Asklemmy

43942 readers

482 users here now

A loosely moderated place to ask open-ended questions

Search asklemmy 🔍

If your post meets the following criteria, it's welcome here!

Open-ended question
Not offensive: at this point, we do not have the bandwidth to moderate overtly political discussions. Assume best intent and be excellent to each other.
Not regarding using or support for Lemmy: context, see the list of support communities and tools for finding communities below
Not ad nauseam inducing: please make sure it is a question that would be new to most members
An actual topic of discussion

Looking for support?

Looking for a community?

Lemmyverse: community search
sub.rehab: maps old subreddits to fediverse options, marks official as such
!lemmy411@lemmy.ca: a community for finding communities

~Icon~ ~by~ ~@Double_A@discuss.tchncs.de~

founded 5 years ago

MODERATORS

153

To date, what do you think is the greatest invention or discovery and why? (kbin.social)

submitted 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) by guyrocket@kbin.social to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

125 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Mine is the computer. I continue to be amazed at what we can do with them.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] milicent_bystandr@lemm.ee 18 points 6 months ago (1 children)

This was the topic of discussion between an historian, a mathematician and a mystic.

The historian said, "writing. The ability to put words on paper to be communicated to people who never even met the 'speaker', is the single greatest achievement of mankind."

The mathematician said, "no, numbers. The ability to express and develop truly abstract concepts, which in turn leads to Incredible real applications. Numbers are the single greatest invention of mankind."

The mystic said, "the Thermos flask."

"The Thermos flask?"

"The Thermos flask. It keeps hot drinks hot in the winter, and cold drinks cold in the summer. But think - that little flask - how does it know?"

[–] Hugh_Jeggs@lemm.ee 8 points 6 months ago

I was having lunch at work and this Geordie I work with pointed at my flask and said "What's that mate?"

I said "It's a thermos. It keeps hot things hot and cold things cold"

Next day he comes in and he's got a brand new thermos. I asked him what he had in it.

He said "Two choc ices, a sausage roll and a cup of tea"