The story of humanity is really the story about our ability to use tools to advance our society. From the very first time a human picked up a stick an used it as a weapon through the use of computer guided medical robots we as a society have evolved because of our technology. Without tools and technology we would most likely still be roaming scavengers with very large brain cavities. There is no doubt that technology has played a very important role in our history, but what are the greatest advances? This list is one attempt to answer that question.
10. Fire
Humans are not meant to survive in environments of intense cold While inventing clothing allowed us some degree of warmth what really made us capable of surviving in climates of extreme cold was our ability to heat ourselves with fire. Not only has fire played a role in keeping us warm but it is also behind advances such as cooking, hygiene, and internal combustion engines. Our ability to create and control fire has had an unbelievable effect on our existence.
9. Telephones
A lot of people are going to blink that telephones only rank at number nine on this list and that is an understandable reaction. What they may not be considering though is the fact that when it comes to communication the radio was by far a much larger and important advance. The reason the telephone actually shows up on this list at all is because of what it has led to. The fact you are reading this right now on the internet is a direct result of telephones. Satellites, cell phones, GPS locators and more all owe their existence to the invention of the telephone.
8. Internal Combustion Engines
Probably another eye raiser because of its relatively low ranking here, the internal combustion engine is indeed a very important advancement in human history. The internal combustion engine is behind automobiles, planes and military vehicles. This invention has transformed our world in a very short amount of time in the way we transport ourselves and our goods. Without the internal combustion engine we would still be shipping things at a very slow pace and would have nothing close to the global economy we have now.
7. Radios
One of the greatest advantages humankind has had over other animals is our ability to communicate complex ideas to one another with a few words. Because of our ability to communicate with one another so well we can plan with one another and accomplish great things. What radio did was take that ability to communicate and give us a nearly instant way to communicate with each other no matter the distance between us. Radio transformed how we did business, went to war, and even how we entertained ourselves. While today radio plays less an important role than it did, it led to so many of other advances it has to be given due respect.
6. Computers
This is probably going to be the most scoffed at item on this list because it ranks in at only number six. The reason it ranks as low as it does isn’t because computers haven’t had a dramatic impact on our lives it ranks where it does because when you look back at the entirety of human history and the other advances we rely on every single day computers haven’t been here that long nor are they something we can’t live without. There is no arguing that computers allow us to do more with less and achieve great things but in the end everything we can do with a computer, we can do with something else, computers just make it easier.
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.
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