The greatest innovation in human history has been a topic of much debate over the years.
In some ways, it is a matter of how you ask the question. If one asks what is the greatest discovery things like fire, math and evolution come to mind.
If the question is greatest invention, people are inclined to say the wheel, agriculture or the printing press.
When you rephrase to say innovation, though, other things enter the loop, more esoteric things such as concepts.
Of course, all of the things already mentioned would still qualify under innovations.
Certainly, fire is the foundation of everything industrial up until and including space travel.
The wheel, of course, also plays into just about everything we currently do.
The printing press often gets notable attention because it brought access to knowledge to the unwashed masses.
To my mind, it may be something much more fundamental, such as writing itself. The press, of course, is useless without language.
Many people have made the case for language. It is, after all, practically the definition of humanity. Our ability to communicate, it might be said, is what truly led us to the other great innovations, discoveries and inventions.
Similarly, the argument has been made for music, which is often considered to be the 鈥渦niversal language.鈥�
National Geographic this month has an article that touts art as the greatest innovation. A decent argument, to be sure, as art is the foundation for writing. Music likely predates both of these, however.
So, perhaps it is something even more fundamental. Music, art and writing are all forms of symbolic thought.
Is our greatest innovation symbolic thought?
I am inclined to say no simply because if symbolic thought is an innovation, it is an innovation of evolution. It is an inherent aspect of being human. It is what we do naturally.
These are always fun mental exercises although I rarely come up with any answers. It usually devolves, as it has here, into a matter of semantics.
So, not to be pedantic about semantics, let鈥檚 just say we are a fascinating species.
