Another poster, elsewhere in Bedlam, produced a list of inventions made by Arabs.

This prompted a little discussion between Martin and me, about which inventions we best liked.

I then went on to think, whilst making coffee, about various inventions and discoveries and their importance.

I concluded, perhaps more influenced by the process of making coffee than any thing else, that the effects of boiling water must be one of, if not the, most important discovery in the last 300 years.

Not only for its use in making coffee and tea, but also steam engines and sterilisation, but to name two other usages.

Am I right?

you're not wrong , but i would also suggest that the discovery and understanding of magnetic fields and electricity should go down as one of the , if not the most , important discoveries of the past 300 years.

the discovery of penicillin is up there with them too.

I think that the Wright Brothers' invention is one that has made a big difference in my life- and most of the people here!

"Another poster, elsewhere in Bedlam, produced a list of inventions made by Arabs."

That was me and I'll take credit where credit is due!

Thomas Edison and the invention of the first reliable filament lamp - his telephone and a slew of other inventions by the man have had an enormous impact on mankind.

I think that the Wright Brothers' invention is one that has made a big difference in my life- and most of the people here!

I still say that the wheel is way up there!

Gunpowder. The Chinese invented it way back. Without this start Boon Mee wouldn't be where he is today.

.......the effects of boiling water must be one of, if not the, most important discovery in the last 300 years.

In order to boil water (without electricity) one should have the need of at least a fire.

It is believed that 'fire' as such was 'invented' by the Caveman some 1 1/2 Million years ago, but, yes, who knows for sure...?

quote:

"""

The quest for ways to ignite a fire began about 1.5 million years ago, when the caveman discovered that he could start a fire by rubbing two sticks together, and ended with the successful invention of the non-toxic matches we use today.

"""

The question remains...when was the (metal) kettle/pan invented to boil water in?

LaoPo

I still say that the wheel is way up there!

I'll roll with that..............

Gunpowder. The Chinese invented it way back. Without this start Boon Mee wouldn't be where he is today.

I'm in the Oil Bidness there buddy!

TV and the Internet

TV because it killed God and make it more effective to control the masses. Without it, we would all be on the streets protesting instead of watching the latest sitcoms

The Internet because it's killing the TV and making us have a say without going to the streets (The blogs phenomenon)

In order to boil water (without electricity) one should have the need of at least a fire.

It is believed that 'fire' as such was 'invented' by the Caveman some 1 1/2 Million years ago, but, yes, who knows for sure...?

I know it's just symantics but fire wasn't 'invented', always been here long before the caveman. More accurate is they developed or rather discovered the tools/methods to produce fire without having to wait around for a lightning strike.

--------------Below source: A TONGUE IN CHEEK HISTORY OF COOKING--------------

"Cooking seems like such a simple art. It seems to me that if you cook, you must need fire. Fire was discovered by man probably millions of years ago by our archaeological ancestors. Of course they did not cook with it, but probably worshipped it, felt it's warmth, it's pain, and gazed in wonder as it lit up the darkness of night.

What an awesome discovery by the first man who probably saw a tree burning after a lightning strike. How brave he must have been to get closer and investigate this strange phenomenon. The Gods surely must have played a part in this power. Many years of respect for that fire and sitting around it for warmth in the winter cold had passed before some clumsy cave man dropped his raw piece of meat into that fire.

Before he could get it out of the fire and let it cool a bit to gnaw on again it was cooked. What did that taste like? Like most foods, it could have been better tasting after falling in the fire, or his palate found the taste repulsive after being used to the taste of raw meat. If he found the taste to his liking, he probably told his friends about it, and they tried it.

Being hunters and gatherers in those days and not concerned with business as today, he did not secretly hide the fact that he had discovered cooking, and open a business called "burnt_meat.com". Instead he shared his discovery with others by painting of his exploits on his living room wall. His attractors saw his paintings, and over eons of time, perfected his discovery."

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The question is so open ended due to the interaction of inventions. That is, without one a greater one would not have happened. The wheel is a common denominator for many great inventions, so I will go with this.

The true story behind 'fire' and 'the wheel'

"Another poster, elsewhere in Bedlam, produced a list of inventions made by Arabs."

That was me and I'll take credit where credit is due!

Thomas Edison and the invention of the first reliable filament lamp - his telephone and a slew of other inventions by the man have had an enormous impact on mankind.

To post a list of Arab inventions is one thing.

But to seek to take credit for it in anther thread amounts to a "road to Damascus".

When do you come out and announce the conversion, Mo?

Writing, the printing press, and antibiotics.

cv

Gunpowder. The Chinese invented it way back. Without this start Boon Mee wouldn't be where he is today.

How subtle.

No offence Boon

I have to say electricity. I can't do sh*t when the power's out.

Microscopy needs to be near the top.

Without which, antibiotics would never have been developed. Also, we'd have never figured out that boiling water does not kill encapsulated bacteria.

Zipper/Button/Velcro - I'll go simplistic!!!

This prompted a little discussion between Martin and me, about which inventions we best liked.

What we liked or what was most important?

If it's what we liked, then how 'bout the being who invented X and Y, the human form ... the little love bumps and curves, the stick and the honeypot ... and all that. Everything that we like. What a great imagination!

If it's what is the most important then I vote for Isaac Newton, and his creation of Calculus. Here's one of the most brilliant people of all time. He knew that modern mathematics of his age couldn't describe and validate all the things that he believed to be true. So he developed a completely new form of mathematics to make it possible to explain them. All of the great discoveries to follow needed Newton's Calculus as the mathematical foundation.

Finding longitude at sea. I'd love to have a replica of the H1 chronometer. Has anyone ever watched the PBS program "Connections" hosted and written by James Burke? It explains historical events through the progression of inventions. A great way to get kids interested in science.

Once the grid was established the world was doomed.

This prompted a little discussion between Martin and me, about which inventions we best liked.

What we liked or what was most important?

If it's what we liked, then how 'bout the being who invented X and Y, the human form ... the little love bumps and curves, the stick and the honeypot ... and all that. Everything that we like. What a great imagination!

If it's what is the most important then I vote for Isaac Newton, and his creation of Calculus. Here's one of the most brilliant people of all time. He knew that modern mathematics of his age couldn't describe and validate all the things that he believed to be true. So he developed a completely new form of mathematics to make it possible to explain them. All of the great discoveries to follow needed Newton's Calculus as the mathematical foundation.

I think there are most certainly more mathematicians that Newton that should be credited with this invention; a whole host from Archimedes through to Descartes and especially Lagrange who considers Fermat to be the inventor of calculus.

And then there is the work of Leibniz and the post Newtonian work of Jacob Bernoulli and Johann Bernoulli.

Not denying Newton’s importance – but no man is an island.

You are all wrong.....The best invention/discovery is BEER!

To begin with, things like Fire and Boiling Water were "Discoveries", not Inventions.

Man discovering that using sticks of wood (otherwise known as Clubs and Spears) made it easier to kill game (and other men) was probably one of the earliest discoveries.

The wise old ape that invented the improved club/spear by adding a sharp rock on one end, was (arguably) the world's first inventor.

Many people believe the invention of the Wheel as one of the most important inventions ever.

The Wheel gave man mobility. It allowed him to transport his crops to market in volume (instead of a bag at a time). It gave armies of conquest the means to transport soldiers and supplies over vast distances. It gave people the ability to pack up their families and belongings and move to new areas.

The Wheel is such a commonplace feature of our daily lives, that many people overlook it's significance. Without the Wheel, we would still be stuck clustered around our little villages where we were born, never travelling more than day's walk, carrying everything we own on our back (or on our head) !

Next to Fire, I think the most important Discovery was Electricity. We depend on Electricity so much these days, that many of us would not be able to function without it.

From computers and communications, to automobiles and appliances, to medicine and manufacturing, we need Electricity in almost every aspect of our lives.

Without Electricity and Wheels, we would still be sitting clustered around our little villages, but we'd be staring at the blank screens of our monitors, instead of reading drivel like this !

(Hmmmm, maybe life without electricity wouldn't be that bad after all)

Many people believe the invention of the Wheel as one of the most important inventions ever.

The Wheel gave man mobility. It allowed him to transport his crops to market in volume (instead of a bag at a time). It gave armies of conquest the means to transport soldiers and supplies over vast distances. It gave people the ability to pack up their families and belongings and move to new areas.

The Wheel is such a commonplace feature of our daily lives, that many people overlook it's significance. Without the Wheel, we would still be stuck clustered around our little villages where we were born, never travelling more than day's walk, carrying everything we own on our back (or on our head) !

Oddly enough, the Incas, despite their advanced knowlage of astronomy, and mathamatics, never used something so basic as the wheel.

cv

It is believed that 'fire' as such was 'invented' by the Caveman some 1 1/2 Million years ago,

Was that when a great ball of it came out the sky and wiped his family out? No; fire was the first here. Before Earth; before water, before anything.

It is believed that 'fire' as such was 'invented' by the Caveman some 1 1/2 Million years ago,

Was that when a great ball of it came out the sky and wiped his family out? No; fire was the first here. Before Earth; before water, before anything.

The full sentence was:

"It is believed that 'fire' as such was 'invented' by the Caveman some 1 1/2 Million years ago, but, yes, who knows for sure...?"

Well, I'm certainly not the one who knows for sure...

But please explain how fire was the first here, before Earth , before water, before anything?

LaoPo

Oddly enough, the Incas, despite their advanced knowlage of astronomy, and mathamatics, never used something so basic as the wheel.

cv

At least the Inca's probably knew how to spell "knowledge"

(just yanking your chain )

"The Inca Empire was actually quite short-lived, lasting only about 100 years, from ca. 1438 AD, when the Inca ruler Pachacuti and his army began conquering the neighbors of the Inca heartland of Cuzco,until the coming of the Spaniards in 1532 AD"

If the Inca's had known of the Wheel, their empire might have lasted longer than 100 years (knowledge of firearms would have helped too). Same for the Aztecs (1427-1521 AD).

The Mayans would have been a better reference I think (after a lot of googling )

"Archaeologists have long known that the Maya, who flourished between about A.D. 250 and 900, perfected the most complex writing system in the hemisphere, mastered mathematics and astrological calendars of astonishing accuracy, and built massive pyramids all over Central America"

(of course, they had help from the aliens )

I meant the Mayans. Got my ancient races mixed up again.

Oddly enough, the Incas, despite their advanced knowlage of astronomy, and mathamatics, never used something so basic as the wheel.

cv

At least the Inca's probably knew how to spell "knowledge"

(just yanking your chain )

"The Inca Empire was actually quite short-lived, lasting only about 100 years, from ca. 1438 AD, when the Inca ruler Pachacuti and his army began conquering the neighbors of the Inca heartland of Cuzco,until the coming of the Spaniards in 1532 AD"

If the Inca's had known of the Wheel, their empire might have lasted longer than 100 years (knowledge of firearms would have helped too). Same for the Aztecs (1427-1521 AD).

The Mayans would have been a better reference I think (after a lot of googling )

"Archaeologists have long known that the Maya, who flourished between about A.D. 250 and 900, perfected the most complex writing system in the hemisphere, mastered mathematics and astrological calendars of astonishing accuracy, and built massive pyramids all over Central America"

(of course, they had help from the aliens )

Something that seems so incredibly simple but had the greatest ramifications on history is the invention of the zero by the Indians (Hindus). It was originally believed the concept of zero to be used as an empty placeholder was by the Babylonian mathematicians but later the symbol "0" was produced by the Greeks. It was later when the Indians began to use it as a number rather then just a place holder.

Source: A History of Zero

"The invention of zero became the turning point in the development of culture and civilization - without which the progress of modern science, industry and commerce was inconceivable."

Has anyone ever watched the PBS program "Connections" hosted and written by James Burke? It explains historical events through the progression of inventions. A great way to get kids interested in science.

My physics teacher in high school made "Connections" part of his curriculum. All of us watched every episode.

You are correct in that it was a great series- very informative and educational, while being entertaining at the same time.

I'd love to have the series on VCD/DVD!

I'd love to have the series on VCD/DVD!

A bit expensive but here you go: Connections

Something that seems so incredibly simple but had the greatest ramifications on history is the invention of the zero by the Indians (Hindus). It was originally believed the concept of zero to be used as an empty placeholder was by the Babylonian mathematicians but later the symbol "0" was produced by the Greeks. It was later when the Indians began to use it as a number rather then just a place holder.

Source: A History of Zero

"The invention of zero became the turning point in the development of culture and civilization - without which the progress of modern science, industry and commerce was inconceivable."

Sometimes it seems these mathematicians have inhaled too much chalk dust for their own good.