5. Flight
Flight is a very touch advance to place on a list like this. On one hand flight doesn’t impact us on the level that some of the other advances already ranked do. However, on the other hand flight is a truly miraculous advance in our history. Our ability to conquer gravity, to fly up in the clouds and to enter space has enabled us to explore places that were complete mysteries to us. Flight is the direct reason behind some of our other advances in virtually every field of science and will continue to provide us the means to explore more of our planet and the universe our planet is in.
4. Medicines
Since the beginning of life on this planet there have been organisms that prey on other organisms. Over time large predators such as lions developed but even the strongest animal in the world was helpless against the microscopic creature known as bacteria and viruses. Bacteria and viruses are behind some of the most devastating illnesses in our history such as the bubonic plaque and small pox. Because of our advances in medicine we are now able to combat not only illnesses such as those but also are finding ways to defeat cancer, heart disease, and even ageing. Many people will argue that medicines should be ranked higher but while they have done so much to extend our lives, other advances are still more important.
3. Sanitation
Sanitation is a technological advance that most people never think about but without our advances in sanitation we couldn’t live our lives the way we do. Without sanitation city streets would be chocked with refuse, our bodies and homes would be dirty, and diseases would run rampant. Sanitation Is one of the key factors behind our ability to live together in densely populated urban areas without most of us eventually contracting some life threatening disease or another. Because of our advances in sanitation we as a species are able to do more with our lives and do it in larger groups thus accomplishing more. Next time you see the garbage man take a moment to think about how important the job he performs really is.
2. Electricity
No one will disagree that electricity is an important advance but some may say that it shouldn’t be so highly ranked. To put it bluntly they are absolutely wrong about that. We rely on electricity to such a degree that when we are without it for even a single day our lives start to fall apart. Food storage, transportation, employment and more all rely on electricity in some way and when we don’t have it we start to struggle with everyday tasks like heating our homes. It isn’t electricity itself that makes it such an advancement it’s how we have learned to create and harness it all all the uses we have found for electricity. If the power went out tomorrow all over the world it would only be a few short hours before everything started to fall apart at the seams and within a few days it is unlikely there would be anything more than chaos.
1. Written Language
You might have a weird look on your face as you read this entry and be thinking that it is a strange choice for the single most greatest advance in human history and that’s understandable. After all, the other things on this list seem to be more important, and really people got along fine before the advent of the written word. Heck when you think about it, literacy wasn’t common among people until very recently when you consider the entirety of human history. Yet stop for a moment and think about the fact that right now you are reading these words. Think about all the information that is stored in the written word. Now think about our world without that information available. Would anything other than a couple of the items of this list ever been invented? Unlikely because the people who invented all those things learned enough to do it from being able to read what other people had learned before. Writing has transformed this world more than any other single advance, it really has.