DeeperRed Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 I was disscussing this with my Dad, which then quickly dissolved into a full argument (Like usual ) He said The Printing Press as it let knowledge be spread around the world. I said the wheel which I thought would be the obvious answer since, well we wouldn't be anywhere without it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Statutory Ray Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Electricity. Okay, not technically an invention as it is a natural phenomenon, but the ability to harness and create such a phenomenon has been very important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K^2 Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 See, no invention made us significantly better off than any other. There are a bunch of things that made our lives incrementally better, but nothing that really changed the big picture. Even if we didn't figure out how to use fire, we'd still be around. The most important invention is the one capable of changing that fact. For that reason, the most important invention is the nuclear weapons. That's something we can use to end it all. And for that reason, it far outweighs any other little thing we came up with. Nukes all the way on this one. Prior to filing a bug against any of my code, please consider this response to common concerns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machida Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Distilled alcohol. The human race could hold their heads up high on that day. Nice work boys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eDad. Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Distilled alcohol. The human race could hold their heads up high on that day. Nice work boys. Agreed. Ridiculous ideas like 'let's chisel it round and see if it rolls!' or 'electrickery eh?' wouldn't have come to fruition without some grade A alcohol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asimov Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 It's not an invention, well sort of. But I'd say the whole concept of agriculture, without it we'd still be wandering nomads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Opposable thumbs. Even though they were never invented, they just appeared as some abnormal mutation which turned out to be pretty damn awesome in development terms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackel311 Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Porn. 'nuff said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
copperwire93 Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Architecture! without it we will still living in caves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuckindumass Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Distilled alcohol. The human race could hold their heads up high on that day. Nice work boys. Agreed. Ridiculous ideas like 'let's chisel it round and see if it rolls!' or 'electrickery eh?' wouldn't have come to fruition without some grade A alcohol. All aboard, this train is rolling. Without alcohol sodden masses, how could inventors have had any chance at implementing....anything? Like the time-cl ck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blind Joe Death Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Electricity. Like Ray said, not technically an invention but electricity is the most important 'invention' of all-time imo. Just imagine if all electricity suddenly shut down, the world would crumble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drag_Drift Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Someday I would invent a machine that enables you to stab stupid people over the internet. THEN, you can revive this topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Girish Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 I can't believe none of you said 'Internet'. How else would you be having this discussion in the first place? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
copperwire93 Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 I can't believe none of you said 'Internet'. How else would you be having this discussion in the first place? Well you won't get internet without electricity, without architecture, you will be in caves where no socket you can plug in your pc . Alcohol? that is the worst thing mankind ever invented, you will get drunk, hitting innocent without you realize etc..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makeshyft Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Printing press. There's no two ways about it. Without the ability to produce texts rapidly and en masse, there would never have been a scientific revolution, and we probably still wouldn't have learned to harness and utilise electricity. You could kiss the internet goodbye, too. How would people learn? Oral tradition? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeperRed Posted February 9, 2009 Author Share Posted February 9, 2009 Printing press. There's no two ways about it. Without the ability to produce texts rapidly and en masse, there would never have been a scientific revolution, and we probably still wouldn't have learned to harness and utilise electricity. You could kiss the internet goodbye, too. How would people learn? Oral tradition? But without the wheel there wouldn't be a printing press Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makeshyft Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Printing press. There's no two ways about it. Without the ability to produce texts rapidly and en masse, there would never have been a scientific revolution, and we probably still wouldn't have learned to harness and utilise electricity. You could kiss the internet goodbye, too. How would people learn? Oral tradition? But without the wheel there wouldn't be a printing press In... what way is the wheel directly related to the development of the printing press? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhoda Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 But without the wheel there wouldn't be a printing press Well, yes there would, it'd just take a dedicated team of delivery boys to send you messages. Like the postman for example. It's certainly an aid for the printing process, but it's not necessary. The wheel could well have been developed after printing, and this process would still thrive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chngdman Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Microchips, Printing Presses, and a Compass. Glass is really important, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Girish Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 I can't believe none of you said 'Internet'. How else would you be having this discussion in the first place? Well you won't get internet without electricity, without architecture, you will be in caves where no socket you can plug in your pc That's like following some sort of a hierarchial pattern. Just because electricity and architecture came before the internet need not necessarily mean they have to be the best ever. That way, I'd have to say 'fire' or we would still be eating raw food or expecting bushfires to cook 'em for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asimov Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 In... what way is the wheel directly related to the development of the printing press? Well, yes there would, it'd just take a dedicated team of delivery boys to send you messages. Like the postman for example. It's certainly an aid for the printing process, but it's not necessary. The wheel could well have been developed after printing, and this process would still thrive. The wheel bought about the whole concept of a gear system and movable parts, without it there would be no roller system for the paper to move along, or whatever other circular moving parts there are in a press. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhoda Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Surely the presses could be manual and done by a series of flat slabs? Impractical and not entirely plausible, but it is possible. Think of the stamps of raised patterns, or a shape cut into half a potato like they do in nursery schools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeperRed Posted February 9, 2009 Author Share Posted February 9, 2009 Printing press. There's no two ways about it. Without the ability to produce texts rapidly and en masse, there would never have been a scientific revolution, and we probably still wouldn't have learned to harness and utilise electricity. You could kiss the internet goodbye, too. How would people learn? Oral tradition? But without the wheel there wouldn't be a printing press In... what way is the wheel directly related to the development of the printing press? The mechanics of the press require the wheel for the the cogs in the system. Nearly everything requires the wheel as part of it in some way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makeshyft Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 The mechanics of the press require the wheel for the the cogs in the system. Nearly everything requires the wheel as part of it in some way Not all forms of movable type required cogs or wheels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhoda Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Not everything requires the wheel in the printing process. As said, while it's incredibly pointless and impractical to not utilize the wheel, it can be done. Manual labour has always existed and this is one of the first forces humans learned to implement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asimov Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 I suppose for arguments sake one could have a wheel-less printing press, but it is entirely impractical. Considering that and the fact that almost all machinery and modern technology uses a wheel system in some way, I take back what I said about agriculture and vote for the wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the.atrium Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Internet. By far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhoda Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 I suppose for arguments sake one could have a wheel-less printing press, but it is entirely impractical. Considering that and the fact that almost all machinery and modern technology uses a wheel system in some way. Of course. The wheel comes pretty much hand in hand with the process of written word when we're considering mass production. Wheels are of course not needed for more limited productions, where works can be produced by hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PacMaan Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Fire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HolyGrenadeFrenzy Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 (edited) Fire. FTW yet the rest of you need to play some serious Civilazation I-IV+ or something. Most techs are built on other techs and eventually a Tech becomes obsolete by the newer techs that are often even built upon it. Yet, in truth, the proceeding tech is not completely lost but would have to be reverse engineered if a disaster were to happen to cause a cataclysm or something. Fire, The Wheel, Animal Husbandry, Hunting, Horseback Riding and several other things are needed to learn chariot building and so on. Some Techs seem to be completely instinctual as well, for example I present Flint Knapping. Edited February 9, 2009 by HolyGrenadeFrenzy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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