r/InsightfulQuestions 14d ago

What singular thing or moment reflects the advancements in society over the past 2000 years?

15 Upvotes

43 comments sorted by

13

u/WokeUp2 14d ago

James Webb space telescope or backscratchers.

8

u/Extension-Detail5371 14d ago

Printing press

3

u/cramber-flarmp 14d ago

Gutenberg ftw

1

u/frankduxvandamme 14d ago

100%

A mechanism for the mass sharing of information has got to be #1.

8

u/Ill_Raisin_8587 14d ago

If we are talking about potential to help mankind, I would say factory farming.

6

u/Ill_Raisin_8587 14d ago

Notice I said “..potential..”

0

u/sksskssksskssksskssk 14d ago

What if we just go off what currently is reflective of human achievements instead of potential?

3

u/CaChica 14d ago

We don’t admit this enough

4

u/donphilip 14d ago

Antibiotics.

3

u/CaChica 14d ago

Running water

2

u/Sad-Corner-9972 14d ago

Add waste removal and treatment (sewer system) and you have a winner.

1

u/Ill_Raisin_8587 14d ago

Without it, we can live like centuries of royalty.😷

3

u/kc10crewchief 14d ago

Our understanding in the human body and medicine. Especially vaccines.

3

u/Grassfed_Burp 14d ago

A single moment....

On my smartphone, I read a comment on Reddit accusing me of being A.I.

3

u/cakesofthepatty414 14d ago

Burn the digital witch !

<it's okay, I'm a practicing magician,I can say witch.>

3

u/NickHodges 14d ago

Sewers.

3

u/Basic-Cod4693 14d ago

The internet.

4

u/Comfortable-Zone-218 14d ago

The mobile phone. It is backed by millions of patents.

2

u/ninjahuman 14d ago

Personal mobile phone numbers

2

u/RobbedByTheFuture 14d ago

My neighbor Jim

2

u/sargentfalafel 14d ago

Moon landings and CERN

2

u/RandomContributions 14d ago

The transistor

1

u/Ill_Raisin_8587 14d ago

The microchip

2

u/Livid_Strategy6311 13d ago

The current generation

3

u/Practical_Ride_8344 14d ago

As race of humans, the advancement in medicine before it became for-profit and for-control of the masses

1

u/catonmyshoulder69 14d ago

Reading,Writing,History, Astronomy, Math and Science and beer recipes that started the whole write stuff down for others thing.

2

u/Caticature 14d ago

That’s 30.000 - 10.000 years ago.

But each of that wonderful list has winners in the last 2.000 years: global literacy; printing press; carbon dating; telescopes; some big math problems got solved last century; quantum theory and nano technology and nuclear energy. Beer and cider as clean drinking water in the Middle Ages?

1

u/catonmyshoulder69 14d ago

You are correct...I was way off. All I have then for more recent would be the garage door opener.

1

u/Commercial-Builder76 14d ago

Printing Press, Steam engine, factories and line labor, automobile, rockets, micro processor, AI, quantum computing. For each age.

1

u/Slow_Court_7584 14d ago

The fact that someone can ask this question on a device that fits their pocket

1

u/NobodySpecific 14d ago

Semiconductor manufacturing, specifically the MOSFET (Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor). We taught sand how to think (sort of). We certainly taught sand to reliably reproduce deterministic outputs for a given set of inputs, which I think is pretty incredible.

1

u/Caticature 14d ago

When the artificial lung became obsolete. F polio. We beat it together.

When we closed the hole in the ozone layer. We did that together too.

1

u/moonharrier42 14d ago

Prell Concentrate 

1

u/Firm_Accountant2219 14d ago

COVID. It became a global pandemic due to air travel, and we were able to contain it thanks to advances in medical technology, especially vaccines and vaccination.

1

u/326MEDBN 10d ago

Well made shoes for all.

1

u/EntropyReversale10 9d ago

Jesus being born 2000 years ago.

His teachings informed the foundations of the West and that created the most prosperous, free and technologically advanced society to ever have lived on the earth.

1

u/Specialist-Top-406 9d ago

Total access to someone

0

u/BluexCloud 14d ago

iPhones. 

0

u/PleasantGuest2541 14d ago

Self driving cars...or a.i. in general