[butter_pat_head]

I would have to say the light bulb.  Seconded by the 'valve' (like the one used in old radios, etc), followed by the transistor and then the integrated circuit.

The impact that these 4 inventions have had on the modern world are insurmountable and are now greatly taken for granted by many.  Most likely every innovation of the 20th century has relied in some way on at least one of those 4.

[Black Wolf]

Language is evolutionary, not a discovery. Controlled fire if one single thing has to be chosen, tools if it can be a general category.

[Ford Prefect]

I think the microprocessor is up there.

[TrashMan]

Heretics!!!
How could you forget the most glorious invention ever to blass this planet and your miserable existance!!!

All praise FREESPACE!!!!!

[Ford Prefect]

I don't even remember how to play that game.

[TrashMan]

I don't even remember how to play that game.

BURN HIM!!!!!!! PURGE HIS HEATEN TOUNGE!!!

[Backslash]

Fire is probably the most important.

I'd say the discovery of water was slightly more important (but easier).

Me, I'm holding out for slood...

/me salutes Fragrag for making me laugh; good timing.  MY NAME IS MICHEAL J. CABOOSE AND I HATE BABIES

[Flipside]

We won't find it alas

In Eric, the creator admits that once he made an entire universe and forgot the slood once. I think I know which one that was

[MicroPsycho]

toilet paper, end of discussion.

[achtung]

I have a question.

Is anything really an invention?  If you look at it, it all just seems like everything we have was discovered, not invented.

Like the light bulb.  It wasn't invented, it was discovered that by putting a filament in a vaccum and streaming electricity through it that it would produce light.

Or is my method of thinking a little fubared?

[Nuke]

nuclear warheads.

[SadisticSid]

I have a question.

Is anything really an invention?  If you look at it, it all just seems like everything we have was discovered, not invented.

Like the light bulb.  It wasn't invented, it was discovered that by putting a filament in a vaccum and streaming electricity through it that it would produce light.

Or is my method of thinking a little fubared?

Well, presumably it was observed that passing a current through a metal caused it to glow, passing a current through a thin piece of metal caused it to glow more, and the problem of it burning out could be solved by removing oxygen from the equation. Perhaps these three ideas were what led to the initial designs and the subsequent development, by Edison, to the device we know now. If you look at invention in that context, all it means is putting existing theory into practice.

[castor]

If you look at it, it all just seems like everything we have was discovered, not invented.

I don't think these can be separated. Can you invent anything without having an observable reality to build on?
It would mean producing "outputs" without any "inputs".

[Colonol Dekker]

Ok, the term invent seemed quite a concrete trem, but "Inspired use of knowledge" would tha be more apt?
>>Topic skew
>>>Philosophy-RE: Context of language