Did You Realize That These Super-Simple Inventions Actually Changed The World?

You might hear “invention” and think of that iconic light-bulb “a-ha” moment (a term that this author feels should go the way of the dodo). After sleepless nights of failure, the tormented genius leaps into activity and has an earth-shattering piece of technology ready for presentation by dawn (and mass production not too far into the future).

As usual, reality is less dramatic. Inventions are not singular events that spring up fully formed on their own. Rather, inventions build upon existing technology, and come about via tweaks, tests, re-tweaks, and re-tests. Technology evolves much like how a species evolves based on its past and present forms. Also, inventions are rarely created by just one person–there’s often a team behind them, and by working together, they’re able to create something new out existing materials.

Here’s a look at ten inventions that seem simple by our standards. We’ve all taken advantage of them at least once, and never thought about how different our lives would be if they were never made.

1.) Plow

We’re starting at the beginning here. The plow, developed in various places around the world about 10,000 years ago, is why humans have settlements. Before this, in the Paleolithic Age, humans traveled around as hunter-gatherers, finding what food they could. The plow made growing, and thus controlling, food supplies easier. Humans began to settle in places that became the cities, civilizations and cultures that we still have today. Everything you know about your history and culture more or less got its start here. We of course have no idea who, or more likely, which culture, developed the plow first due to its age. We do know that the adaptation from hunter-gatherer to farmer was pretty much a worldwide one, so we could attribute this to humanity at large.

2.) Wheel

Like the plow, the wheel is another invention that seems to have sprung up around the world. Some civilizations used them earlier than others, and even civilizations without wheels were capable of achieving pretty awesome things, including the Pyramids, Stonehenge and Machu Picchu. The earliest wheel and axel found dates to around 3100 BCE (about the date of Stonehenge’s construction), and is from near Ljubljana, Slovenia. The wheel allowed people to transport and manipulate large items for construction. It also allowed them to create vehicles which expanded travel and trade, leading to interaction between cultures. New interactions led to the creation of larger nations, which would come a bit later, when people figured out roads. Outside of travel, the wheel is also used in a lot of other technologies, such as water wheels, gears, cranks and pulleys and more.

3.) Printing Press

4.) Refrigeration

5.) Communications

Okay, so “communications” is a pretty broad term, and nowadays encompasses the telephone, radio, internet, and television. But each of these items stem from one device–think of them like related species on a genetic branch. The telegraph, developed by Samuel Morse in 1836 (yes, of Morse code fame), allowed information to travel in relatively short time, but over great distances. Morse’s invention served to connect people and cities to allow the sharing of information, while also required intricate wiring systems. Later, Nikola Tesla and Guglielmo Marconi developed electromagnetic waves used to send information wirelessly. This led to the way information transmits today–in real time, allowing people all over the world to watch events as they unfold.

6.) Steam Engine

7.) Automobile

8.) Light Bulb

9.) Computer

So, what is a computer? It’s a machine that can intake information, manipulate it in some way, and output new information. The computer went through many iterations over the years, and concepts for these machines date back to the 19th century with mathematicians and engineers like Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace. Babbage designed a general-use, mechanical computer, and Lovelace wrote what would have been its first program, as well as the first computer program ever, if Babbage’s machine were ever built. In the early 20th century, Alan Turing developed many ideas that have been influential in computer development. Computers allow users to process vast amounts of information at extreme speed, making large-and small-scale research more accessible than ever. Computers in turn created space travel, medical testing and the mapping of the human genome, and are also used to create art and music.

10.) Internet

 

Can you imagine your life as it is today without any of these incredible inventions? What do you think will be the next big, civilization-changing breakthrough? It kind of makes you want to tinker with existing tools to find the next big invention…

Via Geniusstuff; images via Thinkstock

Did You Realize That These Super-Simple Inventions Actually Changed The World?