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

ledmitter_nli

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jun 4, 2012
Messages
1,433
I'm keen to put my answer out there, but not yet. I could be wrong.

But what do you think?
 

Steve K

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jun 10, 2002
Messages
2,786
Location
Peoria, IL
The engineer in me has to ask "how are we defining "great"?"....

In terms of influence on mankind's development, I might offer "the cutting edge", whether it's a knife, knapped flint, axe, etc.

In terms of high tech, I'll offer the transistor, since it has allowed compact, low cost communications to nearly the whole world, in addition to being an enabling technolgy that touches so much of our lives.
 

markr6

Flashaholic
Joined
Jul 16, 2012
Messages
9,258
The Coffee machine.

:huh: Coffee coffee coffee...

LOL YES!!!

This can go so many ways and I already see people questing how you define "machine". But I'm going to throw out the space shuttle or maybe all those involved in landing on the moon in some of the Apollo missions. Not the most "improtant" machine, but when you consider how complex they were with no margin of error allowed it's pretty amazing.
 

orbital

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Feb 8, 2007
Messages
4,270
Location
WI
+

The AC Power Grid







..to then power my coffee maker
 

sidecross

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 29, 2012
Messages
1,369
The engineer in me has to ask "how are we defining "great"?"....

In terms of influence on mankind's development, I might offer "the cutting edge", whether it's a knife, knapped flint, axe, etc.

In terms of high tech, I'll offer the transistor, since it has allowed compact, low cost communications to nearly the whole world, in addition to being an enabling technolgy that touches so much of our lives.

This is an excellent answer and I would concur. :thumbsup:
 

stanmog

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Dec 6, 2012
Messages
27
The thermos. It keeps hot things hot and cold things cold. How do it know?
 

EZO

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 15, 2010
Messages
1,431
Location
Vermont, USA
The engineer in me has to ask "how are we defining "great"?".... In terms of influence on mankind's development, I might offer "the cutting edge", whether it's a knife, knapped flint, axe, etc. In terms of high tech, I'll offer the transistor, since it has allowed compact, low cost communications to nearly the whole world, in addition to being an enabling technolgy that touches so much of our lives.
I believe we were thinking along the same lines by suggesting the key inventions that lifted mankind above the other species. I would suggest though, that a "cutting edge" is a tool, not a machine, whereas the wheel was the first machine invented by man that could do actual work. Interestingly, cutting tools would have been required to build the first true wheel. (Some consider the lever to be the first machine, but others consider the lever to be a tool.) I'm not sure about the transistor. I mean, yes, of course; it seems obvious from our perspective here in the 21st century. But every era had its "key" high tech invention that advanced mankind. One could argue that the steam engine was the "greatest" because it provided power and helped launched the industrial revolution....and before that, the water wheel. There are many other examples. Each great leap in technology required the previous great leap. In my view, it started with the wheel as the first machine which was preceded by the invention of tools.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Mar 12, 2010
Messages
10,276
Location
Pacific N.W.
Gentlemen, surely we can all agree, the greatest invention has to be ~ The Toilet

When one pauses to consider the job it does, and the incredible amount of pipe, valves, pumps, etc. ect. that are required to ''finish the job" well, one just has to marvel.

Don't just think about your personal plumbing, think about the size of the machine servicing New York.

The second is our Keurig.

~ Chance
 
Last edited:

Johnbaz

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Nov 9, 2012
Messages
40
The Flux Capacitor - we just need 21.1 Gigawatt batteries now!!


John :)
 

jtr1962

Flashaholic
Joined
Nov 22, 2003
Messages
7,505
Location
Flushing, NY
I'm using five criteria here:

1) Has to be inexpensive enough for the masses to own.
2) Must not require extensive training to use.
3) Must enable a person to either perform a function they can't without it, or must extend an inherent human capability.
4) The function performed in #3 must significantly empower the person in some way.
5) Must not have any serious downsides from ubiquitous use.

Here's my rationale for these criteria:

1) An invention which only a fraction of the world's population can afford isn't going to make the average person's life significantly better, even if such an invention might be a marvel of technology.
2) Inventions which require extensive training to use do not benefit the majority of the population. Case in point-computers before GUI operating systems. Yes, they could perform useful functions, but only a handful of people had the knowledge to use them to perform these functions.
3) History has shown that inventions which perform a novel function or extend human capabilities are the real game changers.
4) An invention should improve a person's life by allowing them to do useful things they can't otherwise do. For example, an invention which lets a person count ants quicker might be ingenious, but in the scheme of things nobody's life will be better if they can count more ants.
5) If an invention catches on to the point a lot of people use it, the benefits should greatly outweigh the negatives. Ideally, there shouldn't be negatives. Case in point-automobile use. In my opinion, mainstreaming automobile use has resulted in more downsides than benefits, especially for those who can't afford automobiles but must still nonetheless be subject to their downsides (pollution, congestion, accidental deaths, etc.). Naturally, we can't always foresee the negative effects of inventions down the road, but I can't call an invention great if it harms a significant number of people.

And my nomination is the lowly bicycle. I can't think of any other invention which is more useful as far as empowering the masses. Bicycles let you travel 3 to 5 times as far and as fast as you could on foot. We may even extend that to ten times or more with aerodynamic velomobiles. Moreover, bicycles are affordable by nearly everyone, easy to use, have health benefits on the side, and really don't have any serious downsides if used by everyone. You can also move much more cargo by bike than you could carry, and at greater speed.

In second place I would nominate railways. To this day we haven't found a way to move cargo or people faster and with less energy than by rail. Railways are actually what enabled the industrial revolution.
 

jtr1962

Flashaholic
Joined
Nov 22, 2003
Messages
7,505
Location
Flushing, NY
In terms of high tech, I'll offer the transistor, since it has allowed compact, low cost communications to nearly the whole world, in addition to being an enabling technolgy that touches so much of our lives.
This certainly meets my five criteria. In fact, what else is so cheap that an average person can own millions, even billions, of other than transistors? I could argue the transistor was the greatest invention of the second half of the 20th century, while the modern bicycle was the greatest invention of the first half (yes, bicycles existed before then, but the modern "safety" bicycle is really what made the bicycle accessible to the masses, and it didn't become inexpensive enough for that to happen until the turn of the 20th century).
 

StarHalo

Flashaholic
Joined
Dec 4, 2007
Messages
10,927
Location
California Republic
It'll come down to the printing press vs the steam engine vs the transistor. The first allowed man to share information beyond his physical limitations, the second allowed man to manipulate objects beyond his physical limitations, and the third pushed the physical limits of information itself. I don't agree with Jtr's cheap-enough-to-own hypothesis, as the first two devices on this list changed human culture without hardly anyone being able to obtain them.
 

880arm

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 29, 2011
Messages
1,752
Location
Wildlands of Western Kentucky
All good choices and rationale shared so far.

I'm somewhat surprised no one has mentioned the computer. Broadly speaking they are everywhere today - on our desks, in our pockets (phones), in our cars, running our infrastructure, etc. I suppose it could be argued that they are as prevalent as many of the things already mentioned.

However, I have never really come to terms with the amount of "work" they perform. While I agree they can enhance productivity it seems that the more reliant we become on computers, the more time we spend "feeding" them inputs. Case in point, I'm on here while I should be working . . . maybe they are the greatest distraction mankind has ever built!
 
Top