What do you think is the most important, and has had the most impact on the lives of everyone in the world?
2006-12-07 13:18:13 · 22 answers · asked by I Ain't Your Momma 5 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
It was the printing press.
Before that, books were rare and expensive, and were in the hands of copyists, mostly monks. Information did not get around, and then only among a tiny elite.
With the invention of printing, information started to get around and much more cheaply, and it was that that spurred knowledge and invention and science and technology. People could read about new ideas and discoveries, discuss issues widely - in fact, with the printing press, people could learn to read more easily and widely: you didn't have to be a monk or Mr. Rich Guy's son to get to learn to read.
It is hard to imagine in today's world, but this little item did indeed change the world forever.
2006-12-07 13:31:23 · answer #1 · answered by sonyack 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Hands down...the printing press...it began the evolution of education and ignorance slowly crept out of the scene. Notice the people who continue to be the most ignorant can not read. In fact none of the other inventions would have been possible without the directions printed on the press.
2006-12-07 13:29:49 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Technology! Definitely computers..it has opened up jobs for some and left millions out of work because everything is so automatic. It has affected lives or people...cheating rates gone up because of a computer...people married and happy...due to internet sites. Crazy how technology is takin over the world!
2006-12-07 13:21:45 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
The electric motor & internal combuston engine have allowed mechanization of so many tasks that used to be done manually & fueled the industrial revolution.
Combine that with production lines using interchangable parts, instead of building everything individually & you have modern society.
2006-12-07 13:33:58 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
modern indoor plumbing/sanitation/waste management... it has allowed people a great deal of convenience for sure
there are to many public and private health issues that it has affected; just imagine trying to live in a city like any major metropolis in any country today without it..... impossible
also wouldn't you say that this is one of the major considerations in deciding the level of advancement in civilization or evaluating its progress
oddly enough waste management is the thing that can destroy this planet if we do not do it right
2006-12-07 13:25:34 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Movable type made it possible--even necessary--to be literate. It allowed the massive transfer of information on anything from the most mundane to the most complex, abstract ideas. It changed us.
2006-12-07 13:39:00 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Freedom.
2006-12-07 13:25:51 · answer #7 · answered by peg 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I believe that it would be the perfection of the wheel. It is now used in nearly all parts of life. Starting with carriages, leading to hoes, harvesting, transport, and now leading to cogs and such which have allowed us to have cars, motorbikes, trains, clocks, watches and such.
2006-12-07 13:21:37 · answer #8 · answered by smile_girl 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
That would have to be electricity. It powers technology and it saves lives in one way or another.
2006-12-07 13:26:44 · answer #9 · answered by ulaanbaatar17 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Probably modern day medication. In olden days, you'd just die from something as simple as a flu.
2006-12-07 13:21:43 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋