11 Dec
2014
11 Dec
'14
7:32 a.m.
On 11 December 2014 at 14:59, Noel Chiappa <jnc at mercury.lcs.mit.edu> wrote:
But among the big ones for me are electricity, which
almost has too many
subsets to count (e.g. long distance communication, starting with the
telegraph - read "The Victorian Internet" for a good look at how that changed
the world), the printing press (information technologies in general have
outside weight, since they affect so many other fields), the internal
combustion engine (which has physically re-shaped entire civilizations,
especially the US), with all its subset (e.g. the airplane)... too many to
think of, almost!
o Soap (try to live without soap - e.g. try to get that tomato sauce
off clothing or whatever). Historically one of the most important
inventions. Even though the Romans tried to get by without.
o Electricity. The closest thing we have to magic in this reality. If
there is a universe somewhere without electricity then they would
definitely claim that magic does exist here.
o Reading and writing - without that we wouldn't have the modern, or
even medieval world.