Humankind

Raven · Post by **Raven** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 2:31 am

Over the long haul of mankind on this earth, there have been a few who have totally altered the course of things by invention or discovery. Which one would you nominate as the Times great acheiver for all time? Nicolaus Copernicus? Albert Einstein? Sir Isaac Newton? The nameless dude who discovered that things move easier with a round thing under them? The guy who figured things were easier to kill with a pointy bit? Oppenheim?

Which is the person, who most influenced the direction and road that mankind would travel? In your own honest opinion, of course. :yh_bigsmi

Raven · Post by **Raven** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 3:10 am

Diuretic;499495 wrote: The man or woman who figured out how to record one's thoughts (ie the earliest form of writing).
Interesting thought! Wonder what it was that drove the person to doodle on caves? And the impact of those doodles on us today? And the fact that we can still see them! Wonder if any of our modern works will last that long?

Raven · Post by **Raven** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 3:58 am

I think another mover-shaker was the person who first came up with the concept of life after death. With no proof, man has always buried, embalmed, entombed, jewel encrusted, burnt, and enshrined their dead, with the stedfast belief that there is somewhere else to go. This belief has encompassed the whole of mankind from the time we first came from the caves and bushes. Regardless of which gods you chose to worship. Fascinating stuff.

Raven · Post by **Raven** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 4:13 am

And we are still discovering! LOL! I am not sure we have gotten much further than the intiial shock!

Lulu2 · Post by **Lulu2** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 9:02 am

There was a team of researchers in AT&T labs in New Jersey who invented the transistor. That changed the world....computers....THE INTERNET! bingo!

Galbally · Post by **Galbally** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 11:54 am

In terms of individual contribution I would have to say either Newton or Einstein, they are the two outstanding people of intellect the last 400 years. Though of course there are many others, not least Galileo, Shakespeare, Bach, all those people. In terms of the ancients, obviously Plato and Aristotle are crucial in western culture as was Jesus Christ, Alexander, Octavian, Constantine, Charlemagne, etc etc, as was Mohamed and Saladin for Islamic civilization, and Confucius was to Chinese, some of these people being great, some having greatness thrust upon them (as they say).

guppy · Post by **guppy** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 1:03 pm

einstein and the invention of electricity......without it we would not be where we are now ...everything from computers to the advancement of laproscopic surgery......to the simplest things we take for granted....grocery stores with frozen food dept. ,lights, tvs, radios, air, heat,......and on and on...

Nomad · Post by **Nomad** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 2:01 pm

Richard James.

He invented the

sunny104 · Post by **sunny104** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 2:07 pm

I need a new slinky...

911 · Post by **911** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 2:10 pm

The person who invented the labels to put on appliances, household products and other items.

The kind that tell us unedumacated people not to use the blow dryer in the shower. (Phew! That was a close one!) Or not to eat the little silicon pack in vitamins.

Nomad · Post by **Nomad** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 2:21 pm

911;499919 wrote: The person who invented the labels to put on appliances, household products and other items.

The kind that tell us unedumacated people not to use the blow dryer in the shower. (Phew! That was a close one!) Or not to eat the little silicon pack in vitamins.

:eek:

911 · Post by **911** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 2:26 pm

Nomad;499933 wrote:

You're supposed to put them in your bra!! :-5

Accountable · Post by **Accountable** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 5:08 am

Alexander Graham Bell

He may not be the number one most influencial, but he definitely deserves to be on this list.

Bez · Post by **Bez** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 5:33 am

Raven;499486 wrote: Over the long haul of mankind on this earth, there have been a few who have totally altered the course of things by invention or discovery. Which one would you nominate as the Times great acheiver for all time? Nicolaus Copernicus? Albert Einstein? Sir Isaac Newton? The nameless dude who discovered that things move easier with a round thing under them? The guy who figured things were easier to kill with a pointy bit? Oppenheim?

Which is the person, who most influenced the direction and road that mankind would travel? In your own honest opinion, of course. :yh_bigsmi

Gosh...this will be different for each individual but I guess I would say that whoever designed the first means of moving across the water started a vast new journey that has completely changed the world....

Lulu2 · Post by **Lulu2** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 4:30 pm

Accountable: "Alexander G. Bell....He may not be the number one most influencial, but he definitely deserves to be on this list."

(If it hadn't been for him, there'd've been no Bell Labs to do the research, develop the transistor, etc.)