Science Friction_ Where the Known Meets the Unknown - Michael Shermer [123]
Greek civilization is not really dead; only its frame is gone and its habitat has changed and spread; it survives in the memory of the race, and in such abundance that no one life, however full and long, could absorb it all. Homer has more readers now than ever in his own day and land. The Greek poets and philosophers are in every library and college; at this moment Plato is being studied by a hundred thousand discoverers of the “dear delight” of philosophy overspreading life with understanding thought.
The Hundred: A Personal Ranking
Inspired by this survey of history’s lists, what follows is a personal ranking, chronologically, of the hundred, the twelve, and the single most influential event in the history of science and technology. They were selected for their historical significance in light of their impact on the modern Western world. These are the discoveries, inventions, books, and events within the disparate fields of science and technology that have shaped the modern mind and created today’s complex and dynamic world. The basic criterion in sorting through the many thousands of choices was the number of people influenced. The more impact the selection had on society, whether direct or indirect, the greater the likelihood it made the list. Although by nature I am unabashedly inclined to favor science and technology over all other human endeavors as the most significant, I think it is clear from this extensive survey of history’s lists that scientific discoveries and technological advances have by far and away done more to shape history. History’s heretics may come from many walks of life, but heretical scientists and technologists have influenced our past, present, and future more than anyone else.
In this sequential listing the obvious temptation to list all hundred in order of importance has been avoided. While in some cases it would be easy to justify and defend ranking one invention over another (e.g., the lightbulb over the astrolabe), it would be an impossible task to rank the entire hundred and maintain any sense of objectivity or credibility. The joy in lists and comparisons is quibbling with the author. For example, how could Michael Hart possibly rank Kepler, whom historians of science call the “father of modern astronomy,” at number 97, while he places John F. Kennedy at number 80 or Simón Bolívar at number 46? But this critique simply reflects my bias for science over politics. For their impact value on our culture, it would be hard to argue against any of the Herald Tribunes top news stories of the twentieth century being on a list of some sort. But Kennedy’s assassination ranked six places ahead of the birth control pill?! How could Durant leave out Augustine, or Asimov exclude Aristotle? The reader will probably ask the same questions of my list below.
The entries on my list are broken down into the following major categories within the framework of science and technology: Discoveries, Inventions, Books, and Events. Examples include:
Discoveries: evolution, relativity, heliocentricity, non-Euclidian geometry, circulation, anaesthesia, etc.
Inventions: pendulum clock, the Pill, laser, telephone, lightbulb, gunpowder, compass, etc.
Books: The Origin of Species, Principia, Elements of Geology, Almagest, Elements of Geometry, etc.
Events: moon landing, founding of natural Greek philosophy, powered flight, development of scientific method, etc.
The list is chronological, beginning in 10,000 B.C.E., and excludes prehistoric and early human “inventions” such as language, fire, the bow and arrow, stone tools, clothing, etc. The top hundred are listed first, followed by the top twelve, and finally my selection of the single most important contribution to science and technology. No scholar or scientist in his right mind would undertake such a precarious enterprise of collapsing ten thousand years, a hundred billion people, and a thousand trillion events into a list of one hundred. We proceed.
1. Domestication