In the milestone year 2000, and now also in the first year of the new millennium, numerous programs and articles have been devoted to listing the greatest inventions and innovations of the last century or the last thousand years.  Suggestions for the "greatest inventions" vary wildly, according to the group making the list.  What constitutes "greatness" depends on your perspective.

The "Greatest" Lists

The PBS series, "The American Experience," focused on the time span between 1752 and 1990, when Americans were enamored of the lightning rod (1752) and the replaceable tip plough (1814), among other new effort-saving devices of that era.

ESPN weighed in with their list of the greatest sports inventions, noting the impact of the designated hitter (1973), the curved hockey stick (1960s), Astroturf (1966), and their all-time first choice: the free agent (1976).

At the other end of the spectrum, Mrs. Hiland's Second Grade Class of Brook Park Elementary School in Indianapolis, picked more personal subjects, including canned food (1813), tape recording (1936), rocket travel (1957) and, of course, TV (1963).

On the High End
(or the "Edge" of it anyway)

At the self-proclaimed intellectual high-end, the deep thinkers of the Edge used the topic of millennium retrospection as one of their "great questions" sessions.  "Edge" (the Edge Foundation, Inc.), is an outgrowth of a group known as "The Reality Club."  It describes its members as "some of the most interesting minds in the world."  Modest they are not.  The Edge website is a public forum for commentary by some of the world's high-status intellectuals.  Contributors are chosen by John Brockman, a literary agent who, it turns out, represents many of these same people.  Although you can't participate in these conversations, they will allow you to sit at their “web feet” and learn, so here's a quick look...

Thinking on the Edge

Edge thinkers, just like Mrs. Hiland's second graders, thought television and rocket travel belonged on the greatest inventions list.  But "Edge'rs" also noted more obscure creations, such as the "idea of the idea."

Edge'rs also selected the Indo-Arab counting system, and the development of the human ego (the id was not mentioned).  But what about Astroturf?

Brockman, as a service to the rest of us, published these contributions in a book called "The Greatest Inventions of the Past 2,000 Years."  There were, however, no conclusions drawn by the group as to any order of importance of these inventions, perhaps due to exhaustion from contemplating the thought of the thought.

The Definition of Greatness

What makes an invention, innovation or idea great?

Mrs. Hiland's second graders offered very practical reasons.  They noted that canned food can still be eaten, even if the electricity goes out.   And that tape recording allows you to listen to music, a critical element in the lives of seven and eight year olds.  One student liked television and thought it was important because, and I quote, "If we didn't have TV, we wouldn't watch the things on TV."   You've got to love the clarity of thinking here.

In contrast, the Edge'rs chose innovations that not only transformed human activity but also the way humans think. Perceptual and cognitive paradigm shifts, if you will.  But decoding their selections is more challenging.  For example, one Princeton professor of physics nominated hay (as in, "bales of...") and then connected it, via the horse, to the rise of urban civilization and the great cities.   Quite a leap.  Another  Edge'r suggested "free will" was a profound conceptual innovation, and then suggested it was actually a "glorious, absolutely necessary illusion."  Translated by one of the second graders, this last statement might read: If we didn’t have free will, we would have to pretend we did.

Whether innovations are viewed from a child's simple reasoning or the over-complicated musings of a hyper-intellectual, surely all would agree that if necessity is the mother of invention, then imagination must be the father.  The ability to imagine may be the highest impact "innovation" of all.

Written by Dan Derby
Edited by L. Martin

Dan Derby is a management consultant and author.