What is the single most greatest machine mankind has ever built?

[NonSenCe]

yes.. maybe theres the answer.. steam! greatest machine ever, steam power turbine.. mankind has not really invented anything better in past 100 years or two than steam turbine. power to the masses.. simple: all those fancy and complicated nuclear plants still need the good ol turbine to get the power into electricity. the nukeplant is just a big water boiler, its the turbine that makes them roll.

 

[Sparky's Magic]

The Coffee machine.

:huh: Coffee coffee coffee...

+1 The Coffee Machine, more specifically Vev's Expresso 4 cup Stove Top model. A possible dead heat for 1st. place would surely be The Whisky Still (in the right hands, of course) - Now, that's keeping things in perspective!

Slainte.

 

[Monocrom]

I'd say the Knife, with the Paper match a very close 2nd.

But machine implies moving parts, so . . . The repeating rifle.

 

[sidecross]

Fire is not a machine.

Without fire pottery for cooking and making things of bronze and iron would not be possible. :thumbsup:

 

[ledmitter_nli]

Without fire pottery for cooking and making things of bronze and iron would not be possible. :thumbsup:

Yeah but fire is a - discovery. Machines have moving components, they are mechanical. So fire, as a discovery has enabled our ability to build machines. It's a given.

 

[ledmitter_nli]

I would also say, irrevocably, mathematics is mankind's single, greatest invention.

 

[880arm]

I would also say, irrevocably, mathematics is mankind's single, greatest invention.

So does that mean the abacus is the greatest machine? :nana:

 

[ledmitter_nli]

So does that mean the abacus is the greatest machine? :nana:

No because a machine like the Saturn V rocket is the sum of many machines, parts, theories, and inventions.

 

[sidecross]

Yeah but fire is a - discovery. Machines have moving components, they are mechanical. So fire, as a discovery has enabled our ability to build machines. It's a given.

The next time you are in the wilderness far from any civilization let me know when you discover a fire.

 

[AZPops]

Toilets noth'in without the plumbing, and where it's going too, were it's plumb to, or ..... awh heck you know what I mean!

 

[orbital]

I would also say, irrevocably, mathematics is mankind's single, greatest invention.

+

Math & physic are properties, not inventions. What's made with those two,, are

I'm still going with the Electrical Grid.
Just one big machine

 

[ledmitter_nli]

The next time you are in the wilderness far from any civilization let me know when you discover a fire.

 

[ledmitter_nli]

+

Math & physic are properties, not inventions. What's made with those two,, are

I'm still going with the Electrical Grid.
It is a system; like a steam engine/turbine is a system, or telecommunications is a system..

This might explain why math is an invention better than I possibly could:

http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/420161

Excerpt:

Mathematics is an invention according to the Formalists and Intuitionists, who believed that mathematics is an invention of the mind because (1) there is no place in this world for mathematical concepts such as negative and complex numbers, thus they must be a construction of the human mind; and (2) they want to fully explain the absolute certainty of mathematics, and since mathematics is an invention of the human mind, then its certainty is inevitable. Mathematics does not inform us anything about the world that we live it; they were constructed for purely practical purposes. However it must be noted that the reasons for their stand on mathematics as an invention can be disregarded because an inseparable part of modern science requires the applications of mathematics and if mathematics was purely constructed for practical purposes, why then does science not construct its own rules instead of using mathematics? Also, it is insufficient reason to discount of infinity just because it cannot be experienced empirically (Intuitionists) or have its logical inferences "surveyed" based on objects in its parts (Formalists). If that is the case, then much of modern science will there be left?

 

[orbital]

____^

that quote is utter nonsense..


There's not a day that goes by that I'm not thankful for not being easily told what to think.

 

[jabe1]

Compound Bow.

Changed our ability to hunt and warfare.

Second would be the wheel, although I see it more as a machine part.

 

[Stress_Test]

If by "great" you don't necessarily mean "great"="good/beneficial", but instead merely a degree (for example, "the greatest tyrant in history was etc. etc."


Then my vote is for nuclear weapons.

First used in war in 1945, and to this day nearly 70 years later, they still heavily influence the geopolitical system (Iran and N. Korea!)

Nukes weigh heavily on our collective consciousness and culture; think about the entire genre of "apocalypse" themed movies, books, and songs, that still persist today (sometimes in spinoff form, such as the zombie craze).

I'd say few machines have altered the course of humanity as much as nuclear weapons, and that's without even having ever used them on a wide scale!

 

[ledmitter_nli]

____^

that quote is utter nonsense..


There's not a day that goes by that I'm not thankful for not being easily told what to think.

The link where the excerpt comes from provides context. It makes sense. It's a philosophical debate, really.

 

[Poppy]

The compass.

 

[ledmitter_nli]

All kidding aside

Here's my nomination. Turn up the sound. 480p is better.



2:41 - 8:12 is especially poignant.

Keep in mind the cone trail is over a mile long at about 6:22.

Was that a maximum sonic pressure wave at 3:21 and then a "throttle up" at 3:25

 

[Chauncey Gardiner]

Toilets noth'in without the plumbing, and where it's going too, were it's plumb to, or ..... awh heck you know what I mean!

Reading my post in its entirety, one should have come-away with an understanding that that was what I meant.

Why you messing with me Pops? :nana:

~ Chance