What is the greatest invention ever? (1 Viewer)

[Holadem]

My first g/f asked me this some 8 years ago. All I could come up with was the Wheel.
For her, it was writing.
I have yet to hear anything top that.
--
Holadem

 

[Bhagi Katbamna]

The plough. When Connections was on, the host said that this was the single most important invention allowing humans to leave the hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Fire would be close as well.

 

[Andy_S]

Some (including me) would argue that fire isn't an invention. It was tamed. Saying humans invented fire is the same as saying humans invented horses.

 

[Scott Van Dyke]

Fire was not "invented" -sorry.

 

[Andy_S]

This may be one of those unanswerable questions since everything is tied together. Without tools, a plough couldn't be made. So what's more important? The tools or the plough?

 

[Ron-P]

Beer
Peace Out~

 

[Dustin B]

Sliced bread of course :p)

 

[MickeS]

Ron, somehow I KNEW you'd say that!
Personally, I don't think "writing" can count as an invention either, just like "fire". Even if it could, I don't see it as the greatest invention.
Of course, you also have to define "greatest". Do we mean the one with the biggest impact on human history? Then the plough is a good one. If we mean something that "only" revolutionized our society, I'd argue that gunpowder, dynamite and nitrogen (NPR had a series about this recently) are three candidates too.
/Mike

 

[Ben Osborne]

I would say the printing press, or in the more abstract, the division of labor system.

 

[Holadem]

Ron
--
Holadem

 

[Jack Briggs]

What Ron said--and as an accessory, pizza.

 

[Alex Spindler]

Minor, but critical, would be The Assembly Line. But I'd probably fall back on The Printing Press as it laid the groundwork for education, enlightenment, and the preservation of culture.

 

[Shayne Lebrun]

From a military point of view, and therefore form a social point of view, the stirrup is usually referenced.

I'd also say 'zero,' which eluded people as a concept for quite a while.

 

[Philip Hamm]

Man, that's easy.
5.1 Doly Digital / DTS sound systems and big TVs with DVD and LaserDisc Players.
Anyone going to argue with that?

 

[Thik Nongyow]

Farming. Without the concept, humans will still be living as hunters and gatherers. Let me have my opinions on what others had said:

a) gunpowder: it revolutionized warfare and was responsible for the downfall of feudalism in Europe. The modern nation-state was formed because of the benefits of gunpowdered weapons.

b) the printing press: it revolutionized communications, as information can be distributed much faster than writing by hand. It was responsible for the Reformation (a religious topic I will not talk about) and the the Enlightenment of the 18th century. It also encouraged literacy.

c) fire: fire is found in nature. Humans only discovered it.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Either cooking or the use of preservatives in food.

Fluffy Pumpkin thinks it's the laser mouse.....

 

[Ashley Seymour]

Metallurgy

The native americans got along without the wheel. Not because they were not intellectually capable of inventing one, but because it did not offer a significant advantage for the hunter gatherer lifestyle.

Carpentry tools have to be make of metal to be effective.

A plough has to be made of metal to offer an advantage over wood.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Okay, what Philip Hamm, admin emeritus, said too--along with beer and pizza.

 

[Malcolm R]

Polls

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Anyone going to argue with that?

Of course, that's what we're here for!
Fire by itself isn't an invention (prior art 35 USC 102 problems ) but artificial fire (e.g. fire by friction drill or fire by flint striking) could be an invention. Just waiting around for lightning to strike wasn't terribly helpful.
I claim:
A fire making method, comprising:
striking a flint with a stone;
kindling sparks issued by said flint and said stone utilizing shredded material; and
blowing on said shredded material.