Most usefull discovery?

[Starbrow]

The unraveling of the microscopic constituents of matter, the atom! Hands down

While interesting and certainly also usefuld, I'd wager that this discovery hasn't revolutionised the world in the same way as some of the other suggestions.

It's an interesting topic, though I find it hard to point my finger at any specific thing and say "That!" because a lot of the mentioned discoveries have only become useful when used together with others. A fantastic example of this is the combination of steam power and electromagnetism. As far as pure electricity is concerned, this was actually discovered a long time before we learned how to generate it as we do now (first static electricity generator was 1663), but was in no way useful at the time. It largely remained a curiosity untill the invention of the light bulb and the telegraph.

When I think about this now (and I'll refrain from editing the above in light of this thought), this topic does not distinguish between discovery of a scientific "fact" and the invention of a technology. Depending on which you look for, I'd think you would get wildly differing suggestions. As for technology itself, prime candidates are steam power, eletromagnetic generators, penicillin and the transistor (eventually leading to the integrated curcuit).

If you look at scientific discoveries, it's a bit harder to quantify the usefulness of things directly. For instance, how useful is Newtons laws compared to knowledge of the atom or quantum mechanics? Personally I'd say that the discovery of the laws of electromagnetism might be the most useful when we look at our present society. Things change quite considerably when you take into account the time at which various things were discovered, as thermodynamics (very useful for steam power applications) was much more relevant for the average citizen when electromagnetism was being developed.

I'd therefore like to try and derail/add this to the topic: What would you consider to be the most interesting/useful/unexpected scientific discovery in your lifetime? By this I do not mean technology (like the internet or mobile phones), but things like the observation of the first exoplanet or the mapping of the human genome.

--------
EDIT: Having just contemplated this a bit further and talked to my girlfriend about the topic, I've just had a new (and I think decent) thought:

I would actually now argue that the winner should be the written word. This discovery/invention that has been enormously useful from its beginning more than 4000 years ago and continues to be so today. The major breakthrough that it represents is mainly the ability to store and transmit knowledge without the constant need for a human medium.

Word of mouth is useful in many cases, but as different concepts, technologies and ideas become more and more complex, keeping them only in the minds of the people who work with them become an increasing problem as people forget/change small details during the "transmission". Writing solves this and grants us the ability to spend the effort only once in storing the knowledge, after which it can be drawn upon (effectively) forever. It enables humans to have intelligence as a species, as opposed to single individuals only.

[Inphy]

The discovery of time. Or more likely, the measuring of time!

[Archz]

The discovery of time. Or more likely, the measuring of time!

Time is an illusion, we sure as hell didn't discover it :P

I'd therefore like to try and derail/add this to the topic: What would you consider to be the most interesting/useful/unexpected scientific discovery in your lifetime?

Since I'm going to finish my degree in a few years time and hopefully live another 60+ years, let's add cold fusion, technological singularity, FTL travel and nanobots to the list eh? xD

How about the development of adult stem cell lines?

[delling]

If we're going down the 'written word' path (note that I mentioned 'language' earlier!) then 'the printing press' should probably be the most important invention (it regularly wins these kinds of contests, I think).

[velvetgeisha]

normally i'd put in a serious and thoughtful reply but fuck it, porn!

[Karga]

it's definitely the "QuickLoad" button

[Daekesh]

This thread?

[Toompa]

Well speaking of inventions i can't name ANY that is not put together by atleast 2 or more things. Discoveries on the other hand i would say cures for different diseases, ways to make fire, lead lightning, ways to communicate with eachother (not just speaking) and the fact everyone have their own finger prints different than anyone else.

[Starbrow]

Since I'm going to finish my degree in a few years time and hopefully live another 60+ years, let's add cold fusion, technological singularity, FTL travel and nanobots to the list eh? xD

How about the development of adult stem cell lines?

I wasn't asking for things that would be nice to invent, nor things that have been invented. I was asking for discoveries in your lifetime (scientific or not), not technology :)

If we're going down the 'written word' path (note that I mentioned 'language' earlier!) then 'the printing press' should probably be the most important invention (it regularly wins these kinds of contests, I think).

I wouldn't classify language as a technology, so that's actually not a very good point I think. It's kindda the same as suggesting breathing or superior intellect to other animals. I'd agree that the printing press certainly helped advance the production of books by miles, making it a hugely useful invention.

Well speaking of inventions i can't name ANY that is not put together by atleast 2 or more things. Discoveries on the other hand i would say cures for different diseases, ways to make fire, lead lightning, ways to communicate with eachother (not just speaking) and the fact everyone have their own finger prints different than anyone else.

What you list as discoveries is actually all inventions (as they're all pieces of technology), apart from the fingerprint one. Discoveries is how/why things work, which is something that one, well, discovers (like all matter is made up of atoms). Technology is this/that functionality, which is something one invents/achieves (like the lightbulb).

In light of this, I'd say that everyone here is busy listing technologies, not discoveries :P

[delling]

Well I suspect discoveries aren't exactly the kind of thing you learn about in everyday news/chatter, Star. You learn about inventions because they sometimes become gadgets or tools. Discoveries are usually confined to academic circles.

It's very rare that discoveries actually become big-time public issues. I'm hard stretched to list any discoveries. Perhaps how to easily make graphene?

[Worldbinder]

use of tools

[Yoica]

I think, therefore I am

[Starbrow]

Well I suspect discoveries aren't exactly the kind of thing you learn about in everyday news/chatter, Star. You learn about inventions because they sometimes become gadgets or tools. Discoveries are usually confined to academic circles.

It's very rare that discoveries actually become big-time public issues. I'm hard stretched to list any discoveries. Perhaps how to easily make graphene?

I know, but I still feel it's a distinction that is worth making. It's clear that discoveries made today are often too complex for most people to appreciate, but I'd still say there are some out there. Observation of water on Mars could be one, discovery of carbon nanotubes could be another. I admit that it is a lot harder to think of these things, as you don't get into contact with them in your everyday life.