if you went back in time....

[adecoy95]

two thousand years, and had the opportunity to offer one techology/invention to change the world, what would it be? (you cant bring anything physical with you, not that it would be helpful anyways, a laptop would even only have exactly six hours of "world changing" influience before its a seat warmer)

i was thinking about this today, i dunno why lol, but i figured whatever it would have to be simple enough to teach/make this long ago, and have an effect that would echo through time

i was thinking about penicillin as one, but im thinking its not as simple as just scraping white power off your kitchen fruit, but would it be possible to do i wonder

me personally tho i dont think i would be very world changing, maby i might invent velcro,

i was wondering what kind of things yall could come up with.

[Elfdude]

Bringing back one invention is much different than bringing back one technology.

Technology is unspecific.

Do you know how to produce this invention?

[C.M.]

Electricity

[DAVIDE]

medicines

[CtrlAltDe1337]

An AK47. So that people in Africa could kill eachother faster while still living in the stone age.


More seriously, I'd probably bring back a steam engine.

[DisgruntledGoat]

The steam engine. Reproducable at the time, even if it would be a crude reproduction, it would totally alter the history of humanity.

[conon394]

The steam engine. Reproducable at the time, even if it would be a crude reproduction, it would totally alter the history of humanity.

I'm not so sure; too much was not in place - the metallurgy and the matrix of engineering systems for harnessing the power.

Allowing a little wiggle room given the OP use of technology - I say either:

The printing press, and several associated methods for making paper. The profound effect of simply making books cheap and easily reproduced profoundly (edit profound twice ugg) vastly improves the rate at which ideals can move around and or the chance of not being lost.

Compared the steam engine if cheap and effective printing was around 2000 years ago it more likely many more people would be familiar with the Hellenistic Greek experiments with steam (and/or pneumatic ideals) they might have been pursued elsewhere with practical intent rather than a simple curiosity and know only to a tiny elite.

or

Effective lenses and the mathematics to describe them for all their varied usage. A tool that could than provide for telescopes, microscopes, glasses, improved lighting - thus opening the way for vast improvement in medice, metallurgy, astronomy, chemistry, biology and in general significantly expanding the tools available to those intrested in experimination and empirical research

[cpdwane]

The printing press, and several associated methods for making paper. The profound effect of simply making books cheap and easily reproduced profoundly improves the rate at which ideals can move around and or not be lost.

I'd certainly give printing presses to the ancient Greek scientists/ historians, maybe they could produce enough copies of their works that would survive into the modern era to stop the middle ages from happening and maybe the trainwreck that was ETW as well.

What other inventions? A map of the world, to show the ancients how to get to america quicker?

[Poach]

A musket...

I'd also make sure to learn the process for making gunpowder before I went back in time so I could make some gunpowder when I get there.

[DisgruntledGoat]

What do you mean matrix of engineering systems. Romans could easily have created a low pressure boiler using bronze or iron utilizing simple rivets. The power could be converted easily after that and used to power grain mills to start. Then as time progresses the need for higher pressure boilers to power newer and newer applications would drive the metallurgy experimentation needed move towards high pressure boilers. That being said a low pressure boiler would revolutionize industry of the late antiquity and the early middle ages.

[Elfdude]

What do you mean matrix of engineering systems. Romans could easily have created a low pressure boiler using bronze or iron utilizing simple rivets. The power could be converted easily after that and used to power grain mills to start. Then as time progresses the need for higher pressure boilers to power newer and newer applications would drive the metallurgy experimentation needed move towards high pressure boilers. That being said a low pressure boiler would revolutionize industry of the late antiquity and the early middle ages.

Quoted for truth. The romans did have steam powered curios however without an engine they couldn't figure out how to utilize it slowly yet powerfully enough to drive a vehicle much larger than a pot of coffee. They utilized steam for some very interesting machines and weapons (steam was the first 'gunpowder').

[conon394]

What do you mean matrix of engineering systems. Romans could easily have created a low pressure boiler using bronze or iron utilizing simple rivets. The power could be converted easily after that and used to power grain mills to start. Then as time progresses the need for higher pressure boilers to power newer and newer applications would drive the metallurgy experimentation needed move towards high pressure boilers. That being said a low pressure boiler would revolutionize industry of the late antiquity and the early middle ages.

No I just don't see a low pressure boiler being that revolutionary by itself. For milling how would it displace water mills give that at best the metallurgy would only allow low pressure systems with a fair amount of leakage and risk. Moreover without a coal industry there would be the high demand for wood as well - which would make the device rarely cost effective. Without easy information transmission, a whole host of other advance and a centuries old base of using water mills for a ton of industrial aspects [note here I'm not saying the Romans were not enthusiastically adopting water power for milling and other uses but it was still early in the game if you will] it think a low pressure stream system would be of minimal utility and not have much impact.

I guess my point is really the Romans had the technology and the basic tools - working steam items, pumps, valves etc to build basic low pressure steam systems already and manifestly did not. I would suggest that critically without the printing press and cheap books the ideal even if presented to the Roman emperor as working Newcomen engine would mostly fall flat. Sure the Government might use to make a few mines more functional - but again without centuries of water power use and application with the associated improvements in mechanical power transmission the likely application was limited, and the without easy access to books the visionary individuals (or desperate or whatever) who might be inspired to push the ideal would mostly never here of it.

[cpdwane]

What's the point in giving the ancients better weapons? They did a good enough job of killing each other back then with swords and spears, and besides, think what damage gunpowder weapons could have done to them considering how much smaller the human population was back then.

[Poach]

Well if I have to live out the rest of my days in the ancient world, I may aswell do it as a rich and "talented" chief military inventor for whichever Empire I help create with my weapons

Once the muskets are established I'll come up with cannon, Rifling, the various types of bayonet, internal combustion, tanks.... The list is endless!

[conon394]

Once the muskets are established I'll come up with cannon, Rifling, the various types of bayonet, internal combustion, tanks.... The list is endless!

That sounds all good now explain to me like I'm a Roman blacksmith how to do all that? How about just rifleing how do you actually do it? Oh by the way how do you make saltpeter anyway?

[MathiasOfAthens]

Well if I have to live out the rest of my days in the ancient world, I may aswell do it as a rich and "talented" chief military inventor for whichever Empire I help create with my weapons

Once the muskets are established I'll come up with cannon, Rifling, the various types of bayonet, internal combustion, tanks.... The list is endless!

That sounds all good now explain to me like I'm a Roman blacksmith how to do all that? How about just rifleing how do you actually do it? Oh by the way how do you make saltpeter anyway?

Actually The cannon, historically, preceded the musket. In fact the Musket is much older than the handcannon which he prob referring to. The Ottomans used a bombard cannon. However, they didnt have armies of musketeers.

[Poach]

That sounds all good now explain to me like I'm a Roman blacksmith how to do all that? How about just rifleing how do you actually do it? Oh by the way how do you make saltpeter anyway?

Rifling is pretty easy to sort out once you have a working musket, which I'd have with me. Bayonets are also pretty easy to produce, I could carve a wood model for the blacksmiths.

As for gunpowder, I said I'd learn the process before I went back in time! If it was a random jump and I was just somehow holding a musket at the time, then yes I'm screwed.

I'd go to China! They had gunpowder for ageeeeeeees...

[Gelgoog]

Penicillin. The most important invention in human history.

[conon394]

Penicillin. The most important invention in human history.

Nah without a vast litany of other things you not going to get much effective reproduction of it

[Gelgoog]

Nah without a vast litany of other things you not going to get much effective reproduction of it

well then that follows with the just about everything else mentioned in this thread.