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The Greatest Inventions of the Past 2,000 Years
Contributors from a variety of fields offer their views of the most important discoveries of the last two millennia--and some earlier ones that bore fruit more recently--including social and philosophical changes as well as scientific and technological inventions
192 pages, Hardcover
First published January 12, 2000
About the author
John Brockman
68 books619 followersJohn Brockman is an American literary agent and author specializing in scientific literature. He established the Edge Foundation, an organization that brings together leading edge thinkers across a broad range of scientific and technical fields.
He is author and editor of several books, including: The Third Culture (1995); The Greatest Inventions of the Past 2000 Years (2000); The Next Fifty Years (2002) and The New Humanists (2003).
He has the distinction of being the only person to have been profiled on Page One of the "Science Times" (1997) and the "Arts & Leisure" (1966), both supplements of The New York Times.
He is author and editor of several books, including: The Third Culture (1995); The Greatest Inventions of the Past 2000 Years (2000); The Next Fifty Years (2002) and The New Humanists (2003).
He has the distinction of being the only person to have been profiled on Page One of the "Science Times" (1997) and the "Arts & Leisure" (1966), both supplements of The New York Times.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 25, 2017
I found this book fascinating. It provided me a window to glimpse at the history of humankind's inventions, inventors, and discoverers. The aspect that I liked the most was to do with things that I didn't know about or with the aspects that I had overlooked in the inventions.
For e.g. Invention of Rudder played a major role in navigation, the invention of multiple other devices, funding from the king that helped made Columbus's journey possible. Modern printing press's invention was for printing Bible. English first came to the US to occupy the lands in the Longitude 77, that had significance in John Dee's calendar. The Hindu Arabic numeral system that contributed greatly to the numerous advances in the western world and thinking. Drawing the connections between the inventions and context of these inventions were equally captivating as the invention itself.
For e.g. Invention of Rudder played a major role in navigation, the invention of multiple other devices, funding from the king that helped made Columbus's journey possible. Modern printing press's invention was for printing Bible. English first came to the US to occupy the lands in the Longitude 77, that had significance in John Dee's calendar. The Hindu Arabic numeral system that contributed greatly to the numerous advances in the western world and thinking. Drawing the connections between the inventions and context of these inventions were equally captivating as the invention itself.
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May 13, 2026(retrospective review c.2009) Intriguing that someone thinks that 'Hay' is one of the greatest inventions in 2 millenia ... !
Well, it's to do with allowing animals to be fed during the winter, enabling husbandry and permanent settlement, maybe helping turn nomads into small farmers and hence thinkers, inventors, city-dwellers*... not the least contrived idea in a book full or v.clever and a few daft suggestions. I enjoyed the mixture, and the potted histories/essays, but some of the oneupmanship was unnecessary. My favourite was the clever combination of a Telescope/lens and the theory of evolution by natural selection, the former an example of an invention that increases complexity, i.e. widens the scope of the unknown, and an invention that decreases complexity, i.e. adds understanding by identifying, '... a pattern or an algorithm in the vast realms of data, ridding the data ... of its seeming complication.'
*ps. i've just re-read this, I was wrong, the theory is about opening up northern, that is, colder climates to year-round habitation. Although he [Freeman Dyson] doesn't explain why the centres of civilisation moved from Asia, North Africa and the Med, to Paris, London and New York??
Well, it's to do with allowing animals to be fed during the winter, enabling husbandry and permanent settlement, maybe helping turn nomads into small farmers and hence thinkers, inventors, city-dwellers*... not the least contrived idea in a book full or v.clever and a few daft suggestions. I enjoyed the mixture, and the potted histories/essays, but some of the oneupmanship was unnecessary. My favourite was the clever combination of a Telescope/lens and the theory of evolution by natural selection, the former an example of an invention that increases complexity, i.e. widens the scope of the unknown, and an invention that decreases complexity, i.e. adds understanding by identifying, '... a pattern or an algorithm in the vast realms of data, ridding the data ... of its seeming complication.'
*ps. i've just re-read this, I was wrong, the theory is about opening up northern, that is, colder climates to year-round habitation. Although he [Freeman Dyson] doesn't explain why the centres of civilisation moved from Asia, North Africa and the Med, to Paris, London and New York??
November 3, 2020
What is the greatest invention of the past 2000 years? From essays that span multiple pages to short replies of one or two sentences, an eclectic collection of people answer this question. John Brockman is the editor of this collection of essays.
Some of the essays are thought-provoking, while others come across as snarky. A few of the responses are the same, only differing in the reason that they chose them.
If I had the option to choose, and I do, I would choose the automatic bread slicing machine. I was surprised that no one selected that option. In any case, my serious response would be the Internet. Several people chose that option but became pensive at the idea of microchips and the Personal Computer essential to the backbone of the Internet. One of the responders got into that quandary by mentioning that the automobile requires an internal combustion engine.
The book is from the year 2000, and many things have changed since then. When people selected the Internet as an option, technologies to make the modern Internet might not have existed yet. I am not a very good historian in that sense. It is interesting to see how people had hope about the Internet shattering boundaries.
Some of the essays are thought-provoking, while others come across as snarky. A few of the responses are the same, only differing in the reason that they chose them.
If I had the option to choose, and I do, I would choose the automatic bread slicing machine. I was surprised that no one selected that option. In any case, my serious response would be the Internet. Several people chose that option but became pensive at the idea of microchips and the Personal Computer essential to the backbone of the Internet. One of the responders got into that quandary by mentioning that the automobile requires an internal combustion engine.
The book is from the year 2000, and many things have changed since then. When people selected the Internet as an option, technologies to make the modern Internet might not have existed yet. I am not a very good historian in that sense. It is interesting to see how people had hope about the Internet shattering boundaries.
June 26, 2021
It was interesting reading the opinions of many esteemed members of the scientific community about "the greatest inventions" as written at the turn of the millennium. All the usual candidates appeared--computers, the printing press/movable type, the combustion engine. Others were a bit more surprising--contraceptive pills, hay, and lenses, for instance.
Some writers tackled the question with an eye to the past, while others decided to consider what invention would have the greatest impact on humanity over the next two thousand years.
I have one major complaint, and that is the lack of female contributors. This book was drawn from an invitation-only discussion forum hosted by the editor online, so the error is compounded. Surely there are more women who are just as brilliant, erudite, and worth listening to?
Some writers tackled the question with an eye to the past, while others decided to consider what invention would have the greatest impact on humanity over the next two thousand years.
I have one major complaint, and that is the lack of female contributors. This book was drawn from an invitation-only discussion forum hosted by the editor online, so the error is compounded. Surely there are more women who are just as brilliant, erudite, and worth listening to?
December 4, 2025
Two millennia of newness
November 15, 2022
All these super brains do a great job convincing you their choice is the best.
Really makes you think
Really makes you think
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews