what thing is the bigest invention in twontyth centuy ? why ?

Answer 1

Computers, no other invention has the possibility to replace man.

It is so hard to pick one from the car, to electricity, but the computer will have the most effect on our future.

The auto and the airplane gave us freedom, but they were just advancements in transportation. Electricity is so present in our society that almost every device we have uses it. From eclectic can openers to eclectic shavers, or eclectic beds. The amount of things that can be done with electricity are huge. While electricity was known back in the times of Ben Franklin it was only a party prank or curiosity until Edison harnessed it to the light. The invention of the radio and the television were soon to follow.

All of these inventions are hallmark inventions that ushered in a new age of science. But the computer has become the most important invention. From your digital watch, to your microwave, your car everyone in the civilized world is affected by computers. Electricity gives us the freedom of light, communication and the power of motors, but computer control our very lives.

In a hospital the patient is wired in to computers to monitor him, computers to schedule his life from surgery to when he gets medication. Yes, the computer would be impossible without the electricity, but the evolution of the computer and how much it controls our lives is huge. You wake up to a digital alarm, clock the traffic lights on the way to work are controlled by computers, your office has its climate controlled by computers and a large segment of the population works on computers. From the waitress at a restaurant to the civil engineer designing a new dam all of their work is done on the computer.

The feature that gives the computer the edge is its ability to control. Every invention that I have named has been controlled by computers; from timers on lights to dozen or so computers in the average car. The motor and the light can do things upon command. The air plane and the car are forms of transportation that must be driven by a person. But, in the 21st century we have seen that computers can drive as well as a drive or fly better than a pilot. They exercise control over our lives and replace us. Yes a motor can replace the manpower of 20 men, but a man is still required to turn it on and off. A computer has that power all to itself.

The future trend is for the total integration of society via the Internet and the wireless devices all controlled by computers. Your refrigerator will not only use radio tags to track its contents, but it can determine when your food has expired, and order new food if you are low; all without your intervention. The Predator, the unmanned aerial reconnaissance vehicle is the weapon of the future. It can be equipped with missiles and when that happens it can attack targets by remote control. However, the new Global Hawk doesn’t need guidance; it can plot its own course and do what it needs to complete the mission. Congress has mandated that 1/4 of the US fighting forces will use unmanned computer controlled equipment; form trucks that deliver supplies, to small robots that seek out the enemy; to a ground or air vehicle that can kill the enemy.

Every other invention increases production or multiplies man power or makes new forms of travel possible, but they are all manned activities. Only the computer can completely replace the man. Science Fiction authors have written horror stories where humanity might have engineered its replacement. From Terminator to A.I. and the Bicentennial Man we see movies showing robots and androids.

We are years away from true artificial intelligence, if it is even possible. But, if man can imagine it then eventually man can do it. So at some point the computer will envision it and the computer can do it. Wither they do it under our control, as our partners, or as our replacements the computer will become a partner to man capable of not just replacing men, but doing ALL the work that can be done by a man. No invention, including the nuclear bomb, has the potential to destroy and replace mankind. In some cases, like combat or far off in space, the computer is preferable. Look at all the science that has been done on Mars by the rovers and other missions. As our technology improves the need for a manned mission to Mars will not be needed.

Already computer simulations handle problems that are impossible to be handled by men, they are able to perform many tasks that were once done by a man, but they can do these jobs without needing a person to command them.

The Roomba is a computer controlled vacuum cleaner that automatically does the job, finding the boundaries of its job and returning to its charging stand automatically. Yes, a person has to set the program up, but once that is done it never needs to be changed. If the furniture is changed, the Roomba will adapt. If more dirt or new substances are dropped on the floor then the Roomba will cope with them sucking up what they can.

Inventions like the motor were designed to replace manpower, but they still required a human at the controls. Only the computer can control itself. Currently a modern passenger jet can land itself, and in a fog condition it can do it better than a human.

The most likely evolution of the computer will continue the integration of wireless and the Internet to include man. Already scientists are decoding the signals of the brain so that a prosthetic arm can take a brain signal to move. Not a jerk of a muscle or the learned response to operate it, but the actual signal the brain uses to move the arm. When that is done then the computer will enter the brain. Virtual Reality (VR) makes it look like you are there, but VR through a mental interface is as good as being there and it will be impossible to tell if you are there or not in reality without exiting the interface.

Current robots are crude and clumsy, walking upright is very difficult, but they are getting smarter in the computers that control them. Eventually they will match what man can do and then they will be able to surpass him, even replace him. It is up to humanity to insure the computer remains a tool. So far our faithful servants have no imagination or motives so they remain tools, but unlike all our other tools these tools can take over and make control themselves.

Answer 2

T.V. wins over the automobile with the internal combustion engine.

T.V. spawned many other similar inventions, but remains the crowning jewel for mass media and education and entertainment.

The Internal Combustion Engine has seen it's glory days, and now must find suitable replacement over time.

Answer 3

Skyscrapper or aircraft carrier because I can't think of anything b i g g e r then these two things, however.some of those atom smahers are pretty big but not sure they were made in the twontyth century

Answer 4

The Internet!

Answer 5

THINK ABOUT IT:
i could live without all the aforementioned inventions: internet, computer, spellcheck, etc. nuclear bomb? amazing yes, but that improves your life?
i did fine without them for the first few decades of my life.

could you live without indoor plumbing that provides you with laundry, hot water, etc.?

not me.

indoor plumbing is the invention i could not do without.

Answer 6

Apparently it's sliced bread. Whenever anything is invented it's the greatest things since sliced bread, but the next thing isn't the greatest thing since previously greater than sliced bread, it's the greatest thing since sliced bread.

SLICED BREAD!! (had to get one more in there)

Answer 7

Spell checker.

Answer 8

you mean the twentieth century? Cars

God Bless

Answer 9

agriculture/Tractors because without the 20th century's farmers we would all be beggn for food

Answer 10

The laptop, because every damn thing is run off of them now.