The Haber–Bosch process or the computer have made the greatest impact on human life I would say.
The second wheel.
Ernie has it (I think) - the Manhattan project is the greatest scientific achievement in history. Nothing really comes close if you're talking about bending the collective will and intellect of mankind to solving one particular problem.
So that's a bit depressing - 200,000 dead right off the bat, without getting into the subsequent 50 year cold war geopolitics.
Look on the bright side, though - if you ever get a bit down about oil running out, or un-sustainable living - there is no limit to scientific creativity if the right incentives are in place.
Ernie has it (I think)
Completely agree. That thing Ernie posted up there is definitely the culmination of man's scientific quest (or at least it will be when it gets up to 88 mph).
x-factor
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Bacon. Definitely bacon.
I think we're confusing 'greatest achievement' with 'most beneficial to mankind.'
Our greatest achievement, unequivocally, is putting a man on the moon and bringing him back safely.
This.
It was incredible, and still is.
The new spinal cord/snout cells regeneration thing has potential to wow me more though 😉
Thermos flasks.
Hot cup of tea after a whole day languishing in the bottom of a bag.
How is that shit possible?
Cougar - Moderator
I think we're confusing 'greatest achievement' with 'most beneficial to mankind.'Our greatest achievement, unequivocally, is putting a man on the moon and bringing him back safely.
Whilst this had far-reaching benefits, many of which aren't immediately obvious, I wouldn't like to stand it up against things like antibiotics or vaccination in terms of how much better off we are as a result.
Is mankind as a whole better off for having antibiotics and vaccinations or do they contribute to overcrowding of the planet with all the problems that it brings ?
Currently man's greatest scientific achievement is the toasted sandwich maker, this will only be surpassed when somebody invents a device which cleans a toasted sandwich maker.
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I'm with jruk on the bacon.
That and pies.
the ability to entertain an idea without accepting it.
Agent 3
Pythagoras theorem.
Nuttella.
Beaten to it! Toasted sandwich maker for me.
Antibiotics, but only for about another 15 years, then we're heading back into the Middle Ages.
I think the nasal nerve to spine thing has been done before . With some problematic side effects in terms of unexpected growths and mucus secretion . So I would stick with vaccination and plumbing.
The invention of the concept of 0 (zero).
Making the world [i]believe[/i] that man had been to the moon. They've done well to keep that one going.
Salt'n'vinegar. Whoever discovered that sprinkling acid over your chips then digging some white stuff up and chucking some of that on was pure genius.
Euthanasia
There is no greatest
Uh... apparently this guy said something similar and look what happened to him...
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Calpol.
End of thread.
Beer, without doubt.
Because it was in ancient Mesopotamia that some blokes decided to leave their Nomadic mates and stay behind to brew beer. They needed to stop in one place because the brew slopped around too much and got cloudy when they were carrying it, and anyway there was a nice field of barley that they could use as the main ingredient.
From that decision sprang modern life as we know it.
the scientific method itself, if that counts
otherwise; sterilization, higgs boson, relativity
I'd put anaesthetic up there with antibiotics
breast implants
Gravy
'Greatest scientific achievement' is probably man on the moon + back again, however it is a bit disappointing that this was over 40 years ago.
The LHC at Cern probably has the potential to produce some awesome achievements over the next decade though.
Well, it has to be something who's invention/discovery was not inevitable (so the wheel is out) and which has brought genuinely enormous improvement to the human condition (the moon landings only really brought us non-stick pans).
Antibiotics is a goodish one, but they're proving a double edged sword. I nominate vaccination, or nitrogen based fertilisers.
Bunny suits span the divide between mankind and nature.
Antibiotics
Atheism.
It always surprises me that it hasn't caught on more widely.
Maths? The ability to make sense of nearly everything through the use of numbers, reaching just about every facet of human existence, is quite impressive.
electric guitar.
Maths? The ability to make sense of nearly everything through the use of numbers, reaching just about every facet of human existence, is quite impressive.
I guess that raises the philosophical question about whether maths is invented or discovered...
Scientific discovery wise -
Gravity
Maxwell's equations
Relativity
Classical mechanics
Quantum phyiscs
All brilliant individually, but added together we get GPS 😀
AWESOME.....
Vaccines and modern fertilisers are the only two inventions that can each claim to have saved more than a billion lives.
I guess that raises the philosophical question about whether maths is invented or discovered...
I always think of maths and time as abstract concepts used to bring order to seemingly chaotic systems.
Whilst it is true that there are many naturally occurring patterns, maths, and time, provide standards by which all can be measured and compared.
Therefore. I'd say maths is an invention. A numerical expression of natural processses.
Steve77 - Member
Vaccines and modern fertilisers are the only two inventions that can each claim to have saved more than a billion lives.
POSTED 3 MINUTES AGO #
Sewage treatment? Clean water supplies?
The alphabet.
