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85 Big Ideas that Changed the World

Posted by michael on from the mass-spectrometer dept.

ccnull writes "Forbes just put out its well thought-out list of 85 breakthroughs since 1917 (sneakers) that have revolutionized the way we live. This is interesting on a number of levels -- crazy trivia (the microprocessor and the answering machine invented in the same year!?), a reminder of the past (the modem: 1962), and a frightening realization that not much of interest has come out of the last 10 years (a whopping 4 of the 85 ideas). Easily digestible and worth discussing."

4 of 439 comments (clear)

  1. The problem with recent ideas... by sterno · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The thing is that we don't have the perspective of history to indicate to us what will have long term relevance. I mean they listed Viagra on there. VIAGRA? I'm sorry, but the ability for an old man to get an erection is not one of the greatest innovations of the last 85 years.

    One thing I didn't see on the list was nanotechnology, which is going to hugely impact the future. We're only seeing it in limited ways so far, but 10 or 20 years from now it's going to revolutionize a lot of things. Also, one thing I noticed was that, while a number of inventions like fiber optics were created some time ago, it's only recently that the implementations have borne practical fruit.

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  2. What of free software? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    In 20 years we may look back and decide that the free software movement represented a landmark shift in the way people view software, licensing and IP issues.

  3. Tetraethyl lead by smagoun · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Believe it or not, tetraethyl lead did change the way you live - it's just that the change probably happened before you were born, so you don't notice it. Tetraethyl lead was used as a additive to gasoline; it prevented internal combustion engines from "knocking." Knock is otherwise known as detonation or "abnormal combustion." It is one of the main limiting factors when trying to tune gasoline engines for maximum performance, efficiency, etc. Knock also severly degrades reliability and longevity of these engines.

    The discovery that tetraethyl lead could prevent knock was huge leap forward; it was a huge boost to the automotive industry, since it allowed manufacturers to build safer/more reliable/more powerful/etc engines.

    These days all we hear about are the health risks of tetraethyl lead (it's toxic as hell), but back in the early 1900's it was seen as a tremendous leap forward. Without it, cars, airplanes, etc would be very different today.

  4. 85 ideas and some gross mistakes by Cinabrium · · Score: 5, Interesting
    In a first read, I have found:

    • A gross historical mistake, seen on the Forbes' slideshow:

      1954 -- Telstar The first commercial communications satellite is launched
      ... Three full years before the launch of the first Sputnik (as everybody knows, the first satellite).
    • A confusing approach: sometimes the "idea" is seen as the first theorethical approach to the problem (as cellphones) and sometimes as the first practical technology (videotape decks).
    • An many ommisions: if satellites are in fact a bright idea... shouldn't Forbes quote Arthur Clarke's invention of the geosynchronous satellite?? (Wireless World, August 1945)

    Oh, well! If History is taught in the U.S. as Forbes' "historians" show it, no wonder why Americans are so unaware of the world's reality.