Is war the mother of invention or do you think invention is born out of necessity?

Question

I know that sound contradictory as necessity is born out of war.
Whats your thoughts?

Answer 1

We have war to thank for many great inventions, as well as some sinister ones.

Answer 2

necessity is not born from war.
Necessity is born from the need for food and water.

Maybe in "Necessity's" teen years it got tangled up in a bad crowd and smoked a couple "war joints" or "Government B-loads"

And Necessity is not the mother of invention.

It wasn't until Necessity meet up with Desire that invention ever reared it's ugly head into this world!

Answer 3

Before 1946, the definition of a computer was 'a person that performs mathematical calculations'. The reason that definition changed was the invention of Eniac, the world's first computer. Eniac helped the Allied Forces win WWII.

With that said, War is not the only instrument of change. While it is true that war has been the catalyst for many innovations, many more have come from necessity and pure serendipity. Look up the discoveries of penicillin and x-ray technology and you will see that there are many ways that discoveries and inventions are brought to light.

Answer 4

Necessity is the mother of invention.
In war necessity is imperative and invention gets speeded up.

Answer 5

As you say-necessity is born out of war,so it stands to reason that war created the need for an advance in technology,medicine and weaponry.thus man became creative in that form.
they say that necessity is the mother of invention which is true but somthing that seems to be ignored is the fact that man is a store house of creative energy capable of changing the world .but we tend to not access that energy unless prompted by adversity .whether that adversity is a world wide war or our own personal wars .I sometimes believe the bad things we face to be the greatest gifts life can give us as they force us to realize our potential.
I find it sad that we need a war or a horrible disease to motivate our ability to create. but then to be fair why seek an answer if there is no question?
that leads to another of mans attributes, The ability to overcome adversity, to adjust to the situation.
peace><>

Answer 6

War is the invention of man, but not all inventions are good. ones. Inventions are born of necessity.

Answer 7

That would sound contradictory only when strictly merely argumentative, if however this is to be considered more philosophically, with an open mind, or laterally, allowing possibilities than there are subtle and yet strong connections between war, necessity, innovative human ability and the happenings of this world. What we notice most obvious here is that wars are necessitated by highly charged but chaotic human circumstances that are then naturally filled with bloody events happening out of control, wars hijack human collective will into a purpose of its own; wars are open-ended situations. However, when wars end they always leave behind another kind of chaos, a chaos of drained out people in situations completely and utterly devoid of potential, staring into gaping holes of stringent needs, dire necessitates and horrid wants.

This is true that conflicts among humans can be, as it has been, great catalysts for development and progress, even regeneration and innovation, but this is not all. It is not down to warring human nature to take the entire credit for human civilisation, as there is a spirit innate to human mind in action too, a spirit endowed with a sense of curiosity, wonder, genuine passion for peace, love for harmony and wellbeing. This is the human spirit that would like to explore new realms of knowledge, discover new worlds and break new horizons in the mind. Our needs and necessities are not the sole driving forces in our life there are far subtle instinctive urges, lofty aspirations and ideals stronger and more enduring than matters of mere physical nature. And this is not all we hope that this is true, for in the future human survival will depend upon human ability to live and progress without having to rely upon conflicts as an incentive.

Then just imagine that human mind is so sophisticated that it is adequately resourced to explore the entire universe and understand its mysteries. It is like a universal reservoir of potential of all sorts, then it would be true if we say that all that we create or innovate was in fact already there in the mind in abstract form; what we have in us ideally we bring into existence realistically; all our abilities are capacities within fulfilled.

Innovation too come from a genuine ideal inner state of mind, but unfortunately so do our conflicting situations, the only difference, however, is that we get into trouble when we hit upon a chaotic instance in the mind, as aspect that we have not mastered yet. We fight because we do not know how else to deal with certain situations; we cause hurt to ourselves and to other people due to ignorance, due to lacks and wants in our knowledge about what we haven in the mind. On the other hand, we are always innovative, creative and explorative quite by the nature of our essence.

Answer 8

Invention as the result of our CREATIVITY, not only necessity. Necessity comes only when we have the power to create. Anything cannot be created is not necessary

Answer 9

War is the evil side of the necessity to recreate and invention is the medium of recreation .

Answer 10

Necessity of life or war force us to just innovate... true inventions are mere chance events, for which we are unable to identify any coherent or finite causes that can be accelerated or culminated by design.

Answer 11

War is the ultimate necessity. When your nation is under attack, your life and your family's lives are threatened. (Except for modern US liberals, people hope for victory during wartime.) So, saying war is the mother of invention is another way of saying necessity is the mother of invention.