NationStates Jolt Archive


Most Important Invention?

Pyotr
12-08-2006, 00:56
What, in your opinion was the most important invention ever?
IMO its the printing press, it allowed people to access a wealth of information, and led to free thinking, liberalism, representative democracy, etc.
Nureonia
12-08-2006, 00:58
Clothes.

Some people, you just don't wanna see naked. :p
Zamnitia
12-08-2006, 01:01
There were many however the developement of the internet is probably the most influential one outta em' all
Rasselas
12-08-2006, 01:02
Clothes.

Some people, you just don't wanna see naked. :p
And theres some you do, but they're covered in those blasted clothes :(

My vote goes to sliced bread. Is that an invention? Means my sandwiches are easier to make.

Or the wheel. Thats a pretty good invention.
Wilgrove
12-08-2006, 01:02
Hmmm fire.
Pyotr
12-08-2006, 01:03
-_- i should of had a poll
Zamnitia
12-08-2006, 01:04
Hmmm fire.

fire wasn't invented it was found.
Wilgrove
12-08-2006, 01:07
fire wasn't invented it was found.

The wheel then.
Keruvalia
12-08-2006, 01:11
What, in your opinion was the most important invention ever?

The wedge.

Your printing press would not work without the wedge.

Also, the taco.
United Chicken Kleptos
12-08-2006, 01:13
Mathematics.
Big Jim P
12-08-2006, 01:14
The club. It allowed humans to prey on larger animals and each other. All other weapons are just bigger and nastier clubs.
Pyotr
12-08-2006, 01:17
The club. It allowed humans to prey on larger animals and each other. All other weapons are just bigger and nastier clubs.

Atom bombs bludgeon people to death? :eek: why was I not informed?
Wilgrove
12-08-2006, 01:18
Atom bombs bludgeon people to death? :eek: why was I not informed?

Because you thought they were used for blowing up stuff, and you looked so happy watching the mushroom cloud. Also, you're now sterile because of the Nuclear radiation.
Neo Kervoskia
12-08-2006, 01:18
Air
Call to power
12-08-2006, 01:22
I would have to say fancy dress

were else would I be able to wear makeup and dress as a Queen and still not get the funny ”I’m worried about him” looks
Big Jim P
12-08-2006, 01:24
Atom bombs bludgeon people to death? :eek: why was I not informed?


Because you thought they were used for blowing up stuff, and you looked so happy watching the mushroom cloud. Also, you're now sterile because of the Nuclear radiation.

Wow. Two for one day at the miss-understanding booth: I was implying, that the club was our first means of destroying one another and lead to the develpoment of ever more efficient ways of doing so. like all weapons they are extensions of our teeth and nails.
The Aeson
12-08-2006, 01:28
Snark.
Pyotr
12-08-2006, 01:34
and another potentially fine thread is ruthlessly commadeered by the legendary NSG pirates
Keruvalia
12-08-2006, 01:41
and another potentially fine thread is ruthlessly commadeered by the legendary NSG pirates

Arrrr ... now be showin' us yer booty!
Pyotr
12-08-2006, 01:43
Arrrr ... now be showin' us yer booty!

O_O I'm under 18 there buddy
CanuckHeaven
12-08-2006, 01:48
Electrical power.

Edit: and nuclear power.
AB Again
12-08-2006, 01:59
Writing.

Without being able to record, in a codified manner, the knowledge that a person had, no real intellectual progress could occur. And without writing, the printing press would be pretty useless (but not totally.)
Hamilay
12-08-2006, 02:01
Electricity.
Secret aj man
12-08-2006, 02:35
What, in your opinion was the most important invention ever?
IMO its the printing press, it allowed people to access a wealth of information, and led to free thinking, liberalism, representative democracy, etc.

ice making or distilling!
Celtlund
12-08-2006, 02:43
What, in your opinion was the most important invention ever?
IMO its the printing press, it allowed people to access a wealth of information, and led to free thinking, liberalism, representative democracy, etc.

Without wheels, the printing press might not work. :eek:
Call to power
12-08-2006, 02:46
And without writing, the printing press would be pretty useless (but not totally.)

printing press porn?
Donkey Kongo
12-08-2006, 02:47
The various inventions to make fire.
Anti-Social Darwinism
12-08-2006, 02:48
Agriculture was probably the most important development ever (read - set of inventions - plow, scythe, fences, etc). Agriculture lead to settlements, which lead to towns and cities, thence to civilization.
JuNii
12-08-2006, 02:50
Atom bombs bludgeon people to death? :eek: why was I not informed?
of course, first it hits you with a wall of light, if you're looking at it, congrats, you're blind.

next come the Heat Bludgeoning... hot air that can probably cook you alive.

then it bludgeons you with a wall of air. this knocks over buildings... so it will hurt.

following that is the wall of sound... if you;re close enough... well you probably wouldn't survive to care...

then come the long term bludgeoning with radiation...




my vote is the simple machines. the wheel, Lever, Pulley...
Nadkor
12-08-2006, 02:52
O_O I'm under 18 there buddy
I fear you may have misunderstood the meaning of "booty" in Keru's post, taking it to have the more modern meaning, without taking it into context.

Context, everybody, context.
Celtlund
12-08-2006, 02:52
Agriculture was probably the most important development ever (read - set of inventions - plow, scythe, fences, etc). Agriculture lead to settlements, which lead to towns and cities, thence to civilization.

And food! Don't forget the food. Oh, and beer.
Pyotr
12-08-2006, 02:53
farming, fire, wheels, meh

I guess when i made this thread I meant most important inventions in recorded history

ah, well beggars can't be chosers
Anti-Social Darwinism
12-08-2006, 02:56
farming, fire, wheels, meh

I guess when i made this thread I meant most important inventions in recorded history

ah, well beggars can't be chosers

It helps to be specific. In that case - chocolate.
AB Again
12-08-2006, 03:25
printing press porn?

Well images - what of is up to the printer!
Big Jim P
12-08-2006, 03:27
farming, fire, wheels, meh

I guess when i made this thread I meant most important inventions in recorded history

ah, well beggars can't be chosers

Oh, now you tell us. In that case I would agree with other prior posts: writing. Otherwise we would have no recorded history.
Posi
12-08-2006, 03:30
UNIX!

EDIT: Fucking forum won't let me write it in all caps.
REDIT: There we go.
German Nightmare
12-08-2006, 03:47
Either the concept of hygiene, soap, disinfectants, et cetera, or the discovery and development of antibiotics.

[Vaccinations are another story if one considers the correlation between polio vaccinations and the first outbreaks of AIDS and the spreading of the HI-Virus during the great "get rid of polio worldwide" campaigns]
Boonytopia
12-08-2006, 03:56
Refrigeration. It's what separates man from the animals.
The Far Realms
12-08-2006, 05:08
Writing. Allowed the reliable spread of information.
Not bad
12-08-2006, 05:11
Refrigeration. It's what separates man from the animals.

Im pretty sure that PMS is what seperates man from the animals.
Posi
12-08-2006, 05:13
Writing. Allowed the reliable spread of information.
What is the telephone (the game) not good enough for you?
Wallonochia
12-08-2006, 05:23
The most important invention ever is that little widget thing in bottles of Guinness.
Pyotr
12-08-2006, 05:26
The most important invention ever is that little widget thing in bottles of Guinness.

wow, theres been 4 posts about beer:rolleyes:
Dosuun
12-08-2006, 05:28
Explosives. They changed war forever.
Neo Kervoskia
12-08-2006, 05:29
wow, theres been 4 posts about beer:rolleyes:
God hates people who hate beer.
Valdeunia
12-08-2006, 05:52
I'd say the written word.




.....And beer. :p
BlueDragon407
12-08-2006, 05:52
Agriculture and Irrigation

God hates people who hate beer.

I guess God hates me.
Iztatepopotla
12-08-2006, 06:14
Mitosis.
M3rcenaries
12-08-2006, 07:00
Agriculture is pretty sweet.
Avika
12-08-2006, 07:23
When two animals invented the concept of communicating to eashother, they invented a way to share ideas, like lighting useless small piles of dry twigs on fire or manmade circles used for transporting things with greater ease. And people say that animals are a complete waste of resources. They invented talking, bitch.
Barbaric Tribes
12-08-2006, 07:28
Nukes Goddamnit! nukes!
Barbaric Tribes
12-08-2006, 07:30
oh yeah, and sodomy... theres something I do look forward to every morning at 8. A good heapin load of....
Nermid
12-08-2006, 07:35
Best invention? I'd have to say breasts.

If you're about to say breasts occur naturally, and are not invented, then I have to point out that I'm from Kansas. In my state, breasts were engineered by an intelligent and very horny technically-not-God to be oh, so beautiful.
[NS::::]Komyunizumu
12-08-2006, 07:59
Communism :p
Mercury God
12-08-2006, 08:00
the Ash Tray
IL Ruffino
12-08-2006, 08:10
Max Barry.
Montacanos
12-08-2006, 08:10
I gotta go with "The wheel". The things that were accomplished by it is the nearly difference between civilization and tribes. If The Inca or Aztec had developed the wheel even as early as one hundred years before the spanish landed- They might have won.
[NS::::]Komyunizumu
12-08-2006, 08:13
I gotta go with "The wheel". The things that were accomplished by it is the nearly difference between civilization and tribes. If The Inca or Aztec had developed the wheel even as early as one hundred years before the spanish landed- They might have won.
Yeah, I mean the SPainish wouldn't stand a chance with all their cannons and guns and horses if the Aztecs rolled wheels at them :p
Evil Barstards
12-08-2006, 08:21
the wheel
the lever
the transistor
antibiotics
Ginnoria
12-08-2006, 08:32
Air conditioner, duh.
United Chicken Kleptos
12-08-2006, 08:49
Porn.

>.>
<.<

What?
Tech-gnosis
12-08-2006, 08:49
Air conditioning. Its great when its hot out.:p
Pyotr
12-08-2006, 08:51
Air conditioning. Its great when its hot out.:p

*swan dives off 300 foot building, pratfalling on a fire hydrant*

**sound of sternum collapsing on impact**
Kothuwania
12-08-2006, 08:56
CD players (outdated now but holy crap how nice it was to hear crisp clear music)
Unabashed Greed
12-08-2006, 09:02
At the risk of repeating somthing someone else already said...

Fire.

Not that fire was a purely man-made invention, but inventing to tools used to make fire instead of trying to hunt it down after a lightning strike, or have a member of the tribe sit up all night so that the fire didn't go out.
JiangGuo
12-08-2006, 09:09
Large-scale electricity generation and distribution.

If by important it means everyday applications, none can beat widespread electrical distribution. Before widespread electricity, the household had to expend a great deal of time and physical labor doing simple chores that were necessary. For example, the vacuum cleaner and the clothes washer/dishwasher.

Without electricity, there would be no computers.
Unabashed Greed
12-08-2006, 09:12
Large-scale electricity generation and distribution.

If by important it means everyday applications, none can beat widespread electrical distribution. Before widespread electricity, the household had to expend a great deal of time and physical labor doing simple chores that were necessary. For example, the vacuum cleaner and the clothes washer/dishwasher.

Without electricity, there would be no computers.

But, without fire there would be no settlements, no communities, or society in general. Not to mention my vocation, cooking.
Montacanos
12-08-2006, 09:26
Komyunizumu']Yeah, I mean the SPainish wouldn't stand a chance with all their cannons and guns and horses if the Aztecs rolled wheels at them :p


I mean that the civilization of aztec would esily be twice the size, possibly with even fortifications that rivalled europe. The aztecs were always a little daft though. 200 Spandiards vs Aztec capitol 1,000,000 inhabitants!. dont tell me that even 1000 with sticks couldnt take 200 guys with rudimentary guns.
Amaralandia
12-08-2006, 09:36
Music.
Cameroi
12-08-2006, 11:21
number one MOST important invention ever: refrigeration

second most important (though most people won't realize it yet for a while):
passinger carrying multiple unit narrow gauge railways

third; energy storage devices; battery, flywheel, escarpment.

fourth; energy colecting and generating tecnologies; wind and water driven gensets and photovoltaic arrays.

fifth; computers, these fun things we're doing this on

sixth; this internet which enables our computers to talk to each other.

of course candles, cross and compound bows, and every 'primative' construction tecnique, boats, blarg the list is endless.

but really if there is one thing that makes any of what we take for granted possible, it would be the ability refrigeration gives us to store food.

=^^=
.../\...
BogMarsh
12-08-2006, 11:23
Er, oral sex?
Underdownia
12-08-2006, 11:28
You're all wrong. The answer is plainly....Deal or No Deal. After that...Noel Edmonds
Lunatic Goofballs
12-08-2006, 11:35
Most important invention ever is nanotechnology.

Most people have not even the slightest inkling of the vast potential of this new field of development. I think that even those with an inkling, like me, can scarcely even imagine the ramification that nanotechnology will have on civilization. And I pride myself on my imagination. *nod*
Posi
12-08-2006, 11:42
Most important invention ever is nanotechnology.

Most people have not even the slightest inkling of the vast potential of this new field of development. I think that even those with an inkling, like me, can scarcely even imagine the ramification that nanotechnology will have on civilization. And I pride myself on my imagination. *nod*
I can imagine 79% of what it could bring.
Meath Street
12-08-2006, 13:17
The discombobulative düphadator.
Dzanissimo
12-08-2006, 14:43
Digital watches!

Most people should agree that digital watches is pretty neat idea.
Greater Alemannia
12-08-2006, 14:51
Wow. Two for one day at the miss-understanding booth: I was implying, that the club was our first means of destroying one another and lead to the develpoment of ever more efficient ways of doing so. like all weapons they are extensions of our teeth and nails.

I totally have to remember that line when I take over the world.

Sexy Chief of Staff: You're using NUKES!?

Me: Just an extention of my teeth and nails. Now kiss me, baby.
Anti-Social Darwinism
12-08-2006, 16:06
Vaccines. With those we wiped out one of the most devastating diseases known - smallpox. Of course, now we have new devastating diseases, like AIDS.
IL Ruffino
12-08-2006, 16:16
Oh my god.

Coffee.

Espresso.

I loooove espresso.

I love the person who creadted espresso.

And baklava.

Baklava forking owns.
Pure Metal
12-08-2006, 16:22
What, in your opinion was the most important invention ever?
IMO its the printing press, it allowed people to access a wealth of information, and led to free thinking, liberalism, representative democracy, etc.
printing press is a good one. the waterwheel/mill should be another as it heralded the industrial revolution. before that perhaps crop rotation could be the most important as it began the rise in efficiency that lead to the agricultural revolution. maybe before that... the wheel? fire?

you could keep going back forever, but i think the most important invention to modern life (modern era invention) would for sure be the microchip
Massmurder
12-08-2006, 18:20
The one most important invention of all time is lalalalalangauge. Nothing else even comes close
Rubiconic Crossings
12-08-2006, 19:04
The wheel then.

yup
Tybalta
12-08-2006, 19:52
Indoor plumbing.

You laugh now...but think about it.
Not_utopia
12-08-2006, 19:53
For moder times i'd agree it world be the microchip. I havent tried but i think its quite difficult to immplement something like the internet with a valve based technology.

Of all time? I'd join those voting for language.
Iztatepopotla
12-08-2006, 20:06
Komyunizumu']Yeah, I mean the SPainish wouldn't stand a chance with all their cannons and guns and horses if the Aztecs rolled wheels at them :p
That's silly.

It would have been Aztecs on rollerblades.
Outcast Jesuits
12-08-2006, 20:27
That's silly.

It would have been Aztecs on rollerblades.
Aztec roller derby! roflmao...
Kothuwania
12-08-2006, 20:56
Music.

Tru-dat. :D

Ok, so i was maybe too specific with CD players...
Vetalia
12-08-2006, 21:17
Probably the furnace; it enabled people to work with metals of stronger composition than copper and paved the way for bronze and ironworking, both of which were vital to the advancement of agriculture, engineering, and war.
Pyotr
12-08-2006, 21:24
Probably the furnace; it enabled people to work with metals of stronger composition than copper and paved the way for bronze and ironworking, both of which were vital to the advancement of agriculture, engineering, and war.

I think thats a forge your thinking of
Bogmihia
12-08-2006, 21:34
Toilet paper. Take my word on it... or not. Try proving me wrong, if you disagree. :D
PasturePastry
12-08-2006, 21:35
Oh my god.

Coffee.

Espresso.

I loooove espresso.

I love the person who creadted espresso.

And baklava.

Baklava forking owns.

I'll back you up on the coffee. Life - coffee = existence
Vetalia
12-08-2006, 21:36
I think thats a forge your thinking of

I'm talking more along the lines of a smelter (and later blast furnace) where these metals could be reduced to their pure form; the basic forge had existed as long as metal production, but the smelter/blast furnace was necessary to produce iron, tin and copper ore from rock.
Avika
12-08-2006, 21:50
I still believe that wheels, artificially started fires, and the ability to spread information at all are more important inventions than computers or electricity. Without fire, we would have no way of creating electrical generators or computer chips out of elements found in the earth. Plus, how's an invention going to help the world if you're the only one who knows?