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Ask HN: What’s the most important modern simple invention?

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Re: Ask HN: What’s the most important modern simple invention?

#381

Post by maerF0x0 »

gridspy wrote: post #372
sevilo wrote: post #335

Pads and tampons. Some argue these are environmentally unfriendly and produce too much waste, but you have to think, not everyone is privileged enough to own a washing machine in their own home, particularly those in 2nd and 3rd world countries. I genuinely believed pads and tampons allowed women to be more productive in the work force and eventually lead to more equality, just hearing my mom and grandma's story of h…

Equally important is contraception and elective abortion. Being able to control the timing of raising a family allows a much higher degree of freedom and also ensures a safer and more healthy environment to raise a child. I think the most important prerequisite to being a parent is the desire to be a parent.

I dont think "you can pretty much build it yourself" applies here.

Re: Ask HN: What’s the most important modern simple invention?

#382

Post by Grustaf »

kamakazizuru wrote: post #379
Grustaf wrote: post #359

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When did you last visit a country where the gdp per capita is a few hundred dollars? Trust me, it’s pretty different.

2nd / 3rd world notions have nothing to do with GDP. There are plenty of countries (a lot of the middle east for example) that would have back when 2nd and 3rd world were relevant notions been considered 3rd world, these currently have some of the highest GDP (PPP Adjusted) per Capita ;)

Sure, but I responded to the comment about “getting on a plane” and discovering that all countries are so very similar.

Re: Ask HN: What’s the most important modern simple invention?

#383

Post by richk449 »

romwell wrote: post #273
hooande wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I respectfully disagree. 3D printing has not lived up to its hype or potential. The process is slow and sensitive to conditions. The commercial applications are relatively limited. It has radically transformed rapid prototyping, which is very important. But it's hard to compare it to the ubiquitous daily utility of paperclips or even velcro. I have much more hope for the next generation of 3D printing, whatever that…

I disagree with that. It has also transformed hobby/craft markets and arts. The only thing stopping it is UX at this point (you still need to have both craft and computer skills to use them). I have very little use for paperclips, actually, but if I needed one, I could easily 3D print it. And that ability - to imagine things and have them come out of the machine - gives the magical empowering feeling that most of the…

> I have very little use for paperclips, actually, but if I needed one, I could easily 3D print it.

Out of curiosity, how good would a 3D printed paperclip be compared to the metal ones I am used to? I suspect the performance would be significantly worse due to material properties.

Re: Ask HN: What’s the most important modern simple invention?

#384

Post by [deleted] »

gridspy wrote: post #372
sevilo wrote: post #335

Pads and tampons. Some argue these are environmentally unfriendly and produce too much waste, but you have to think, not everyone is privileged enough to own a washing machine in their own home, particularly those in 2nd and 3rd world countries. I genuinely believed pads and tampons allowed women to be more productive in the work force and eventually lead to more equality, just hearing my mom and grandma's story of h…

Equally important is contraception and elective abortion. Being able to control the timing of raising a family allows a much higher degree of freedom and also ensures a safer and more healthy environment to raise a child. I think the most important prerequisite to being a parent is the desire to be a parent.

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: What’s the most important modern simple invention?

#385

Post by grabbalacious »

salgernon wrote: post #157

I’d like to recommend James Burke’s series “Connections”[1] and “The Day the Universe Changed”[2] from the late 70s early 80s. He was a bbc journalist covering NASA and doing science communication and one of his particular fascinations (and mine, having grown up with his work) is the cumulative effect of ideas and technology shape not only how we interact with the modern world, but how we perceive it. [1] https://m.i…

This clip from his first Connections series is a favourite of mine:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPcZ_5uCldg

Near the end it provides an answer to OP's question 'What's the most important modern simple invention?' although whether this in fact would be Burke's answer, I don't know.

Re: Ask HN: What’s the most important modern simple invention?

#386

Post by kwhitefoot »

mynegation wrote: post #143
cranium wrote: post #121

I'm surprised nobody mentioned radio communication. The AM (Amplitude Modulation) transmission is even quite simple to understand and build. You can even create an electric arc between the ground and the transmitting tower as a cheap (and dangerous) receiver: https://youtu.be/uo9nGzIzSPw

Important - yes, but would you consider it simple? AFAIU it relied on Maxwell's equations that I would not characterize as simple.

You don't need to know anything about Maxwell's equations to build a functioning radio. There are plenty of do it yourself books from the 1920s and 30s that explain in great detail how to do it including how to make rectifiers for battery charging, winding coils to get the right inductance, calculating the length of wire needed for the aerial and so on, together with the simple formulae that are needed.

Re: Ask HN: What’s the most important modern simple invention?

#387

Post by SuoDuanDao »

maerF0x0 wrote: post #381
gridspy wrote: post #372

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Equally important is contraception and elective abortion. Being able to control the timing of raising a family allows a much higher degree of freedom and also ensures a safer and more healthy environment to raise a child. I think the most important prerequisite to being a parent is the desire to be a parent.

I dont think "you can pretty much build it yourself" applies here.

eh, I'd say it depends on the quality you're going for. Some sheep intestines and string seemed to do it for a lot of people back in the day...

Re: Ask HN: What’s the most important modern simple invention?

#388

Post by astrodust »

ZguideZ wrote: post #295
salgernon wrote: post #157

I’d like to recommend James Burke’s series “Connections”[1] and “The Day the Universe Changed”[2] from the late 70s early 80s. He was a bbc journalist covering NASA and doing science communication and one of his particular fascinations (and mine, having grown up with his work) is the cumulative effect of ideas and technology shape not only how we interact with the modern world, but how we perceive it. [1] https://m.i…

Some of the greatest TV ever made. Shaped my young mind.

Fantastic and unique in that it cuts across what seem to be unrelated fields to show how one discovery, even accidental, can have enormous and profound implications.

Re: Ask HN: What’s the most important modern simple invention?

#389

Post by oska »

antepodius wrote: post #261
new2628 wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would the state of the Earth be better or worse if not for this development?

May as well just say The Earth would be better off if people had never existed if you're going to go that route. There's more people living better lives, so things are better. There are new problems caused by our previous success that we solve next.

> May as well just say The Earth would be better off if people had never existed if you're going to go that route.

No, that most certainly doesn't follow. It's entirely usual and normal for an amount of something in a system to be fine but then an excess of the same thing to be not fine. This is a very common situation in medicine, for example.

Re: Ask HN: What’s the most important modern simple invention?

#390

Post by tenpies »

inetsee wrote: post #319
greggyb wrote: post #276

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And now you can get a cheap fountain pen that won't leak and writes delightfully. Financially, you're probably better off with hundreds of cheap Bics, but fountain pen ink lasts a long time.

I just started exploring fountain pens (inspired by a previous HN posting), and the feature that appeals to me the most is the variety of ink colors available for fountain pens. Most ballpoint pens seem to have just a handful of ink colors, but it seems to be possible to get a lot more colors for fountain pens, and some of the colors are really exotic.

> variety of ink colors available for fountain pens

Just wait until you start mixing inks to produce your own signature colour. It gets to the point where your ink is as unique as your calligraphy.

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