If you could undo one Invention, what would it be and why?

[Feuer Frei!]

Discuss, propose, debate.

[GoldenRivet]

I would say the Atomic bomb... but if the United States didnt invent it first, the Russians or someone else eventually would have.

additionally, my grandfather's unit, having occupied Germany was awaiting orders to mobilize to the Pacific Theater when news of the Atomic Bombings broke... If the bombings had not occurred and the United States was forced to invade portions of mainland Japan... There is a fair probability that i would not exist today.

So... i would have to settle for the next worst invention...

Organized Religion

as much as i believe in God and support the idea that for the most part, religions do a great deal to steer people in the right direction, i feel that those persons who have been placed in positions of power within religious organizations have done more to harm humanity by waging war, causing conflict, controlling information, and suppressing sciences than virtually any other thing mankind has invented or created.

[UnderseaLcpl]

The bra.

[TarJak]

The bra.
Well played sir, but it sounds like you need to practise more.:O:

I'd undo the wheel. That's where all the problems really started.

[Gargamel]

Not really an invention, but a concept.

Modern TV programming and the media storm that goes with it.

This reality TV crap that elevates the lives of useless people (Jersey Shore, Housewives of, etc) at the expense of our sanity is ridiculous. Shows like Deadliest Catch, biggest loser, Survivorman, etc have a purpose. They elevate peoples awareness of the world around them, or just make better people in general.

[Skybird]

Plastic Gartenzwerge. Because even bullets would be a waste on these terrible, ugly, kitschig things.

[Alex]

Let's be frank, honest, straight, realistic and a bit cold-hearted :
If you could undo one Invention, what would it be : the man.
and why : because the world would be perfect without it.

[Betonov]

Let's be frank, honest, straight, realistic and a bit cold-hearted :
If you could undo one Invention, what would it be : the man.
and why : because the world would be perfect without it.

Man isn't an invention, it's an accidental discovery. Like penicilin :DL

the politician, now there's an invention we could do without. Damn you ancient greeks

[joegrundman]

bubble gum

[Freiwillige]

The bicycle seat.:har:

[joegrundman]

The bicycle seat.:har:
:hmmm: you a masochist?

[Raptor1]

Heavier than air powered flight, definitely.

[Schroeder]

Just because you can't manage it.....:O:

[Type941]

i think it's good that if they didn't invent reality tv or the click based modern media business model. it's truly evil and is a cause of many problems that not need be.

[Platapus]

The automatic phone forwarding system

Press 1 for apathy, Press two for abuse, Press three to be randomly disconnected.....


What a frigging waste of an invention. A few years ago, the inventor of this system was interviewed and even he said that he was sorry he invented it.

[jumpy]

Compound interest/usury.

'Cause it's just evil, plain and simple.
It's one of the main reasons we have this 'wealth = debt' economy now. For a thing to negatively impact so many, many people; there's just no excuse for that kind of blatant exploitation.

[Dowly]

Telemarketing.

[Feuer Frei!]

Religious Denominations.
And Nukes.

[Freiwillige]

Compound interest/usury.

'Cause it's just evil, plain and simple.
It's one of the main reasons we have this 'wealth = debt' economy now. For a thing to negatively impact so many, many people; there's just no excuse for that kind of blatant exploitation.

I agree more than 100% with this guy!:yep:

In fact I change my vote!:yeah:

We are born filtered into a system of economic slavery with banks and credit as our masters.

[Feuer Frei!]

We are born filtered into a system of economic slavery with banks and credit as our masters.

Correct! And look out if we question them :nope:

[kranz]

wheel

[Jan Kyster]

Amazon "One-Click-Buy"-button!!! :nope:

[Safe-Keeper]

I would say the Atomic bomb...Spared millions of lives at the end of WWII and scared the US and Soviets from starting WWIII.

[GoldenRivet]

Spared millions of lives at the end of WWII and scared the US and Soviets from starting WWIII.

precisely why I didnt suggest it. :up:

its fair to assume some of us wouldnt have been born without the A-Bomb

[Torplexed]

subprime mortgages.

[STEED]

Work...:)

[papa_smurf]

The i-Pad, Why steve jobs, just why?:doh:

[Growler]

The i-Pad, Why steve jobs, just why?:doh:

Because he likes money, that's why.

Me, I'd uninvent the concept of money as a trading means. (ie: I can't make a product, so I'll give you this paper stuff, that used to be representative of this silver or gold stuff, that most people agree is pretty shiny and therefore pretty neat, but since I don't have any of the neat shiny stuff, I'll give you this paper instead. I didn't actually make the paper, either, you understand. Someone else did and told me that it is equal to that much of that shiny stuff, so it's all good, right? You take this paper, and I'll take your product, and we're good.)

[Castout]

I know that!!!


VIAGRA!!!

So old bastards don't come stealing young women from us. :haha:

[AngusJS]

1) Nukes

2) The car alarm.

[Snestorm]

Flying machines.

[Madox58]

The technology to use Oil as drilled from the Earth.

Had We not found this? We would be in a whole different playing field.
The lack of this major step in mans evolution may have negated Wars and A-Bombs.

There would be no conflicts in the middle east over oil today.
There would have been no conflicts in the 30's about oil.
There many have been actual improvements in other energy sources
long ago.

But hindsight is always 20/20

[Randomizer]

The concept of god.

[TLAM Strike]

The technology to use Oil as drilled from the Earth.

Had We not found this? We would be in a whole different playing field.
The lack of this major step in mans evolution may have negated Wars and A-Bombs.

There would be no conflicts in the middle east over oil today.
There would have been no conflicts in the 30's about oil.
There many have been actual improvements in other energy sources
long ago.

But hindsight is always 20/20

Because there were no weapons designed to be powered by burning coal...
http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/5448/hmslordnelson28190629du.jpg

Although if we had discovered fission earlier (Uranium was discovered all the way back in 1789, 150 years before fission was discovered!) we might have skipped oil and went strait from coal to nuclear power.

[Gargamel]

Because there were no weapons designed to be powered by burning coal...
.

see: Anything steampunk.

[Madox58]

Given the fact that Man is a predator?
We will hunt ourselves into extinction.
No matter the cause or means, it will just be that way.
In the space of time, we are a nothing more then a glimmer of thought.
We, as a Human Race, will not match the Dinosaurs time on Earth.
We are the deadliest thing to infest this planet!

[Gerald]

Flying machines. Which would lead to a longer route for me :O:

[Armistead]

The technology to use Oil as drilled from the Earth.

Had We not found this? We would be in a whole different playing field.
The lack of this major step in mans evolution may have negated Wars and A-Bombs.

There would be no conflicts in the middle east over oil today.
There would have been no conflicts in the 30's about oil.
There many have been actual improvements in other energy sources
long ago.

But hindsight is always 20/20

Then thousands of men would be marching side by side shooting or throwing spears at each other. Man conquered his fellow man killing just as many as we do today long before guns and oil. Just shows people kill, not weapons.
Don't forget the crusades and the many large battles in the mideast came long before oil was found.

[Growler]

Don't forget the crusades and the many large battles in the mideast came long before oil was found.

Humanity's been killing for oil ever since whales and lanterns.

[Castout]

Given the fact that Man is a predator?
We will hunt ourselves into extinction.
No matter the cause or means, it will just be that way.
In the space of time, we are a nothing more then a glimmer of thought.
We, as a Human Race, will not match the Dinosaurs time on Earth.
We are the deadliest thing to infest this planet!

I disagree. mankind destiny lies in their own hands whether they want to keep regressing or evolving.

In the end the future of mankind and the planet is at stake.
When regressed people hold the majority of power for whatever reason the community and society are responsible for this condition even by merely doing nothing. In the end people in lower strata will copy and internalize many values and ideology of their leaders. And if many leaders are corrupt it will ripple down to the society as a whole and the whole nation in the end. And when that happens the corrupt condition will BRING DOWN every civility and eventually the civilization with it. The world will see many more wars and suffering and all this because the good people are being ignorant and shamed to inaction to evil around them.

No this is not a theory this is very real. We'll see! Imo the population of the world has been regressing in general and the world is descending towards regression. I mean in mind and morale and ideology. Well when a kind proves undeserving of civilization it will be taken away from them. We are in the end are responsible with what kind of people we decide to become, with the decisions we chose, with the evil we committed and their consequences, with the sins we made to repay them even in this life by us or our children.

It's just nature in play nothing more nothing less.

[MothBalls]

Gunpowder

[Hottentot]

Given the fact that Man is a predator?

Actually, the term "hunter-gatherer" (which we supposedly originally were and have been for the majority of our kind's lifespan) is a little misleading. The way I've understood it, "scavenger-gatherer" would be more precise. Here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter-gatherer#History) is a Wikipedia link for now, but I'll see if I can find a better source somewhere. But of course "scavenger" doesn't sound nearly as sexy as "hunter". And it also depends on the definition, because later on we also started hunting. Though as far as I know, gathering was still the major source of food.

As for the thread's topic, I don't know. It's difficult enough for me to understand the past as it has happened now (or the small part of it that we call "history" at least), so my mind boggles trying to remove something from it. Does it count as invention when some idiots in different time periods decided to destroy valuable sources because they didn't like what the sources said or needed to write something else on the top of them or needed to wipe their backsides or whatever?

Some ideologies might be worthy candidates, but they are not strictly inventions either.

[Ducimus]

The technology to use Oil as drilled from the Earth.


I was thinking along these lines, but more specifically, Fossil fuels. Just about everything is powered by oil in some way shape or form. The world would be very different, and nowhere NEAR as crowded as it is now, if using fossil fuels never came about.

[papa_smurf]

The Internal combustion engine.

Sure it has lead to means of transport that has sped up our life's, but now it responsible for causing mass pollution and spending a major portion of our adult lives stuck in traffic jams.

[the_tyrant]

Silicon in women

example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kI-b1qJi1qg&feature=related

[Armistead]

I was thinking along these lines, but more specifically, Fossil fuels. Just about everything is powered by oil in some way shape or form. The world would be very different, and nowhere NEAR as crowded as it is now, if using fossil fuels never came about.

Less crowded, I honestly don't think lacking fossil fuels would result in less
F'in...world got pretty crowded before fossil fuels.

[Feuer Frei!]

Silicon in women

example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kI-b1qJi1qg&feature=related

Is that a man? Hard to tell, the vid is grainy. :hmmm::doh:

[MaddogK]

Cellular telephones.
:down:
Noting more than a digital walkie-talkie that a 3rd party charges you to use.

[Ducimus]

Less crowded, I honestly don't think lacking fossil fuels would result in less
F'in...world got pretty crowded before fossil fuels.

How do you think we're able to feed all these people? Cause it sure aint done with a horse and plow anymore, nor any small farm tractors. Fuel has a direct relation to how much were able to farm and harvest.

[AVGWarhawk]

I have to agree with Duci. Fossil fuels made us what we are today. Petroleum is in every facet of our lives.

Farming with science to get everything out of one acre! That includes farm equipment that runs on fossil fuels.

Before we were heavily dependent on fossil fuels people were hunter gatherers. Was the family really as big as say the Brady bunch? :hmmm:

[joegrundman]

yes almost every invention mentioned here has good sides as well as bad sides. With the exception of my own candidate for disinvention - bubble gum, and it's evil half-sister, chewing gum.

these items are evil, pure and simple, and the world would be a better place without them

[Nicolas]

Money!!!

[tater]

Regarding technology vs warfare, your chances of dying to violence are at an all time low in human history right now. Had we lived during WW2, it would be at a historical low then, too.

Minus mechanized killing, a higher % of people actually got killed than after said inventions.

I tend to like the religion idea getting bumped off, instead. Any technological innovation seems bound to happen, and it's hard to remove one, without being forced to follow the dominoes and dump other technology that is closely related. Religion, OTOH, has no real use in the modern world. Being rid of it would remove a crutch for many people, but they could replace it with some other, arbitrary crutch.

[UnderseaLcpl]

I have to agree with Duci. Fossil fuels made us what we are today. Petroleum is in every facet of our lives.

Farming with science to get everything out of one acre! That includes farm equipment that runs on fossil fuels.

I'm not understanding why Duc thinks this is a bad thing, or why you presumably agree. The mechanization and modernization of agriculture has done a lot more to reduce population levels than it has to increase them. The wealthy, westernized nations of the world that use such practices or trade as freely as possible as those that do don't have to devote nearly as much to surviving as they do to thriving. As prosperity increases, so does the expense of having children and the populace is more educated as well. In pretty much every wealthy nation, birth rates are falling, sometimes into the negatives. They can be crowded, on occasion, but they are not overpopulated.

Compare that to the nations that do not have modern agriculture and don't trade freely with those that do. Many are overpopulated in every sense of the word. They are both crowded and can't sustain their populations, resulting in the deaths of millions through starvation, malnutrition, and disease. But that doesn't stop their populations from increasing. They live in a world where life is cheap and survival depends upon having enough viable offspring to provide the reliable labor source needed to provide income or bring in the harvest or tend the cattle.

Call me crazy but I think I'd rather live in the world that embraced petroleum and modern agriculture to the point where it can actually spare time to care about developing other energy sources than the one that lives a brutish hand-to-mouth existence.

Before we were heavily dependent on fossil fuels people were hunter gatherers. Was the family really as big as say the Brady bunch? :hmmm:

Well, the successful ones were, until the children died from disease or were killed. Many more just plain died. For the population to increase at all there must be at least one child born that survives to sexual maturity for each adult just to keep the population stable, so there must have been at least a few. But why am I explaining this? You should know this already from the examples of primitive tribal societies that exist today. They all have high birth rates and high death rates. The only thing that separates the size of their families from the Brady Bunch is that not all of their children are alive at the same time and Marsha Brady has a tendency to be recast after the original actor dies from childbirth complications.

I think I'll stick with the bra as my favorite invention to undo.:DL

[tater]

Hunter gatherers lead brutish, short lives. In studies of (then) extant stone-age societies (Papua New guinea, etc), the typical chance of murder being someone's ultimate cause of death was over 25%. In some tribes higher.

Turning back the technological clock means consigning people to pretty awful lives, living "in harmony with nature" is grossly over-rated.

[Nicolas]

Technology don't make better men. I don't think we are advancing anywhere when the objective is not the persons well-being.

[VipertheSniper]

AUTO TUNE I hate it with a passion

[Ducimus]

I'm not understanding why Duc thinks this is a bad thing,

I'm not gonna get into a long drawn out explanation. Fossil fuels effect and enable us A LOT more then you seem to realize. It is essentually the crack coccaine of humanity. Nearly the entire human civilization is dependant on it. And "it" is non renewable, finite in quanity, past it's peak, and nobody can picture life without it. Thats a recipie for disaster. In the history of man, the time for oil will span perhaps 300 years. And like a crack whore, when the drug stops coming, were going to be in for some serious withdraws. We'd have been better off if we hadn't got dependant on it in the first place.

[tater]

AUTO TUNE I hate it with a passion

No, autoFILL on my phone.

/thread

:)

[VipertheSniper]

No, autoFILL on my phone.

/thread

:)

I guess you know that site then:

http://damnyouautocorrect.com

[Tchocky]

Surface search radars small enough to be mounted onboard warships.

[Armistead]

microwave ovens...wonder if women today would use a stove.

[Feuer Frei!]

microwave ovens...wonder if women today would use a stove.
Some do.
You just have to find the right one. :03:

[Madox58]

As I stated, and Ducimus added to?
The Fossil Fuels and things derived from them?
Once gone, you are going to see a Blood Bath that makes Easter Island's history look like a picnic!

You may think it all just used for powering Tractors or Cars.
Think again!
Where is all your plastic going to come from once Oil is gone?
No plastic? We chop down trees.
(Shades of Easter Island's End!)
We'd be in a bad way for trees now if not for plastics!

Once the fossil fuels are nearly gone?
Look for the Nukes to fall!
Most likely Neutron Bombs.
(Won't want to corrupt land We're going to TAKE!)

Look for massive starvation in the Middle East at the same time.
(No need to Nuke them. They will starve to death and there's nothing left to take anyway. And without fuel? Ships can't sail with food to help.)

Power Plants shut down so no lights, TV, NOTHING!
Even your Cell Phone has become a brick!
(No power? No Cell Towers!)

You want a new religious movement?
This will bring one in a way that will make the Inquistion look like mere childs play.

[longam]

24 hr news stations.

[the_tyrant]

please, pllleassse, PPPLLLEEEAAASSSEEE TAKE REBECCA BLACK BACK!

[Gargamel]

24 hr news stations.

That don't report the news.


The old Headline News channel from years ago when they did a true 30 minute news broadcast every 30 minutes was great.

[TorpX]

How do you think we're able to feed all these people? Cause it sure aint done with a horse and plow anymore, nor any small farm tractors. Fuel has a direct relation to how much were able to farm and harvest.
Doesn't it also have a lot to do with powering our computation-random number-game playing-internet wire-thingys too? :timeout:

[papa_smurf]

Automated phone menus and call centres. "press 1 for this, 2 for that", I just want to talk to a real person, and when you do get to a real person they only follow a pre-written script.

[Feuer Frei!]

Automated phone menus and call centres. "press 1 for this, 2 for that", I just want to talk to a real person, and when you do get to a real person they only follow a pre-written script.

Hear Hear!
The good ole days of customer service has long been forgotten.

[tater]

Hear Hear!
The good ole days of customer service has long been forgotten.

A good customer service story (not automated!).

It's OT, but when we went to San Francisco, I booked Pacific Heights Limousine to send a town-car to pick us up at Oakland. The idea was just to make it super easy, even though the car service was <2X what a cab would be. Figured on the way back, I'd have a feel for things and a cab would be fine (never been to SF before).

Get to Oakland, no one is there to meet us. I call. Guy says that there was a screw up, and the car is 10-12 minutes out. He'll pick us up curbside instead, and at reduced cost. 15 minutes passes. I call to ask what the car looks like just in case I'm at the wrong spot. Tells me black, and the license plate. Nope. Call back 10 minutes later. He says the driver has been there for over 10 minutes and cannot find me. He says he's left the car and is inside downstairs... I say "OK, but I can't see how he passed me at Southwest Airlines without me seeing him." I'm thinking to myself, "I don't SEE a downstairs here, but he knows Oakland Airport better than me." There are a few calls where he has the driver call me. I tell them exactly where I am, at the end of the SW airline terminal, and there is nothing past me, it's the end of the line, etc. Long story short, my plane got in at just before 10am, we were not picked up at 10:45, and something I said on the last phone call made the PHL guy say something that made me realize they might be at the wrong airport. I said, "you're at OAKLAND, right?" Pause. In the screw up they sent the guy rushing to the wrong airport. So he tells me to take a cab. I think he was still talking when I hung up (I was a little POed at this point).

In the cab we got stuck with (driver from middle east, car was running with at least one cylinder dragging, VERY rough, I was sure we were gonna have to call another cab to meet up on the highway, lol) I get a call. It's PHL. He's the good customer service. He told me he'd arranged for the doorman to pay the cab fare, and that our return to the airport was on them. When we left Thursday, the owner met us with the driver to make sure we were taken care of an apologized.

Very well played, I would use them again without hesitation. There are always things that can go wrong, and their proactive stance of making it better without me even asking was exactly the right behavior.

[Feuer Frei!]

In the cab we got stuck with (driver from middle east, car was running with at least one cylinder dragging, :haha: interesting trip

[Gargamel]

Very well played, I would use them again without hesitation. There are always things that can go wrong, and their proactive stance of making it better without me even asking was exactly the right behavior.

Exactly the way to handle that situation. Even since they screwed up, the right handling of those situations will keep you as customer. In fact, bad experiences that were salvaged by good CS will create new customers, as I think some of us would be inclined to use that service now when we go to SF.

[Feuer Frei!]

Without drawing out the OT but...
word of mouth, best form of advertising.
Or the worst.
In this case it's good.

[TLAM Strike]

As I stated, and Ducimus added to?
The Fossil Fuels and things derived from them?
Once gone, you are going to see a Blood Bath that makes Easter Island's history look like a picnic!

You may think it all just used for powering Tractors or Cars.
Think again!
Where is all your plastic going to come from once Oil is gone?
No plastic? We chop down trees.
(Shades of Easter Island's End!)
We'd be in a bad way for trees now if not for plastics!

Once the fossil fuels are nearly gone?
Look for the Nukes to fall!
Most likely Neutron Bombs.
(Won't want to corrupt land We're going to TAKE!)

Look for massive starvation in the Middle East at the same time.
(No need to Nuke them. They will starve to death and there's nothing left to take anyway. And without fuel? Ships can't sail with food to help.)

Power Plants shut down so no lights, TV, NOTHING!
Even your Cell Phone has become a brick!
(No power? No Cell Towers!)

You want a new religious movement?
This will bring one in a way that will make the Inquistion look like mere childs play.

OMG!!! we...we...we might have to start making our own fossil fuels (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/09/10/fossil_fuel/)...
:roll:

[UnderseaLcpl]

Damn. TLAM beat me to it.

Rest assured, Deuce, - and all those who share the opinion that we're on the verge of some kind of oil crisis - we'll be fine. The technology for synthesizing oil has been around for at least, like, 80 years now; we just don't use it because it's more efficient to drill at the moment.

For now, I rest my case in the interests of not completely derailing the thread and/or cluttering it with massive blocks of text, (I do that a lot:oops:) but I trust the topic will come up again and we can discuss it in-depth at that time.

[Bakkels]

please, pllleassse, PPPLLLEEEAAASSSEEE TAKE REBECCA BLACK BACK!

:haha: Lol, I watched that clip yesterday, I wondered what all the fuss was about.
Now I know. Stupidity has taken on a whole new meaning to me :damn:
Made me want to perforate my eardrums with a pencil.

[Penguin]

The worst invention of the past centuries:
The decision to have the "Press Esc to exit fullscreen mode" message hardcoded into Flash and have it popping up in the center of a video anytime you watch something in full screen.
Yes, I got it after having seen it 89235789 times... I have to press esc... :damn:
The guy who decided this should be tarred and feathered.


A good customer service story (not automated!).

[snip ]

Please forward this post to german companies - though I doubt that they would be able to find this funny and strange word "service" in their dictionaries...:shifty:

[Jimbuna]

An iron that only works for the women in the household.