Humankinds Greatest Inventions


There are a number of amazing inventions that have been created during the course of human history. Some of the great ones that come to mind are:

--The printing press

--The electric light

--Electrical power plants and the infrastructure for the mass distribution of electricity

--The telephone

--Recorded sound

--Radio

--Television

--The photograph

--Moving Pictures

--Digital video

--Concrete

--Steel

--Plastic

--The automobile

--Paper

--Vaccines

--Rocket

--Nuclear power

--Satellite communications

--The internet

I could list many more. Each of these inventions is amazing and have greatly improved the lives of billions of people.

As great as they are, there are three inventions I believe tower above all of these. Without these three inventions, none of these would exist. Humankind would still be living in the prehistoric age. Many of us would have never been born.

What are these three inventions? They are:

--Language (written and spoken)

--Mathematics

--Money

These are not usually classified as inventions. I classify them as inventions in the broadest sense because they were created by humankind. There was a time when language, mathematics, and money did not exist. They had to be created over the course of time.

Language is the mechanism whereby we are able to communicate to ourselves and to others using sound and symbols put together as words, sentences, and paragraphs. Language is the expression of thought. And thought is the primary cause of everything human beings create. Without language, none of those other inventions could exist. Without language we would be no better than the beasts.

Mathematics is the language of science and commerce. It is one of the primary ways we understand natural laws and unlock the secrets of the universe. For example, it is through mathematics that we were able to unlock the power of electricity and unleash a host of modern conveniences.

Though money is really an invention that is a combination of language and mathematics, I list it separately because it is through the use of money, a universal system of exchange, that the resources to create other inventions. Money has a history. That seems to be a simple statement, but I believe it is important to understand this, because we are so used to the fact of money that it's easy to forget that it is really a mental construct that we created. Paper and coins are only symbols of that construct the same way that words are a symbol of thought.

There was a time that money was not. For example, the U.S. Constitution, adopted in 1789, gave the U.S. Congress the legal power to create money. The U.S. Coinage act of 1792 adopted the Dollar as the currency unit and subdivided it into 100 cents. The first U.S. Mint started operations in Philadelphia in 1794. You can read an interesting chronology of the history of money at http://www.ex.ac.uk/~RDavies/arian/amser/chrono.html.

Money is simply a mechanism that governments have created in order to facilitate the exchange of value. This facilitates the coordination of economic cooperation between people.

As I write this, I am sitting in a nice restaurant enjoying a great salad and a glass of passion fruit ice tea. The free flow of money made this possible. Let's look at just some of what had to happen for me to be able to have this salad in this location:

--The land had to be purchased or leased.

--The building had to be designed and built.

--People had to be hired.

--The food had to be grown (in remote places of the country) and delivered fresh to the restaurant.

--Utensils had to be purchased.

--The cooks had to prepare the food.

--The server had to bring the food to my table.

How much physical effort did I have to put forth to enjoy my salad? All I had to do was show up and place my order. My total cost--only about $17. What allowed all of this coordinated effort by all of these people? The free flow of money.

What this means for you is that you can create virtually everything you want and need by the efficient use of language, mathematics, and money. The real power is in your thought power to create value for others using these three tools. If the use value you create is greater than the cash value you receive, you have added to the life of your customer. The cash value you receive is greater than the total cost of providing the service, you have made a profit. Repeat this process on a large enough scale, and you will create massive wealth for yourself and for others.

Copyright (c) 2005 Bill Marshall - All rights reserved. Feel free to republish this article provided you include the copyright information and the weblinks where possible.

For practical self-improvement tips, visit http://www.poweraffirmations.com. Get my new free e-book, "Power Affirmations: Power Positive Conditioning for Your Subconscious Mind"







Related News




How innovation can help us keep lights on for future generations - Scotsman

How innovation can help us keep lights on for future generations
Scotsman, United Kingdom -Jul 3, 2008
By DUNCAN SEDGWICK NOBODY likes the fact life is getting more expensive. Wholesale energy prices are rocketing because of massive growth in demand for oil, ...

Embracing innovation - Toronto Star

Embracing innovation
Toronto Star,  Canada -20 hours ago
Christopher Hume's column contained inaccurate statements. The facts on this issue illustrate that Toronto Fire Services is innovative, consultative and ...

Expedia Corporate Travel Commits to Next Era of Innovation - Eastside Business Journal

Expedia Corporate Travel Commits to Next Era of Innovation
Eastside Business Journal, Washington -7 hours ago
"Having led innovation in the corporate travel industry, we see this as an opportunity to further define ourselves in the marketplace and set a foundation ...

Innovation is thy name: Cyril Fernandes - Mangalorean.com

Mangalorean.com

Innovation is thy name: Cyril Fernandes
Mangalorean.com, India -1 hour ago
Mr. Fernandes had worked in Dubai Municipal Corporation where he got the experience of innovation. If Mr. Fernandes' model is adopted by each one of us ...

Innovation 1-on-1: Jonah Staw, LittleMissMatched - CNET News

CNET News

Innovation 1-on-1: Jonah Staw, LittleMissMatched
CNET News, CA -10 hours ago
Innovation is such a broad term. I was recently on a McKinsey panel discussing innovation, and we opened by going around the room. ...

Garnaut's innovation plan has Australia paying its share of world ... - The Age

Radio Australia

Garnaut's innovation plan has Australia paying its share of world ...
The Age, Australia -Jul 4, 2008
THE Garnaut review is proposing a sea change in the scale of government support and, more importantly, rationale towards innovation policy. ...
Garnaut calls for bipartisan support for emissions tradingABC Online
Garnaut urges Rudd to hold nerve on emissions tradingCarbon Positive
Tassie calls for Garnaut visitThe Mercury
Sydney Morning Herald - The Australian
all 1,570 news articles

FINANCE PACKAGE - BERLUSCONI: AN ABSOLUTE INNOVATION - Agenzia Giornalistica Italia

FINANCE PACKAGE - BERLUSCONI: AN ABSOLUTE INNOVATION
Agenzia Giornalistica Italia, Italy -Jul 4, 2008
(AGI) - Rome, 4th July - "An absolute innovation" is how Silvio Berlusconi defined the Government's efforts over the financial package in the course of a ...

Today, papers are obesssed with 'creativity' and 'innovation', but ... - guardian.co.uk

Today, papers are obesssed with 'creativity' and 'innovation', but ...
guardian.co.uk, UK -16 hours ago
Some, like the Chicago Tribune, even have a guy in charge of innovations, an officially certified creative executive who writes long, spacey memos that read ...

Support needed for innovation - Hagerstown Morning Herald

Support needed for innovation
Hagerstown Morning Herald, MD -17 hours ago
All indications are that America is resting on its laurels while other nations around the world are investing in innovation to make their economies more ...

Entrepreneurs happy to tinker in fuel innovation as gas prices soar - Houston Chronicle

Entrepreneurs happy to tinker in fuel innovation as gas prices soar
Houston Chronicle, United States -22 minutes ago
By JB SMITH Every two or three weeks, Cole visits a North Waco chicken joint and empties out a 50-gallon oil barrel. He takes the free fuel home and filters ...