We have had treads about earlier inventions of a lot of things, including a Roman washing machine. (But that was my fault.) What we never had is a more general discussion about earlier inventions. What early invention would have the greatest impact? How do we get them earlier. Other comments? Discuss.
Ealiest Invention Tread
- Thread starter Berra
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I'd say, broadly in that order, writing, mass production of text through print, water power engines. Writing could have developed much earlier in the Neolithic and print possibly in Antiquity. And waterpower in Mesopotamia or ancient Egypt could have great long-term repercussions down the line.
Depends on your definition of 'significantly'. The basic idea is simple, and rifling was known since the 15th century, but the machines to mass-produce rifles are IIRC not available brefore the mid-18th century, so you could have it by Napoleon's time.
Alternatively, a different tech path that makes accurate guns desireable. Rifling is standard, guns are expensive, and minie balls are introduced as a means to ease loading.
I think, because inventions are for the most part built on past inventions, in order to have the greatest impact, you need to find the invention that the most other inventions are built upon, or more conveniently, just pick the earliest invention and make it happen even earlier. Now, I'm not really sure what the earliest invention was... some sort of stone tool, most likely. So have stone tools invented earlier. This would have the greatest impact, because all other inventions would also happen earlier.
There were steam-powered vehicles in the late 1800s--perhaps we could have tanks (or something much like them) deployed during the Balkan Wars or the Russo-Japanese War?
We might avoid trench warfare, or have it greatly reduced with such a POD.
We might avoid trench warfare, or have it greatly reduced with such a POD.
The Sandman
Banned
Disease theory. Recognizing that plagues tend to follow in the wake of rats (since I doubt they'd be able to find the fleas just yet), recognizing that milkmaids tended not to get smallpox, recognizing that places that didn't dump sewage into their drinking water were healthier, and so on.
Do this and you probably have a massive increase in human population, much earlier than OTL.
Do this and you probably have a massive increase in human population, much earlier than OTL.
I think you're putting the cart before the horse here - the tank was developed in response to trench warfare, which itself developed because the machine gun was to effective at killing unprotected masses of soldiers, who were unprotected because firearms were too powerful to be stopped by personal armour that was still wearable... and so on.
I don't think you'd get a tank developed without the need to get around machine guns which had caused the trenches. For mobility on the battlefield, horses were cheaper, easier to maintain, and more user-friendly.
I think you'd have to raise the value of life of the poor in the eyes of the powerful to get anyone to care. There was a recognition that living upstream was better, or the West side of town (since winds generally blow West to East) was healthier so the rich and powerful moved there. The masses that lived in wretchedness? Who cared about them?
If the rich were able to see the personal benefit of a healthy society, then you might get some earleir advancements. Though the Romans were a pretty clean lot, and they didn't accomplish all that much...
The printing press. Imagine Rome with moveable type, or at least the ability to print from hand-engraved metal plates. Or perhaps pages made by writing on clay tablets, which are dried or kiln-fired and then used to cast metal plates for printing. Paper at first made from papyrus and then from linen, both produced in quantity by Egypt.
More effective agricultural techniques in ancient times - earlier use of hay, better horse collars so horses are better at pulling plows, moldboard plows that turn the soil much better. In OTL I don't think that the first 2 appeared in Europe until the Middle Ages, and the last one not until the 17th or 18th century.
Faster development of medicine and biology. Somewhat more powerful microscopes and a little more research gets a germ theory of disease during the 18th century. By the end of the 18th century, doctors recognize the need for sterilization in surgery and the importance of greater cleanliness in reducing the spread of many diseases. Anesthetics in the early 19th century, antibiotics by the late 19th century, organ transplants by the beginning of the 20th century, chemotherapy and hormone-based contraceptives by the 1920s.
Faster development of medicine and biology. Somewhat more powerful microscopes and a little more research gets a germ theory of disease during the 18th century. By the end of the 18th century, doctors recognize the need for sterilization in surgery and the importance of greater cleanliness in reducing the spread of many diseases. Anesthetics in the early 19th century, antibiotics by the late 19th century, organ transplants by the beginning of the 20th century, chemotherapy and hormone-based contraceptives by the 1920s.
Systematic discovery and education.
With the scientific method or something like it and a means to pass information on to the younger generation, you create the foundations for future discovery. You're more likely to discover or invent something if you know what you're looking for and have the capability to experiment and properly learn from what others have tried and have the frame of mind to interpret the results.
With the scientific method or something like it and a means to pass information on to the younger generation, you create the foundations for future discovery. You're more likely to discover or invent something if you know what you're looking for and have the capability to experiment and properly learn from what others have tried and have the frame of mind to interpret the results.
While that will certainly trigger off a technological explosion earlier , many marcohistorical changes , or at least a touch of serendipity and the influences of some ATL people who in reality died in Childhood or was born into destitution will be required for the Scientific Method to develop much more profoundly earlier .
I've noticed that few have considered alternative paths to a tech revolution or another unthought of path of development . Could Science and technology develop in different bents , yet at a speed rivalling that of OTL through some alternative worldview and Scientific / Investigative ideologies ?
You might be able to do it based around Baconian philosophy (as eventually happened in OTL), but much sooner. You could also posit something around the Greek or Roman schools of thought. Imagine Roman engineering expertise coupled with the scientific method! You could extrapolate that into all sorts of nifty devices and developments.
Or you could posit an organized system of research and development coming from Islam. Such a system was already there, and indeed was later responsible for inspiring the Renaissance in Italy, but you'd have to avoid the constant conflicts of the Crusades and the Mongol invasions in order to provide time for such a system to develop. If it could, however, it'd be 600 years in advance of European Enlightenment.
If you wanted to get even further from Europe, you could posit an organized system of thought developing around Buddhism. Perhaps someone is inspired by Confucianism and combines the two ways of thinking to come up with the idea that enlightenment is best achieved through careful study and learning, leading to experimentation and all sorts of good things that way.