Summary
When
selecting my 10 inventions for this assignment, I evaluated each according to
two
factors on a scale of 1-10, explained below.
1.)
Prevalence in society: For each invention, I evaluated the amount of immersion
or
acceptance
of the technological advancement in society. The reasoning behind this
was
even if a invention was not groundbreaking, the fact that it has permeated
in
all aspects of society must signal something about its influence on the world.
2.)
Extent of which it enables societal functions: This factor was much more
subjective,
as opposed to #1 which was more objective. After identifying each
Invention,
I then rated each on how essential each was to the daily functioning or
creation
of what is modern day society. For advances that play a crucial role to the
function
of our society, it is only logical they were most likely a very influential
Inventions
as well.
1.) Computer
1.) Computer
What is it?
•Electronic
computational device capable of difficult calculations
•Computes
arithmetic and logical operations automatically as well as reprogrammed for a
variety of functions
•Can
connect to other devices through either internet or server network
•Used
for both personal and business purposes
Prevalence: 10
Influence: 7
2.) Internet
What is it?
•Global
system of interconnected computers linking several billion devices
•Allows
for worldwide communication and data sharing instantaneously
•Database
for information, resources, and services that are publicly and freely available
to anyone
•Enables
computer, email, social media, chat, teleconferencing, and many other functions
Prevalence: 10
Influence: 8
3.)
What is it?
•Round
object developed in ancient times
•Makes
all modern travel faster, easier, and more convenient
•Paved
the way for automobiles, planes, wheelbarrows, and anything with a wheel
Prevalence: 10
Influence: 9
4.) Electricity
What is it?
•Discovered
in the 1600s by scientists William Gilbert
•Refers
to the phenomenon of the movement of electrons and charged particles to release
energy
•Rapid
expansion and implementation revolutionized society, providing functions such
as light, computation, heating, and communication
Prevalence: 10
Influence: 10
5.) Refrigeration
What is it?
•Process
of which to move heat from one place to another, usually to cool certain areas.
•Allows
for the preservation and transportation of food, expansion of settlement away
from agriculture areas
•More
effective at preservation of food, replacing smoking and salting, and allowing
for less waste of edibles
Prevalence: 7
Influence: 8
6.) Sewage System
What is it?
•Evolving
system involving the transportation, collection, treatment, and storage of
liquid waste
•One
of the main factors allowing for the urbanization and condensation of society
and living space
•Drastically
reduced environmental waste and spread of diseases, improving human lifespan
and societal cleanliness
Prevalence: 7
Influence: 7
7.) Birth Control
What is it?
•Contraceptive
drastically lowering the possibly of pregnancy and transmission of sexual
diseases.
•Paved
the way for sex as a social/safe activity as well as revolutionized the way
society perceives and allows sex
•One
of the main methods to control over population
Prevalence: 4
Influence: 6
8.) Currency
What is it?
•Expression
of value in different forms of goods, whether material or electric
•Allowed
for society to move out of bartering and better leveraging and storage of
actual value goods.
•Paved
the way for electronic forms of payment and associated functions (credit cards,
checks, Apple Pay, Vemno,
bonds, stocks)
Prevalence: 9
Influence: 8
9.) Assembly Line
What is it?
•Gained
popularity during the industrial revolution
•Drastically
improved speed and quality of which products could be produced, as well as
lowering the costs
•Allowed
for the creation of more and more complex items, such as computers,
automobiles, and appliances
Prevalence: 2
Influence: 6
10) Automobile
What is it?
•Self
powered motor vehicle used for transportation or pleasure
•Owned
by majority of population, critical to the expansion of society and development
of suburban areas
•Major
increase in power available to humans for many activities, such as moving,
farming,
Prevalence: 10
Influence: 7
Hi Christopher! Thank you for choosing really important inventions such as the automobile, sewage system, internet, etc. I'm glad you chose them based on prevalence in society and extent of which it enables societal functions. Im glad you gave electricity a 10/10 as it "revolutionized society, providing functions such as light, computation, heating, and communication". It was interesting that you chose Birth Control. When I originally thought of my top 10, I never considered that. But after hearing your reasons I completely agree. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Chris,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the scale you used which, in a sense, objectively and subjectively defended the inventions you selected. I was a bit surprised that you listed the prevalence of the assembly line as a 2 however. Most of the industrial products produced today involve the assembly line and these items, whose demand seems to continually be greater than their supply, must be produced on an assembly line for them to match the demand for them. I was just confused by that part specifically but other than that, your list has inventions that are truly important to the development of society.
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your use of the rating system. Prevalence and Influence are very intriguing. However, I disagree with your rating of Sewage. Sewage is everywhere, literally everywhere we go there needs to be a restroom or civilization would seize to exist and be contaminated with diseases. Overall, great and interesting concepts.
Chris, I believe your innovations were spot on. Possibly being the best combination of 10 I have seen so far. I will definitely be using your rational for reevaluating my top ten. I thoroughly enjoyed your rating system of prevalence and influence. It was really insightful to think of your innovations in that way, and I commend you for that. The one innovation I may not be as aligned on is the assembly line, as you noted that its prevalence is not very great. I guess this calls into question whether or not prevalence defines "top." I agree however that it is paramount in our current capitalist mode of production.
ReplyDeleteI think it's innovative that you used two ranking systems instead of one to explain your list. I also like that you mentioned 3 major points for each invention in order to provide a brief description.
ReplyDeleteOne issue I have with your ranking is the ranking system itself. There seems to be very little reasoning behind why #1 is better than #2. I tried added up the two numbers for each invention, among other combinations, and there really is no continuity. Why rank lightbulb #4 if it scored the highest in both prevalence and influence?
Hey Chris,
ReplyDeleteI found these numbers that you put really helpful and enjoyable to think about! I was slightly confused about you mentioning the assembly line. Did you mean the idea of having it, or some specific assembly line. I believe there was a lot of different aspects to this field since most of this functionality is through machinery that automated the process of it. However, I do agree with you this had a good influence on the products that game today. Without this, companies would not have enough quantity to expand their business and not produce amazing products.
Hi Chris,
ReplyDeleteGreat job on defining your selection factors! They are clear, informative and fun to read. Also, I really liked your consistency in introducing your inventions. For every invention, you introduced what it is, explained its importance, and specified its applications. This consistency not only helped me to better understand your top ten inventions, but also made it possible for me to compare them against each other.
In terms of the invention list, I agree with you on most of them expect for assembly line. Assembly line has changed the manufacturing industry by decreasing, at very least on the superficial level, the manufacturing cost and increasing the efficiency. However, I would challenge that this mode of manufacturing is not beneficial on all frontiers and may be replaced with distributing manufacturing in the next decade. Modern technologies such as cloud computing and advanced manufacturing may be able to produce customized products with same efficiency as that of assembly line. Henry Ford, the father of assembly line production, once said “you can have any color as long as its black. ” I would not enjoy a car that is same as anyone else’s.
Hi Chris,
ReplyDeleteI really like your picks. I like how you explained your criteria up front and graded each invention accordingly. I also like a lot of your pick like the sewage system which is widely used.
I think it would be nice to have more data and statistics to back up your point. Also, I think some of the early tools used by man are very important inventions as they allowed human beings to survive and completely changed the way they looked for, and acquired, food and nutrition.
Great job!
Hi, it was refreshing to see a scale system for your selections. Did you ever think that the assembly line, allowed for specialization of workers? Workers just had to narrow in on one task. Kind of like now, many of us will go on to have specialized roles within companies, and maybe the assembly line helped influence this. I like refrigeration as a choice, because it changed human habits. We can fish and slaughter in bulk, and save the rest to eat later. This is fundamental to food markets, as they can sell meat days after initially gathering it. Thanks for the ideas, I like putting them into broader context and seeing certain aspects of their influence.
ReplyDeleteHello!
ReplyDeleteI really loved your blogpost. After reading through all of the inventions descriptions in your blogpost, I have especially become more interested in the large extent of the impacts of the sewage system, assembly lines, and birth control techniques.
Without these inventions, our world would have been a completely different place. I also liked that you chose inventions that truly altered the economic sphere of societies as well as increased life choices for all individuals.
All in all, great blog post.
I would suggest that you also incorporate some medical innovations that have truly benefitted the lives of various populations throughout the world.
Sincerely,
Alankrita Dayal
Great job with your choice Chris! I really enjoyed reading blog post and found it interesting how you scored each invention on its prevalence and influence. That's something I have not seen in the other blogs. There are also many choices of inventions that you have on here that I didn't put on my list such as birth control and assembly lines. Without both, our world would not be the same. If we didn't have assembly lines, producing products such as this laptop would cost so much more. Without birth control, we would be worrying about overpopulation and STDs more often.
ReplyDeleteHola!
ReplyDeleteGood job! I never thought of currency, I guess it is so essential to humans that I never stopped and thought about it. Currency definitely solved the problem of mismatch that traders had when they only exchanged goods. Standardizing the way people trade made the process extremely fast since the buyer doesn't need to worry about what the seller wants.
I really enjoyed reading through your list and looking at the images your provided. It added a nice touch and visual to your choices. In terms of birth control I was not sure whether you were including condoms as well or just the pill itself. Regardless, I do agree with your reasoning as to why its important for our race as humans, however it may not be accessible and affordable to everyone.
ReplyDeleteHi Chris. I really enjoyed reading your post about top 10 inventions. I could really tell that you put a lot of effort into it, especially with all the pictures that made me easier to understand your reasonings behind your lists!
ReplyDeleteHi Chris,
ReplyDeleteNice job making a scale to judge these inventions! I like that you created a benchmark for each of them based on what you thought made an invention significant. I also liked your idea of Currency as a Top 10 Invention, because it is very prevalent in how our society functions (we buy/sell things every day).
Hi Chris,
ReplyDeleteI really liked the list of inventions you picked! I did not immediately list an assembly line as an important invention, but after reading your analysis I am definitely convinced!