated'.
My apologies in advance for the female population.

[jeffhot]

My favorite invention, and one which I think signals the pinnacle of Western Civilization, is crushed ice.
[/B]

Aha! Finally someone who agrees with me! I've had this arguement many times while standing next to the built in water/ice dispenser on a refridgerator. Well, I was just arguing that it was better than cubes, but best invention ever obviously means better than cubes.