Does the theory of evolution by natural selection count as an invention or a discovery? ;)
Ask HN: What’s the most important modern simple invention?
41–50 of 583 posts
Re: Ask HN: What’s the most important modern simple invention?
#42Standardized shipping containers massively decreased the cost of global commerce which is perhaps the most important force in the modern world.
The often-overlooked Twistlock is an important part of this, and I think it answers the objections about the “invention” being only a convention.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twistlock
On review: another comment here says the same. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22291068
Re: Ask HN: What’s the most important modern simple invention?
#43toilet paper, maybe ?...
Why? Cleaning with water works fine - better, in many people's opinion.
Re: Ask HN: What’s the most important modern simple invention?
#44Liquid paper. Invented in 1956 by a typist, in her kitchen. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_Paper
I'm having trouble seeing how this even makes the top 100 list of "most important".
12 years ago we still relayed on notebooks and pens for everything. Then smartphones appear and life changed forever. And also devices like clocks, calculators, cameras, gps, planners, maps, agendas, erasers and liquid paper become redundant.
Re: Ask HN: What’s the most important modern simple invention?
#45[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: What’s the most important modern simple invention?
#46Re: Ask HN: What’s the most important modern simple invention?
#47Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis on discovering the effects of washing your hands before operating on patients. Simple, yet highly effective.
Re: Ask HN: What’s the most important modern simple invention?
#48Maybe not "most important", but a few dollars worth of post-it notes can turn any wall into a "business application" that can potentially cost thousands to turn into code.
I don't know if you were being sarcastic, but the post it note meetings only provide illusion of getting things done and they can often be destructive if not conducted well or relied on too heavily. Your mileage will vary of course.
Re: Ask HN: What’s the most important modern simple invention?
#49Unix Pipes - BWK pointed out in his memoir how a small piping implementation done in a single day changed Unix(and computing) forever.
Re: Ask HN: What’s the most important modern simple invention?
#50Sterilization of medical equipment. Easy to do even at home if you know how, probably saved hundreds of millions of lives since it was invented.