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The GREATEST INVENTIONS of the Past 2,000 Years | amazon.com | bn.com | amazon.co.uk | Edited by Afterword by "What is the most important invention of the last 2,000 years, and why?" In late 1998, writer/editor/literary agent John Brockman posed this question on Edge (www.edge.org), the electronic salon over which he presides. Hundreds of scientists, social observers and newsmakers eventually weighed in, their responses as varied, compelling and original as the thinkers themselves. Now, as the world begins a new century, Brockman has gathered 109 of these disparate opinions, philosophies, ideologies and doctrines together for our review in the intriguing collection THE GREATEST INVENTIONS OF THE PAST 2,000 YEARS (Simon & Schuster; January 12, 2000; $22.00): A prism through which we can see simultaneously where we have been and where we are going. Brockman calls Edge a forum for the activities and ideas of "those scientists and other thinkers in the empirical world who, through their work and expository writing, are taking the place of the traditional intellectual in redefining who and what we are." The disparate responses Brockman received, and collected in THE GREATEST INVENTIONS OF THE PAST 2,000 YEARS, is an invitation to peek inside some of the greatest minds of our age. Collectively, the contributions show how technology has altered our lives and even helped to shape our thinking. Divided into the sections "How We Live" and "How We Think," these offerings include concrete inventions, such as gadgets, mechanical processes and medicines, and also ideas and concepts, such as free will and the scientific method. Entries range from popular choices like Gutenberg’s printing press—the winner with five mentions—to unexpected ones like chairs and stairs. Some opt for the simple—Colin Tudge, research fellow at the Center of Philosophy at the London School of Economics, suggests the plough, since "it was not until human beings broke the soil systematically that they truly began to dominate landscape and produce crops on an industrial scale." Hay, says physics professor Freeman Dyson "gave birth to Vienna and Paris and London and Berlin, and later to Moscow and New York." Others go cutting-edge: computer scientist and cognitive psychologist Roger C. Schank answers the internet, asking readers to "pick an aspect of the way we live today—it will change radically in the coming years because of the internet. Life (and human interaction) in 50 years will be so different that we will hardly recognize the social structures that will evolve." Terrence J. Segnowski also goes the hi-tech route, voting for the digital bit, which, "unlike other forms of archival storage, is forever." Some, taking a macro view to the question, cast votes for large, overarching movements: organized science, the green revolution, the disbelief in the supernatural, philosophical skepticism, and secularism. And still others, in behavior typical of the probing intellectual, analyze and question the very question. "It all depends how you define ‘important,’" begins Tom Standage, science correspondent for the Economist. Reuben Hersh honors the question itself: "the most important invention of all time was the interrogative sentence—that is, the asking of questions." In the same vein, linguist George Lakoff chooses the idea of an idea. Many responses are sprinkled with a touch of whimsy. Marc D. Hauser, a cognitive neuroscientist, chooses aspirin, pointing out that "among the Masai, headaches are treated with a mud compact of goat feces to the forehead. I prefer aspirin." Leon Lederman, the director emeritus of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, replies wryly: "If we suggest anything other than the printing press, Brockman will cancel our Christmas bonuses and the New Year’s Eve turkey. So: the greatest invention in the past two thousand years is the printing press. Next is the thermos bottle." Theoretical psychologist Nicholas Humphrey credits reading glasses as the most important invention, because they’ve "prevented the world from being ruled by people under forty." Professor of classical studies James J. O’Donnell says that "if you read through this growing list, you will see that people tend to believe that the most important invention in the last 2,000 years is something they happen to know a lot about." Several answers are those you may not expect from their sources: artist Ron Cooper votes for distillation, and the Gatling gun is the unusual choice of film director/writer/producer Bob Rafelson. A vast array of fields are spanned by the answers, from medicine (anesthesia, late twentieth century health care, the contraceptive pill) to mathematics (geometry, the Indo-Arabic Number System, the infinitesimal calculus) to science (genetic engineering, the Copernican theory, quantum theory) to leisure pursuits (classical music, board games). Flutist and Juilliard graduate Viviana Guzman’s answer is television, and she asks why no one else had mentioned it. "Is it too obvious? I think it’s the single most powerful and manipulative tool ever invented." What gets Brockman’s vote for the greatest invention of the past 2,000 years? It may surprise you for its warmth, humanity and decidedly un-technological slant in this ultra-modern age. "It’s the Distributed Networked Intelligence (DNI), the collective, externalized mind," he explains. "It’s the mind we all share, the infinite oscillation of our collective consciousness interacting with itself, becoming aware of itself, adding a fuller, richer dimension to what it means to be human." ABOUT THE EDITOR:John Brockman is the author or editor of 19 books, founder of Brockman, Inc., a literary and software agency, and publisher and editor of Edge (www.edge.org), where this discussion originally took place. He lives in New York City. THE GREATEST INVENTIONS OF THE PAST 2,000 YEARS Edited By John Brockman |
