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Greatest inventions - BC- AD??

I think the best ones have already been mentioned, but I'd like to add the spear for BC and eyeglasses for AD.
 
Modern sewer systems.


No waste management, no cities.


Period.
 
Surely the greatest invention made by science isn't humans. Though if it was comical then ok, but science doesn't have a sense of humor (at least I don't think).


Sorry being disgusted by everything. Its a phase I go though.
 
BCE: Writing. This enabled things learned to not be forgotten in the future. It also lead to modern mathematics. Animal Domestication comes a close second.

CE: Transistor. This is what made all of our modern technology possible. The Steam Engine comes a close second.

As far as the wheel, it was really not all that important. Humans migrated to all parts of the globe and had sophisticated trade networks even without the wheel. Proof of that can be seen in the Pro-Columbian Indian cultures.

The Mississippian Culture covered most of North America East of the Mississippi, and had trade networks reaching as far as Mexico. Yet they never used the wheel.

The Mayans and Aztecs also had extensive cultures and empires, also neither used the wheel (short of for toys).
 
JANFU said:
Greatest inventions - BC- AD??
Pick 1 or more divided into 2 categories - BC and AD
There is no winner or loser in this. Just a way to introduce us to inventions that changed the world.

Mine-
BC- The wheel - enabled mass migrations of people and goods to sustain them. Trade between peoples.

Some would argue farming, but how do you move the surplus in an efficient manner?

AD- The printing press (metal moveable type) books could then be mass produced, making knowledge readily available. Prior to that books were hand written and only the rich could afford books.

In 1999 or 2000, Dec. IIRC A&E had a countdown on top inventions from AD to 1999/2000, from 100 to number 1. Watched this over 5 nights if memory is correct. Could not find that link.

If someone can find that link I would appreciate it. I recall watching, learning and trying to guess with my wife what number one would be. It was down to 15 or 20 or so, and it clicked, the printing press was not mentioned yet. So yes I got a gold star for that.
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Printing press, without a doubt.
 
BC: The stick. Put a rock on the end of a stick, you can have an axe, club or spear. You can use it to dig. You can use it as an axle for wheels. A flexible stick can make a bow.

AD: The microscope. Lead directly to antibiotics and vaccines, plus to our understanding of everything smaller than the eye can see.
 
BC: Alcoholic beverages like beer and wine. It made people stay in one place and grow crops, which soon led to villages, then to cities.

AD: it remains to be seen...
 
The back scratcher.
 
BC: Language

AC: the looking glasses...the microscope and telescope
 
bc - neolithic revolution such as irrigation and plant domestication literally got civilization off the ground. Hard to pick a specific tool however due to timeline, maybe a sickle or granary or grindstone

ad - by this time, something always builds on something else and things become obsolete quickly, which makes them seem less important. Even the printing press will be worthless as e-tech displaces the printed word.

So in this spirit, I would say the most impactful for the foreseeable future that's already made quite an impact is computers
 
KevinKohler said:
Modern sewer systems.


No waste management, no cities.


Period.
Click to expand...

Ancient rome sustained a million. Humans are capable of living in their own ****. Of course, that often led to outbreaks like cholera, but it still technically managed
 
chromium said:
Ancient rome sustained a million. Humans are capable of living in their own ****. Of course, that often led to outbreaks like cholera, but it still technically managed
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Rome actually had a very good sewage system, which was unmatched by the West until the 18th Century.
 
Risky Thicket said:
The pill. It literally changed the world: Gave women greater freedom than any government has given them; allowed women to escape domestic life; heralded in 2 earners in the family; gave women the freedom to plan their lives with more certainty; gave women much more control over their own bodies. As a result whole societies, cultures and economies have benefited.
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How did the Pill allow women to 'escape domestic life'? Even women without babies were expected to stay at home in the 50's and earlier.

I say natural evolvement of society allowed women to 'escape domestic life'...not the Pill.
 
BC - I don't care. Not because of religion (I am not weak, ignorant or desperate enough to be religious). But because that is too far back and they acted mostly too stupidly for me to care about them.

AD - cheap smartphones that almost everyone can afford. Nothing makes suppressing/lying to the masses harder than when everyone is carrying a camera and the ability to instantly transmit that video to the world.
Penicillin.
And nuclear weapons (ended major wars - and 'no' there has not been a major war since WW2 and I don't care if you disagree, as you would be wrong) - and if humanity blows themselves up with them? Then they were too stupid to live..good riddance.
 
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BC... The wheel.

AD... The computer. I don't remember the exact numbers but I read somewhere that for 1,000's of years mankind's knowledge would take 100's of years to double. Right after WW II it doubled every 25 years. Then in the 70's it would double about every 10 years. Now? It doubles every year.
 
SenorXm/Sirius said:
BC... The wheel.

AD... The computer. I don't remember the exact numbers but I read somewhere that for 1,000's of years mankind's knowledge would take 100's of years to double. Right after WW II it doubled every 25 years. Then in the 70's it would double about every 10 years. Now? It doubles every year.
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There is a difference between knowledge and noise.

Most of what we are seeing now is simply noise. In fact, I would state that the overflow of useless (and even fictional) information is one of the problems in modern society.
 
PoS said:
Rome actually had a very good sewage system, which was unmatched by the West until the 18th Century.
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well then that extended to the BC era i'm guessing
 
Oozlefinch said:
The Mississippian Culture covered most of North America East of the Mississippi, and had trade networks reaching as far as Mexico. Yet they never used the wheel.

The Mayans and Aztecs also had extensive cultures and empires, also neither used the wheel (short of for toys).
Click to expand...

Reason could be that horses were not native to NA/SA at that time
 
Excluding language

BC

The ability to control fire. Which lead to nearly every invention after that.

AD

The ability to control electricity. Which lead to the current modern world.
 
JANFU said:
Reason could be that horses were not native to NA/SA at that time
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Buffalo were and so were other large animals which were for some reason never domesticated. Imagine if the plains Indians had domesticated moose and used them as mounts.

Llamas were in South America
 
Lord Tammerlain said:
Buffalo were and so were other large animals which were for some reason never domesticated. Imagine if the plains Indians had domesticated moose and used them as mounts.

Llamas were in South America
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Why they did not domesticate them for moving goods, well beyond my pay grade.
Horses in NA/SA had gone extinct, approx 10-12 years before or so
 
Oozlefinch said:
BCE: Writing. This enabled things learned to not be forgotten in the future. It also lead to modern mathematics. Animal Domestication comes a close second.

CE: Transistor. This is what made all of our modern technology possible. The Steam Engine comes a close second.

As far as the wheel, it was really not all that important. Humans migrated to all parts of the globe and had sophisticated trade networks even without the wheel. Proof of that can be seen in the Pro-Columbian Indian cultures.

The Mississippian Culture covered most of North America East of the Mississippi, and had trade networks reaching as far as Mexico. Yet they never used the wheel.

The Mayans and Aztecs also had extensive cultures and empires, also neither used the wheel (short of for toys).
Click to expand...

I wondered how far I'd have to read before someone mentioned the transistor. It underpins virtually all of what we refer to as technology.
 
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