There’s an interesting article by James Fallows of The Atlantic on the fifty greatest “breakthroughs” of all time that you might want to take a look at. Many of those in the list are obvious: the lever, the printing press, penicillin. Some are slightly less so: paper, the Pill.
Most I’d agree with but some I’d argue with. For example, I think the personal computer is too obvious a development. I’m not convinced that gunpowder is so major a “breakthrough”. And I don’t think the people who compiled the list understand why the Internet is a breakthrough. It’s not the Internet (which is just a set of protocols). It’s that the protocols of which the Internet consists are not proprietary. I wouldn’t have included it in the list.
There are some breakthroughs I think they missed. So, for example, modern commerce would be impossible without double-entry bookkeeping. It dates from the 14th century. If you include the compass and the sextant among great breakthroughs, I don’t know how you can omit the marine chronometer. The compass tells you what direction you’re moving in and the sextant can tell you where you are relative to the equator but the marine chronometer made precision navigation possible. It’s the basis of longitude.
I also think that, if you include the telegraph, the telephone, photography, radio, and television in the list, the phonograph is a notable omission. It was the first method of recording from life. Photography just records a single, static image—that’s not what I mean by “from life”. Prior to photography there were ways of telling what people, animals, buildings, etc. looked like in the past. Prior to the phonograph there was no way to know what people sounded like. That’s a real breakthrough.
Any other suggestions for the list?
Update
I’ve thought of a few more. The Jacquard loom was at least as influential as the steam engine or the digital computer. Mass production with interchangeable parts was introduced by Josiah Wedgwood in the 18th century as was the assembly line (which is on their list). Distillation is at least 2,000 years old and is used in all sorts of industrial processes (not to mention in making brandy).
Several years ago, a group of engineering societies listed refrigeration as one of the top inventions of all time.
Here’s a link:
http://www.greatachievements.org/
That’s in their list. So is air conditioning.
Sweet Jesus, no mention of Newton! WTF kind of list of innovations misses the calculus and Newtonian physics? They’re not physical inventions but methodologies for precise thought, which is even more important.
I agree. The calculus certainly qualifies, is novel, and completely central.
Something interesting to note. Generally, their “breakthroughs” are elaborations on existing technology. Most of mine are novel innovations in processes. Your suggestion of the calculus is a novel way of thinking.
Others that could go on the list: Darwin’s theory of Natural Selection, Mendel’s laws of inheritance and the synthesis of the two. Did they list the transistor? If not they should have. And good luck making that without QM.
I had some other thing in mind and it slipped my mind typing on this phone. Grr.
Galton’s work on statistics was the other thing. Galton might be the second most useful human who ever lived, after Newton.
Shouldn’t we mention geometry, trigonometry and algebra, too? Especially algebra.
I don’t remember their list, but algebra, trig & geometry don’t have particular points where you can say, “Ah, here it is!” The dame could be said of QM. Calculus, Newtonian physics and Galton’s work with statistics have a definite genesis. Lots of people and peoples worked out various bits of A, G & T independently.
I don’t remember their list, but algebra, trig & geometry don’t have particular points where you can say, “Ah, here it is!â€
Is that important? I mean, the fact that no particular person can be credited with the “innovation” does not make it any the less an innovation, does it? Who mastered fire, invented the wheel, or said to his buddy, “You know, I’m damned tired of all this roaming around. Why don’t we stick some of these little whatchamacallits in the ground and hang around and see what happens?”? In any event,
History of algebra
Sam, It might be important for the way they put their list together. If not, then I agree with your prior comment.
And besides, there’s that dustup between Liebniz and Newton as to who really created the calculus. See, Leibniz–Newton calculus controversy.
Yeah, …, I think you’re right — we’d have to consider how they put the list together.
Independent discovery, but Newton was first, and invented a bunch of new physics to boot. Leibniz had better notation though. Regardless, the thing itself was invented by someone at a particular point in time.
Blues music.
I notice toilet paper is not on the list. Probably invented by the Chinese. And that omission reminded me of these two passages.
The Book of Chuang Tzu.
Plato, Parmenides, 130 b-d
Bessemer process.
Steve
That’s in their list.
Anesthetics
Costumes
Formalized memorization
Zero and horse collar
Another thing about the Jaquard loom is that it is credited with being the precursor to computers.