Throughout the centuries,there have been
many scientific discoveries that have
changed the world for the better. There
have also been quite a few that have
changed the world for the worse. Some are
well-noted and immediately come to mind
when one is asked to name the ten most
important scientific discoveries of all time,
but there are other profound discoveries
that are more subtle in nature - ones that
are easily overlooked, regardless of the
tremendous impact they may have had on the
world.
The following is a list, in no particular
order, of what I believe to be the ten most
important scientific discoveries of all time.
Perhaps my choices will match up with yours,
or maybe they will be vastly different.
Please feel free to compare the two and let
me know your thoughts!
My Top Ten List of the World's Most
Important Scientific Discoveries
(What a mouthful!)
1. Electricity - Without it, we would be left
in the dark. We would not have computers,
no microwaves, and say goodbye to your TV
and radio. Our society is hugely dependent
upon electricity to fuel the lifestyle that
we've become accustomed to. It was good old
Benjamin Franklin, who first brought us
this wonderful scientific discovery, through
his curious desire to fly kites in a
rainstorm. After growing up with my
parents telling me I couldn't fly kites in the
yard, due to all the power lines, I have to
wonder how Ben got away with such
mischief. Oh wait... Never mind.
2. Penicillin - I'll admit, I really have to
wonder what kind of person discovers mold
on their bread and suddenly gets a notion
that it just might heal disease? I mean, I've
found mold on my bread before, but all I
thought was "Eww," not "Wow! This could
cure cancer!" The only thing that I can
imagine is that maybe Alexander Flemming
accidental a bit into a sandwich, one day,
and then immediately spat it out again,
loudly declaring, "Eww, that tastes awful!
That tastes like...medicine!" Or did the
penicillin come first? That's as troublesome
a question as the one about the chicken. No,
the chicken and egg, not the one crossing
the road.
We do have Alexander Flemming to thank for
this discovery back in 1928 (penicillin, not
really bad jokes), when he forgot to clean up
his workstation before going on holiday.
When he returned, he discovered that
fungus had grown on the cultures he'd been
looking at and that the bacteria perished in
the vicinity of these cultures. So we have to
thank Mr. Flemming for being less than tidy,
and special thanks also to Howard Florey and
Boris Chain for isolating and purifying
penicillin, helping us to use it as an
antibiotic. In all seriousness, penicillin has
helped to treat many diseases, hence why it
quickly comes to mind when I think of the
world's most important scientific
discoveries.
3. Gunpowder - Credit for the invention of
gunpowder goes clear back to ninth century
Chinese alchemists. Ever since its invention,
it has been used for the purposes of
hunting, warfare, entertainment, and even
helped to give birth to rocket science. While
not always used for the best of things, it
must certainly be included as one of the
world's most profound scientific discoveries
- without it, we would never have been able
to develop the technology to eventually put
man into space.
4. Anatomy - There's one in every family
and I'm pretty sure Andreas Vesalius was
considered about as black as sheep as they
come, with his penchant for carving up
cadavers. However, because of his strange
hobbies and idea to read a book about it, we
actually know what a liver is and where it's
located in the body. As one can guess, it's
very beneficial to know, so they don't start
sticking things up your nose, while looking
for your gallbladder. Important to note,
however, is that the study of anatomy can
be traced clear back to an ancient Egyptian
papyrus, created around 1600 BC. While
Aristotle and Greek Physicians, Herophilus
and Erasistratus, all studied various forms
of anatomy during the 3rd and 4th century,
it wasn't until 1543 that Vesalius created a
modern text that didn't rely upon 1000 year-
old studies and misconceptions.
5. The Laws of Heredity - It was an
ancient monk, named Gregor Mendel, whom I
credit with another of the 10 most
important scientific discoveries - The Laws
of Heredity. This smoke was the first to
note that certain traits could be passed
down a family line, from parents to
offspring. I'm sure you've heard the whole
green pea, yellow pea, wrinkled pea, smooth
pea discussion. Because of Gregor Mendel,
we've not only been able to establish why the
redheaded kid the family is not necessarily
the milkman's son, but we've also been able
to improve our crops and livestock, allowing
us to produce better quality food sources to
feed the masses.
6. Plastic - In 1869, John Wesley Hyatt
would discover a way to produce a substance
that would revolutionize the known world.
Plastic. Today, we have plastic chairs,
plastic bags, plastic in our cars and even
plastic reefs, slowly taking over our oceans.
As if plastic wasn't already wonderful
enough, when we're done with our plastic,
we can melt it all down and remake it into
new plastic things - like new recycled
furniture!
Ironically, the first plastics were invented
as an ulterior to using shellac - a product
that was produced by Asian beetles. So,
today, there are millions of jobs involving
the production of plastic, as well as jobs
that put this product into use... and millions
of little Asian beetles living on welfare.
7. Photosynthesis - No, I'm not talking
about the discount film development at your
local CVS. I'm talking about the amazing
scientific discovery, first made by English
theologian, philosopher and mouse torturer,
Joseph Priestly. Priestly discovered that if
he isolated air beneath an inverted jar,
then burned a candle within it, the candle
would burn out very rapidly. Further testing
discovered that a mouse, place within a
similar jar, would also "damage" the amount
of air within. He would then go on to show,
how the amount of air they had been taken
by the mouse, could then be restored by a
plant.
In 1778, court physician to the Austrian
Empress, Jan Ingenhousz, would repeat
Priestly's experiments and learn that it was
the influence of sunlight upon the plant
that would restore the air used by said
mouse. In time, it would also be learned that
plants consumed carbon dioxide and released
oxygen - and we would have hope for New
York City and L.A. again!
8. Computers - It's impossible to credit any
one person with the creation of computers,
as the modern day computer has evolved
from numerous devices, dating clear back to
150 BC. One must admit however, the
profound affect that the scientific
discoveries leading into this device have had
upon the world. Today, because of
computers, our lives are (supposedly) more
organized and efficient. We have an
unlimited source of information at our
fingertips and we have achieved a form of
global communication that was unheard of
as recently as 20 years ago. We've also
opened the door to let porn into every
household as well, but we won't mention
that. Oops. Outside voice.
9. Wheel - Was it a scientific discovery, an
accident, or a profound invention? The world
may never know. We might not know which
Joe Schmoe caveman first invented/
discovered/tripped over the wheel but it
simply must be noted in a list of greatest
discoveries. It changed our world profoundly
and cannot be ignored. Ugh.
10. Invisibility Cloak - I remember this
from back in my Dungeons and Dragons
days! Sounding like it came straight off of
James' Bond's wish list or out of the pages
of the latest Harry Potter novel, the
invisibility cloak has become reality. Mind
you, I imagine this will turn out to be one of
those less-than-better things for the most
part, it does have a romantic sound to it.
While I have to say that I do believe the
invisibility cloak is one of the ten most
important scientific discoveries in the
world, I also find it to be one of the scariest
- It's just one of those things where you
shake your head and mutter, "Nothing good
will come of this."
So there you have it - My top ten list of the
world's greatest scientific discoveries.
Have you thought up your own list? I know
that, even as I wrote this, I came up with
so many other ideas - it was really difficult
to limit myself. Hopefully this list got your
brain working on some other ideas as well!

interesting writeup

Leopantro: interesting writeup

Thanks ^_^