DC Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 Well, my mom is grandparent age to me. She'll be 95 this fall. She's told me stories about carrying water every morning from a spring way down in this sink hole so they had to climb out of it and walk a mile to deliver the water each morning. Sort of makes you thankful for indoor plumbing. Then there's electricity. Nearly everything material save the acoustic guitar in my life that's dear seems to hinge on that power. What about the internal combustion engine? Nukes seem important because they scare the beJesus out of me. Wish they'd never thought of that one. But what if they sort out fission and make power so cheap it's insignificant? We can sort through film to video to DVD to CD vs records and all sorts of entertainment. Maybe the Fender Twin amp or the Les Paul guitar changed your life but then you're back to harnessing electricity. Maybe it's as basic as clean water for you, but it was all clean before we started polluting the ground water. When I was a kid, you could drink out of springs and wells with no worries. I don't know, this thought just entered my head and if I was at Craig's cocktail party, I might bring it up. You've got my gist, what do you think? -David http://www.garageband.com/artist/MichaelangelosMuse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phait Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 The coolest invention is indeed the ability to invent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Sayers Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 language?? Studio Design Forum Studios Under Construction Home Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Keelan Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 Internet forums? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie-brm Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 I think a two drink limit is a good idea. It's OK to tempt fate. Just don't drop your drawers and moon her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeon Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 I was born in '69, so antibiotics, the transistor, the light bulb, LSD, and the VOX AC30 are all out. So I guess I will have to go with...digital reverb! And...sorry Lee, you know I am just kidding! cheers, aeon Go tell someone you love that you love them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offramp Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 Perhaps...the "off" button. I've upped my standards; now, up yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Botch. Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 The "Post-It" note, as any business major will tell you. I'll explain in detail as soon as I put out the fire in my kitchen. Botch "Eccentric language often is symptomatic of peculiar thinking" - George Will www.puddlestone.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fendercaster Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 I was born in 1950, so I guess the coolest invention in my lifetime would have to be the pop top. I always hated those damn church keys! My gear: http://fendercaster.freeservers.com/guit3.html If you own two Lexus cars, do you have Lexi? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phait Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 "Coolest" I can't really think of, but plastic is something we might not think about - it's used in everything from home tech to life-saving equipment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitefang Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 Originally posted by Fendercaster: I was born in 1950, so I guess the coolest invention in my lifetime would have to be the pop top. I always hated those damn church keys! I was born in '51, and I just KNOW you've lost a whole bunch of forum members with the "church key" referrence. DC, fission, fusion or no, power will NEVER be cheap as long as utilities have SHAREHOLDERS! So, don't hold your breath. I'd have to go along with the ol' wheel. We travel on wheels. Grain was ground under a wheel. Farm implements were sharpened on a wheel. Gears were designed based on the wheel. Wagon wheels, paddle wheels, mill wheels, much grew from these. The internal combustion engine? Needed a flywheel! Designed to turn a wheel. Same with the steam engine. Turbines? A series of wheels. Recordings? First done on a cylinder, which is a wide wheel. Then put on flat platters, shaped like wheels. Even CDs are shaped like wheels. Electricity? Created by generators, which contain wheels. Indoor plumbing? Water from the tap is powered through the pipes by pumps with wheels. Home movies were fed from and picked up by wheel-shaped reels. Same with the old tape recorders. Do pulleys make some jobs easier? Simply a group of wheels. Like the fan in your car. And that serpentine belt wraps itself around the pulleys of your water pump, alternator, power steering pump, A/C compressor and crankshaft, and they're just wheels. This could go on, but you get the drift... I know the wheel was invented LONG before our lifetimes, but many of the best inventions of my time would have never been if not for the wheel. Whitefang I started out with NOTHING...and I still have most of it left! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mats Olsson. Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 language, alphabet, ink & paper (ok, it wasn't in our lifetime, but it's beyond cool) In our lifetime: digital technology http://www.lexam.net/peter/carnut/man.gif What do we want? Procrastination! When do we want it? Later! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave The Rave Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 Super glue. :DTR Cambrian Guitars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedster Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 I think it'd be appropriate to divide into categories: Home appliances and tools Medical Industrial Defense Recreational Oh, music-related, too... From what I've read, one of the most important innovations as to how we do business today is the "invention" (not so much an invention as an idea) of containerized freight. Stack a ship with containers, bring it across the ocean, unload 'em onto rail cars, take 'em to their general destination, unload 'em and put 'em on a truck. Saves a ton. "Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Roberts Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 Anything Nikola Tesla was involved with...some of which may never be mastered in our lifetime. Bill Roberts Precision Mastering -----------Since 1975----------- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip OKeefe Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 Originally posted by whitefang: I was born in '51, and I just KNOW you've lost a whole bunch of forum members with the "church key" referrence. I've heard the term many times, and I was born about 11 years after you. I'd have to go along with the ol' wheel.... Whitefang Well, the engineer in me says that it's really not fair to single out the wheel.. IMO, if you're going to go with the wheel, you'd really have to mention all six of the simple machines - lever, inclined plane, screw, wedge, pulley and yes, the wheel and axle. A wheel's not much good without an axle. People have mentioned electricity. IMO, that's not a true "invention", but rather, a scientific phenomena; it exists in nature and wasn't so much "invented" as it was discovered, understood and controlled / utilized. The same could be said of fire. The geek in me wants to say "flight" - while flight has existed for my entire life (in spite of what you might think from my avatar, I'm not THAT old folks! ), manned space flight, well, that arrived on the scene just before I did. And being a kid who watched the space program while growing up, and who was old enough to see them land on the moon for the first time and remember it vividly, that was a HUGE thing. An incredible accomplishment - and that Saturn V rig was a pretty incredible invention. But the greatest invention of all time? I don't know that I can specify any single thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan South Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 Originally posted by DC: Well, my mom is grandparent age to me. She'll be 95 this fall. She's told me stories about carrying water every morning from a spring way down in this sink hole so they had to climb out of it and walk a mile to deliver the water each morning. Sort of makes you thankful for indoor plumbing. Then there's electricity. Nearly everything material save the acoustic guitar in my life that's dear seems to hinge on that power. What about the internal combustion engine? Nukes seem important because they scare the beJesus out of me. Wish they'd never thought of that one. But what if they sort out fission and make power so cheap it's insignificant? We can sort through film to video to DVD to CD vs records and all sorts of entertainment. Maybe the Fender Twin amp or the Les Paul guitar changed your life but then you're back to harnessing electricity. Maybe it's as basic as clean water for you, but it was all clean before we started polluting the ground water. When I was a kid, you could drink out of springs and wells with no worries. I don't know, this thought just entered my head and if I was at Craig's cocktail party, I might bring it up. You've got my gist, what do you think? Well, as Phil pointed out, electricity and nuclear power are not inventions. They are physical phenomena, like heat and light. Electric motors and generators are inventions. Nuclear reactors are inventions. All of these inventions occurred well before my "lifetime." Ditto the internal combustion engine which dates back to the Nineteenth Century. Not exactly "in our lifetime." I'll cast a vote for MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scanners. Their ability to see the inner workings of the human body in detail is revolutionary. I don't know whether MRI's qualify as "cool," but they are vitally important. Anti-cancer and anti-AIDS drugs are amazing inventions, also. These drugs have extended countless lives. And while I'm on the medical theme, minimally intrusive surgery (MIS) is one invention/technique for which I am extremely grateful (cough cough). The coolest *MUSICAL* invention of my lifetime? It's a tie: MIDI and the Personal Computer. I would *NOT* want to live without either of these. The worst musical invention of my lifetime? Either 8-track tapes or Auto-tune. Take your pick. The Black Knight always triumphs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedster Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 Really, tons of stuff... The pocket calculator. One used to have to use a slide rule to do more complex math. Now, you can set it all up at the touch of a button. Mind you, it performs complex computations quickly for you, but it still doesn't THINK for you. You still have to know how to do the math. It just takes less time. Satellite imagery. Satellites were just coming into being when I was born...and now, sitting at my desk, I have a mosaic satellite loop of the whole world at my fingertips. I can't imagine what weather forecasting was like before satellite imagery. Doppler radar. Although radar was invented before I was born, modern techniques have really enhanced its usefulness. Twice in the last three or four years, I've been casually perusing my display at work, and seen the unmistakable paisley-shaped tornadic supercell "hook" signature, headed right for my town, and have been able to call family and friends and tell them to hit the deck. In both cases, the tornado fizzled out before it got dangerously close. But, tornadic damage was reported in both instances. "Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeon Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 Originally posted by Mats Olsson.: In our lifetime: digital technology Mats: people had fingers before everyone and anyone on MP was born! OK, more serious...digital as a concept has existed for a long time now...only recently could it be implemented as we know it today. cheers, aeon Go tell someone you love that you love them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Base Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 There are more worthy inventions, advances in medical technology etc. but the coolest inventions have to be digital technology and the internet. I love the interaction and convenience that it allows. I have most of my CD collection in my pocket on a device that could store entire films if I wanted. I could take a picture on my digital camera and show it to people anywhere on the planet in minutes. I could do the same with my phone, send it to myself, upload it to my website and post here (which I was about to but realised the pic I had taken of my desk had the client name on it!! And the resolution is good enough now that you could read it!), or listen to mp3's and take video and share it. Plus I can waste time all day doing this stuff and chatting about it with you guys And of course, it enables collaborative projects such as Face of Friendship...! This stuff is just plain cool!!!!! Fa Fa FA Fa fa fa fa fa FA fa FA FA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darklava Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 Marshall amps The story of life is quicker then the blink of an eye, the story of love is hello, goodbye. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Base Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 Ok, a bit darker, but more interesting than a pic of my desk. The martian in my town centre, taken an hour ago and already uploaded so I can bore the crap out of people all around the world, now that is cool!!!! http://www.snowlock-photography.co.uk/Music/picture.jpg Fa Fa FA Fa fa fa fa fa FA fa FA FA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wewus432 Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 At the heart of digital technology is The CPU, Central Processing Unit, so that's gotta get my vote for coolest invention. THAT'S what changed everything. The CPU is man's re-invention, and amplification of his own mind, in hardware, that's pretty cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coyote Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 Coolest invention of MY lifetime: The lunar module. First (and so far, last) device designed to put a man on another planet that's actually worked as designed. Next coolest: Automatic transmission for bicycles. Without using any sort of electric sensing equipment, it somehow knows you're spinning the pedals too fast or you're exerting too much effort - and it moves the chain to the appropriate sprocket. And it manages to do that without adding 200 lbs (or even 2 lbs) to the bike. I used to think I was Libertarian. Until I saw their platform; now I know I'm no more Libertarian than I am RepubliCrat or neoCON or Liberal or Socialist. This ain't no track meet; this is football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Knight Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 Fish Sticks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super 8 Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 Originally posted by Fendercaster: I always hated those damn church keys! Oh! I haven't heard 'church key' since my Dad was alive. "Gimme that damn church key" he'd say... Ahhh the memories. Thanks man. Super 8 Hear my stuff here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super 8 Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 Greatest invention in my lifetime? No question about it....The Love Lump! Give me that and the Internet, and I don't need anybody anymore! True freedom at last! Super 8 Hear my stuff here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strat0124 Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 Refrigeration without a doubt. Everything from fridges to airconditioning has changed Americans forever! And its real! Not cyber-real! Down like a dollar comin up against a yen, doin pretty good for the shape I'm in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Strat Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 SPAM. Greatest invention in my lifetime would have to be after '75.... Was the Oreo cookie invented before '75? The artificial heart? That's got to be up there with the great items invented in my lifetime. BlueStrat a.k.a. "El Guapo" ...Better fuzz through science... http://geocities.com/teleman28056/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedster Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 Originally posted by bluestrat: Greatest invention in my lifetime would have to be after '75.... Was the Oreo cookie invented before '75? I graduated from high school in '75. They've had Oreos around as long as I can remember. "Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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