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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?

#331

Post by justanothersys »

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.

Also fountain pens draw really fast with almost no pressure and have such a consistent line. I've been making little musical drawings with them. https://tiktok.com/@whistlegraph

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

#332

Post by na85 »

csomar wrote: post #249
dcolkitt wrote: post #127

I don't know if it's the most important, but it's a great example of how a very simple innovation had huge benefits. The Fitch Barrier are those big orange barrels you see on the side of the road. They're filled with sand inside, and basically help to dampen the momentum of a car that veers off the road. They were invented in the 1950s by John Fitch, a Formula 1 driver who just came up with them as a quick and dirty…

They fill them with water where I live. Seems easier to fill/empty but I'm not sure about the consequences on car collision.

In cold climates the water freezes and it's then basically like hitting a boulder.

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

#333

Post by AngryData »

jtlienwis wrote: post #129

The process for making ammonia from air (nitrogen) and hydrogen. Allowed a huge increase in agricultural output that saved a few billion people from starvation. Haber-Bosch process.

Yeah but it is also a mixed bag because in order to satisfy the massive energy requirements we cheat by using fossil-fuel derived hydrogen which contributes to pollution and global warming. Without cheap fossil fuel hydrogen the energy costs of fertilizer production would rise multiple times over and likely dwarf every other industry in the world. Currently fertilizer production takes 1.2% of total world energy generation, but 10% or more without fossil fuel reagents is not unreasonable. 60% of the world's total crop yield is the direct result of fossil-fuel derived artificial fertilizer.

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

#334

Post by leipert »

puranjay wrote: post #184

The humble ball point pen. People forget how cumbersome and/or expensive it was to write before cheap ball point pens became a thing. You had to use fountain pens. The cheap ones leaked and were an absolute mess to carry around. The ones that didn't leak were expensive. I can now buy more pens for $100 than I'll ever use in years and just stash them everywhere I want

How do you learn writing?

In Germany, as far as I know, everyone learns writing with foundation pens. You can search for images with „Schreiblernfüller“ to get an idea how they look.

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

#335

Post by sevilo »

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 having to hand wash your own bloody (literally) period bands gives me nightmares, that was in the 70s, not that long ago.

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

#336

Post by notatoad »

dharmab wrote: post #244
notatoad wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The most astounding thing about bicycles is that we did actually get it right. looking at the first ~100 years of iteration, you'd kind of assume that it was one of those things that would just keep evolving forever. But then they found the classic diamond frame design, and bikes have been fundamentally the same since then.

You can absolutely make arguments that bicycle design is unoptimized. Why use front forks when they have so many problems? https://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/why-are-there-no-alter... Why haven't recumbent bicycles taken over the road bike market despite many advantages (hint: It has to do with what kinds of traffic we prioritize in cities) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recumbent_bicycle#Compared_to_...

people have been trying to make linkage forks a thing since forever ago, and it never pans out. For all the claims that telescoping suspension isn't very good, there's still nothing better.

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

#337

Post by markdown »

crispyporkbites wrote: post #328
dcolkitt wrote: post #127

I don't know if it's the most important, but it's a great example of how a very simple innovation had huge benefits. The Fitch Barrier are those big orange barrels you see on the side of the road. They're filled with sand inside, and basically help to dampen the momentum of a car that veers off the road. They were invented in the 1950s by John Fitch, a Formula 1 driver who just came up with them as a quick and dirty…

I’ve only ever seen them in North America, why is that?

They also drive on the wrong side of the road. Coincidence? I think not.

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

#338

Post by AngryData »

Aperocky wrote: post #306
ajuc wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Basically there would be ~2 times less people on Earth and over half of them would work in farming if not for this one invention.

> over half of them would work in farming Why would throwing more people at the problem solve or mitigate lack of fertilizer?

Yeah I think he is wrong there. More people would work in farming than now but only like 1% of the population are farmers right now. 2% farmers covering atleast if not more than double the land area is not crazy.

Not to mention relying on natural processes and top soil health and would be extremely sustainable long term and be a huge carbon sink.

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

#339

Post by narrator »

jtlienwis wrote: post #129

The process for making ammonia from air (nitrogen) and hydrogen. Allowed a huge increase in agricultural output that saved a few billion people from starvation. Haber-Bosch process.

Not to mention Norman Borlaug's development of dwarf wheat which kicked off the green revolution and saved billions from starvation.

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

#340

Post by MivLives »

leipert wrote: post #334
puranjay wrote: post #184

The humble ball point pen. People forget how cumbersome and/or expensive it was to write before cheap ball point pens became a thing. You had to use fountain pens. The cheap ones leaked and were an absolute mess to carry around. The ones that didn't leak were expensive. I can now buy more pens for $100 than I'll ever use in years and just stash them everywhere I want

How do you learn writing? In Germany, as far as I know, everyone learns writing with foundation pens. You can search for images with „Schreiblernfüller“ to get an idea how they look.

Pencils mostly. It's not really common for kids to use pens outside of maybe drawing until later on at least not in the US.
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