Following on from yesterday's post about humanity's major breakthroughs, here's the original list that was posted on Listverse. It's worth checking out for the rationale behind each item (and as an interesting way to kill a couple of hours trawling around the other lists on the site!)
10. Logical Thought
9. Stone Tools
8. Fire
7. Domestication
6. The Wheel
5. Mathematics
4. Metal working
3. Paper
2. The Printing Press
1. Vaccinations
Oddly enough I was surprised by the inclusion of the printing press. I'm not sure I agree with the linkage made between the printing press and mass education. I would tie mass education more closely to the industrial revolution. It's interesting too to see vaccinations come up as number one. I remember a health expert in Australia saying that there were only two real events that had increased life expectancy - one was the distribution of potable water and vaccinations.
There are a number of other suggestions included in the comment section on yesterday's blog. In addition to several of the ones in the original list, our household put forward the following:
- organised religion
- the internet
- electricity
- industrial revolution
- stirrup
- language/writing
- gunpowder
It's interesting to see how few of these are 'recent' inventions. Does this suggest that we're innovating at the same rate or just tweaking?
photo credit: vichie81
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