What invention do you think made the biggest impact on human civilization?

[dunk]

Agriculture, writing...

And my original contribution... flight.

[rah]

Language
Writing
Printing Press
Radio
Television
PCs/internet

It all boils down to shared information/ideas

[Al'Kimiya]

Bridge building, without it we couldn't build roads on river squares.

[Sava]

Writing is the #1 most important thing...

[Flandrien]

Language is definitely it.

By the way, take a look at the work of dr. Penny Patterson.
She is teaching gorilla's to talk (sign language).
If we're not careful, we will be living on the planet of the apes soon.

[Dis]

condom

[GeneralTacticus]

why not?
I've seen much tv shows without any language.
And I doubt that most of the language used on tv is that intelectual

Because we wouldn't have been able to invent it, that's why.

Writing is the #1 most important thing...

Doesn't language come first? After all writing was just a convenient way of keeping it around...

[Switch]

Individually wrapped cheese slices.

That and the theory of evolution......it was one of the leading factors in the popularity of atheism (at the least, confused Christianity )

[Capt Dizle]

Originally posted by Ethelred


The wheel is very important but in the New World none of the civilizations had the wheel. Not even a potters wheel.

Duh.

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by Sagacious Dolphin


Are you refering to radio?

Marconi (who mainly worked in England), and some German guy (Braun?) won the Nobel prize jointly. And we all know which semi-american the US Supreme court accredited as the inventor of the radio.

And I could also have granted Germany half-credit on calculus...

[Ethelred]

Originally posted by jimmytrick


Duh.

Gee Jimmy that comment had such meaning and said it so efficiently I have to propose that the, not really a word "duh", is the most important invention for civilization. After all, it made it possible for even those that have nothing whatsoever to say to pretend that they have said something that profoundly affected the discussion.

[Capt Dizle]

A well thought out and skillfully aplied "duh" is an advanced transitive bound object of the precedent.

In other words.... How did those New World Civs hold up versus the wheel wandering Old World Civs?

Thus the mostest invention the wheel, without with your generation have to, ride in the evil white man's car to the border crossing so you can go to your anger management classes.

[Ethelred]

Originally posted by jimmytrick


In other words.... How did those New World Civs hold up versus the wheel wandering Old World Civs?

Quite in well in regards to wheel use. Smallpox is not dependent on wheels and that was what devastated the Amerinds not Euros running around on chariots or in carts.

Thus the mostest invention the wheel, without with your generation have to, ride in the evil white man's car to the border crossing so you can go to your anger management classes.

Is this the voice of experience speaking?

Jimmy, the point that you clearly failed to comprehend is that civilizations can exist without the wheel. Japan didn't use the wheel much either untill after it was forced open. They knew about it and I suppose they had the potters wheel but the only wheeled vehicle was the Emperor's. Rocky poorly roaded land with few if any bridges is not conducive to wheeled transport which was the primary use of the wheel untill then development of machines like the water wheel.

Now there is a very important invention, the water wheel is the first use of a non-living energy source for getting work done.

[Kontiki]

Organized religion has to be up there. Granted, other things (language, writing, etc.) had to be in place first, but not many things have shaped civilization in every corner of the globe so much.

[Ned]

Has anyone mentioned money?