Humankinds Greatest Inventions

There are a number of amazing inventions that have been created during the course of human history. Some of the great ones that come to mind are:

--The printing press

--The electric light

--Electrical power plants and the infrastructure for the mass distribution of electricity

--The telephone

--Recorded sound

--Radio

--Television

--The photograph

--Moving Pictures

--Digital video

--Concrete

--Steel

--Plastic

--The automobile

--Paper

--Vaccines

--Rocket

--Nuclear power

--Satellite communications

--The internet

I could list many more. Each of these inventions is amazing and have greatly improved the lives of billions of people.

As great as they are, there are three inventions I believe tower above all of these. Without these three inventions, none of these would exist. Humankind would still be living in the prehistoric age. Many of us would have never been born.

What are these three inventions? They are:

--Language (written and spoken)

--Mathematics

--Money

These are not usually classified as inventions. I classify them as inventions in the broadest sense because they were created by humankind. There was a time when language, mathematics, and money did not exist. They had to be created over the course of time.

Language is the mechanism whereby we are able to communicate to ourselves and to others using sound and symbols put together as words, sentences, and paragraphs. Language is the expression of thought. And thought is the primary cause of everything human beings create. Without language, none of those other inventions could exist. Without language we would be no better than the beasts.

Mathematics is the language of science and commerce. It is one of the primary ways we understand natural laws and unlock the secrets of the universe. For example, it is through mathematics that we were able to unlock the power of electricity and unleash a host of modern conveniences.

Though money is really an invention that is a combination of language and mathematics, I list it separately because it is through the use of money, a universal system of exchange, that the resources to create other inventions. Money has a history. That seems to be a simple statement, but I believe it is important to understand this, because we are so used to the fact of money that it's easy to forget that it is really a mental construct that we created. Paper and coins are only symbols of that construct the same way that words are a symbol of thought.

There was a time that money was not. For example, the U.S. Constitution, adopted in 1789, gave the U.S. Congress the legal power to create money. The U.S. Coinage act of 1792 adopted the Dollar as the currency unit and subdivided it into 100 cents. The first U.S. Mint started operations in Philadelphia in 1794. You can read an interesting chronology of the history of money at http://www.ex.ac.uk/~RDavies/arian/amser/chrono.html.

Money is simply a mechanism that governments have created in order to facilitate the exchange of value. This facilitates the coordination of economic cooperation between people.

As I write this, I am sitting in a nice restaurant enjoying a great salad and a glass of passion fruit ice tea. The free flow of money made this possible. Let's look at just some of what had to happen for me to be able to have this salad in this location:

--The land had to be purchased or leased.

--The building had to be designed and built.

--People had to be hired.

--The food had to be grown (in remote places of the country) and delivered fresh to the restaurant.

--Utensils had to be purchased.

--The cooks had to prepare the food.

--The server had to bring the food to my table.

How much physical effort did I have to put forth to enjoy my salad? All I had to do was show up and place my order. My total cost--only about $17. What allowed all of this coordinated effort by all of these people? The free flow of money.

What this means for you is that you can create virtually everything you want and need by the efficient use of language, mathematics, and money. The real power is in your thought power to create value for others using these three tools. If the use value you create is greater than the cash value you receive, you have added to the life of your customer. The cash value you receive is greater than the total cost of providing the service, you have made a profit. Repeat this process on a large enough scale, and you will create massive wealth for yourself and for others.

Copyright (c) 2005 Bill Marshall - All rights reserved. Feel free to republish this article provided you include the copyright information and the weblinks where possible.

For practical self-improvement tips, visit http://www.poweraffirmations.com. Get my new free e-book, "Power Affirmations: Power Positive Conditioning for Your Subconscious Mind"

---

Set Yourself Up for Success!

Set Yourself Up For Success!~ By Fran Briggs Here's a great way to program and set yourself up for success in advance. It is one of many... Read More

Learn To Trust That Gut-Feeling

It just might save your lifeThink of the many times throughout your life when you experienced a strange feeling that turned out to be an early warning of danger.Use your early-warning radar.Did you... Read More

Innovation Management ? Ideas From The Most Embarrassing Experiences Of Life

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be... Read More

Business Innovation ? Blocking: Saying YES or NO

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be... Read More

Penny For Your Thoughts?

Every artifact, every tool, everything ever designed or created by human beings for their own need, comfort, luxury, amusement or advancement began as an idea, a concept?a thought.All wealth had its origins in... Read More

Business Innovation ? the Value of Decision Makers

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be... Read More

Business Innovation ? Real Self versus the Trained Self

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be... Read More

Innovation and Competitive Advantage

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be... Read More

Business Innovation ? Radical and Disruptive Innovation

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be... Read More

Peace Alliance vs. Fighting a Battle

We read in the press about the "War on Drugs" and the "Battle of the Bulge". Television tells us to fight the flu, legal battles or the war in Haiti. Our doctors tell... Read More

Creativity Management ? Theres Nothing New Under the Sun

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be... Read More

Innovation Management ? Testing Ideas

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be... Read More

Accelerate Your Learning

Although you may not currently be a student, learning is a life long process. Perhaps you need to learn something new for your job, or you would like to learn a new language... Read More

The 99 Percent Rule

It's Friday night, you're sitting at a restaurant, and as your meal arrives, the server says, "Now, don't touch that plate. It's hot." What's the first thing you do?Well, 99% of the time... Read More

Innovation Management ? Famous Failures!

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are distinct processes that enhance problem identification and idea generation and, similarly,... Read More

Starving for Intimacy

Some are seeking love in a bottle. Others look for it on the streets and many are trying to find it in their food.Most of our food is grown on acres of land,... Read More

Facing a Resource Crunch? Read On!

Recently I read an excerpt from a new business innovation book wherein the author went to great lengths to instill the need to provide sufficient resources for every innovation effort, without which the... Read More

Discover the Secret to Success in Your Own Back Yard

Yesterday, I went above and beyond the call of duty for community service.Thanks to me, not one black fly within a five-mile radius of my home went to bed hungry last night, and... Read More

Opportunity: Could You Be Colour-blind?

Do you consider your vision perfect? You may never have needed an eye specialist in your life, but this is no indication of perfect vision. And if you just happen to also think... Read More

Befriend Your Budget, This Yuletide and Always

It is that time of year again. Yuletide?Christmas in the air. Nostalgia, goose pimples and casting off all financial discipline. It was originally meant to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ. Joy to... Read More

Can We Change People?

There was a class of "challenged" children and many teachers were brought in over time but each one ended up quitting in frustration. Finally, a teacher was brought in and a miracle happened.... Read More

Innovation Management: Trying Out New Ideas

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are distinct processes that enhance problem identification and idea generation and, similarly,... Read More

Creativity Management and Good Ideas

Some ideas occur in the office and others occur away from the office.If you think of creativity as problem identification and idea generation, then it follows that problem identification and some of the... Read More

Putting Your Ideas Into Action

Ideas are everywhere. Some are small and seemingly insignificant. Others are big giant ideas with the chance to change large portions of our lives. Each idea that we encounter, whether we create the... Read More

Owning Your Power

Owning your power, your power to be real, to be who you really are, is really about owning your freedom. Consider how your reasons for not being yourself may have been to get... Read More

Color Your Life

Have you ever arrived at place in your career and wondered how you got there? Have you found yourself stuck, not liking your job, yet not seeing how you can change after investing... Read More

Solve Problems With A Word List

To creatively solve problems you need to get your mind looking in new directions. You can systematically do this by using a list of words, primarily adjectives, to create "what if?" scenarios. You... Read More

Business Innovation ? the Value of Role Play

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be... Read More

Intuition: Your Best Career Coach

Since I derive most of my life lessons from reading murder mysteries, I am reminded of a mystery by Marcia Muller, Listen to the silence. The heroine, Sharon McCone, turns her prodigious investigative... Read More