Which Was A Greater Invention?

[Ace]

    Or it would have been, if he'd ever finished building it.

Later, people built functional machines using the exact specs that Charles Babbage drew up. I consider that enough to give him credit for inventing the computer.

Okay, if you wanna get technical, the first computer advances were made in 400 BC by the Bablylonians that created the Abacus.  Or a little later, around 100 BC, you have the Greeks who made the Antikythera Mechanism.  Or how about Wilhelm Schickard who built the 1st Mechanical Calculator in 1623.  When I said computers, I was really referring to Personal Computers that pretty much anyone has access to and can actually do something more than help someone count.  That advance did not come about until well into the 20th Century.


P.S.--What three people voted for TANG???  lol

The difference is that those were forerunners to calculators, whereas Babbage's designs are fundamentally similar to modern computers. Babbage incorporated modern concepts of I/O, memory, and CPU-like device.

[BTs_GhostSniper]

Actually, the Antikythera Mechanism was a device that registered and predicted the motion of stars and planets.  But anyhow, some people would argue that calculators are computers.  But I will concede the point that yes Charles Babbage is in many cases considered the person whose ideas led to modern computers.  Next time I'll put "Personal Computers" instead of just Computers (and Apple, by the way, was the first to invent that!).

[Toxic::Joka]

The car.

vroooom vroooom - tuut tuut

[Mr. Lothario]

     Computers are programmable. Calculators are not. Babbage's device was (or would have been) programmable, making it the first proper codified example of the idea of the computer.

["Sixhits"]

Frankly, this list is missing *the* Invention of the 20th Century.



Tanks!

[*DAMN Hazard]

I say the computer because everything on the list can be connected to it.

Airplane- computer tracking and shiznit
Tang- made by a machine operated by a computer( I think???)
Automobile- Some cars do have computers in them I say the computer because everything on the list can be connected to it.

Airplane- computer tracking and shiznit
Tang- made by a machine operated by a computer( I think???)
Automobile- Some cars do have computers in them
Atomic power- without a doubt in some way maintained or regulated with a computer

fu

[bronto]

actually all new cars have computers in them. abs, airbag system, any electrical components, all that garbage.

[BTs_GhostSniper]

    Computers are programmable. Calculators are not. Babbage's device was (or would have been) programmable, making it the first proper codified example of the idea of the computer.

Calculators are not programmable???  I believe there are about a hundred engineers on this forum that would differ with that opinion.

I have owned several calculators that I could program to do all kinds of things.....the first thing I ever programmed into one of my calculators was a calculation that would determine ballistics data.

[Mr. Lothario]

     Heh. I knew that someone would object to that definition of calculators vs. computers. I should have known it'd be you. Programmable calculators are computers, according to that definition. There's no conflict.

[kami]

If it's missing something, it's electronics, what half of the stuff on the list has fundamentally built in.

[alaric]

If it's missing something, it's electronics, what half of the stuff on the list has fundamentally built in.

Interesting thought. Instead of computers, perhaps the option should've been the Printed Circuit Board?

As for the most important invention of the 20th century, it's really hard to point at one major invention as being the most important. But I suppose if I had to choose I would go with the printed circuit board. Most of the rest of the inventions rely on this one.

[kami]

If it's missing something, it's electronics, what half of the stuff on the list has fundamentally built in.

Interesting thought. Instead of computers, perhaps the option should've been the Printed Circuit Board?

As for the most important invention of the 20th century, it's really hard to point at one major invention as being the most important. But I suppose if I had to choose I would go with the printed circuit board. Most of the rest of the inventions rely on this one.

It's what I said in my first post as well but no one seemed to react to that  

[the oNe]

I'll have to go with the invention of the Computer.
However I would have liked if the Internet was one of the options.

The Internet provides us with:
?News
?Gaming/Recreation
?Music
?Arts & Entertainment
?Matchmaking
?E-Mail
?Online Banking
?Online Shopping/Stores/Businesses
?Photos/Clipart
?Forums
?Storage
?And Websites of course!

But, without the invention of the Computer we wouldn't have the Internet, so here's my vote to "Computer" as the most useful invention of the 20th century.

[Toxic::Joka]

But without a car the inventors who came up with all that other stuff woulda gotten too tired to walk from their home to the invention lair, and simply given up. And cars dont need electronics, or computers - maybe less safe and less efectivly but cars cant get by without computers.

Thus the car is the number one invention.

[BTs_GhostSniper]

Remember though that at the time the airplane was invented (and it didn't need computers either) the automobile was also relatively young and not in great use.  Although the auto made going short distances more convenient, you already had trains that could take people throughout the country.  But airplanes, they opened up the whole world as a rather fast way of crossing oceans and continents.  And they also changed the way we fight wars forever.

[the oNe]

Joka, also remember without the invention of the Computer and Internet, we wouldn't be using this forum!

[kami]

Computers are built upon electronics, without electronics we wouldn't have calculators, computers or the internet. Modern warfare relies heavily upon electronics as well, which is why in the future we'll have to watch out for EMP bombs as well.

[Toxic::Joka]

Joka, also remember without the invention of the Computer and Internet, we wouldn't be using this forum!

I think your a bit off track...the topic is the greatest invention, not saying that these forums arent nice though..

Computers are a luxury not a neccesity. Well...ok today they are, but out of these inventions the car has shaped the whole world the most. They affect how we build citys, how we travel, they save lifes, kill ppl, shorten distances bla bla bla...It's the car!!

[kami]

Electronics drive cars, they fly planes, they sail ships, they aim rockets, they convey information, they've helped build our society more or less, think about it.

[BTs_GhostSniper]

Electronics drive cars, they fly planes, they sail ships, they aim rockets, they convey information, they've helped build our society more or less, think about it.

Yes, but electricity was not an invention of the 20th Century.