By William Vicson Gocheco (Grade 9 – Mendeleev)
What is the greatest invention in the world? A seemingly simple and straightforward question, right? Some might say it’s the internet. Maybe its electricity. Is it the steam engine? Is it agriculture? Is it perhaps fire? But what exactly defines as being great? Is it the complexity? Is it the amount of people it benefits? In this article, we shall explore all these ideas.
We need something that transcends all other inventions. The start of it all per se. Let us start with the internet. The internet is vast network of communication and information. It is one of the essential foundations of the modern world. Everything from talking with our friends to paying bills can be done through the web. But it is surpassed by electricity. Without electricity, the internet simply cannot function. All other appliances from lights to electric ovens all require electricity. It literally runs everything in our lives. Electricity makes the internet possible.
The production and distribution of electricity requires so much technology and infrastructure from power plants to power lines. It would be impossible for humans to do it by hand. Instead, we use machines to help us in building these great structures. Many of these technologies came from the industrial revolution. The steam engine started off the industrial revolution which made possible the many inventions and technologies we rely on today. The steam engine allowed for more complex and more power-hungry machines. The steam engine made electricity possible.
These monumental achievements of mankind could not have been done without the help of thousands and thousands of individuals. To sustain these individuals, we would need the ability to feed and provide for them. The advent of agriculture allowed for us to settle down. It allowed for us to have time to invent and discover new things. It allowed for us to live more comfortably even today. Agriculture made everything else possible.
We might think that we have cracked the case, that agriculture really is the greatest invention of all time. But I beg to differ. I think that civilization is our greatest invention that we have to offer. A single man is pretty useless. It can barely survive let alone invent new things, but put together thousands of other humans, then we can achieve something big. Many of the things we use today require hundreds or thousands of people to work. Civilization allowed for a society where humans could cooperate with each other to achieve great things. It is the system whereby our lives revolve around. It established all other facets of human life such as family and community. It transcends all others that came after it. But what do I mean by “civilization”?
When Margaret Mead, a cultural anthropologist, was asked what is the first sign of civilization, she answered, “a broken femur that has healed”. You might be a little confused, but hold on. She explained that in nature when an animal breaks its legs, then it’s as good as dead. It cannot move. It is prey to other animals. A healed femur is sign that some human decided to help another to survive and heal. It is a sign of kindness. It is a sign of someone helping another for any guaranteed benefit. It shows where we differ from all other organisms. Once we choose to cooperate with each other and to heal, that is the true start of civilization. And that is why civilization is the greatest invention.