1999 : WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT INVENTION IN THE PAST TWO THOUSAND YEARS?

Contributors [ 108 ] | View All Responses [ 108 ]

1999 : WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT INVENTION IN THE PAST TWO THOUSAND YEARS?

Former book editor of Nature Peter Tallack science editor of Weidenfeld & Nicholson	Founder and director of Psi-Phi Communications Todd Siler Founder and director of Psi-Phi Communications
Professor of Astronomy at the University of Sussex, England John D. Barrow Cosmologist; Physicist; Professor of Mathematical Science,...	Professor of biology at the Schumacher College Brian Goodwin Professor of Biology at Schumacher College
Writer for The New York Times George Johnson Author; The Cancer Chronicles, The Ten Most Beautiful...	Editor-In-Chief and co-founder of Feed Steven Johnson Editor-In-Chief and co-founder of Feed
Columnist at PC Magazine John C. Dvorak Columnist; Broadcaster in areas of technology and computing	Head of Research, BT Laboratories Peter Cochrane Founding Partner, Formicio; Chairman & CEO, Cochrane...
President of EDventure Holdings and editor of Release 1.0 Esther Dyson Investor; Chairman, EDventure Holdings; Executive Founder,...	Professor of Chemistry at New York University Robert Shapiro Professor Emeritus of Chemistry and Senior Research...
Professor of Neurobiology and Psychology at the University of Maryland Robert Provine Professor Emeritus, University of Maryland, Baltimore...	Professor of physics and of mathematics at Columbia University Brian Greene Co-founder of the World Science Festival and Chairman,...
Evolutionary Biologist Paul W. Ewald Professor of Biology, Amherst College; Author, Plague Time	Professor of Linguistics at the University of California at Berkeley George Lakoff Fellow at The Rockridge Institute; Author, The Little Blue...
Professor of Psychiatry, Director, ISR Evolution and Human Adaptation Program, The University of Michigan Randolph Nesse Research Professor of Life Sciences, Director (2014-2019),...	Theoretical Physicist; Professor of Physics at the Center for Gravitational Physics and Geometry at Pennsylvania State University Lee Smolin Physicist, Perimeter Institute; Author, Einstein's...
Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin Maria Lepowsky Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of...	Founder of Electric Minds Howard Rheingold Communications Expert; Author, Smart Mobs
Editor in chief of Scientific American magazine John Rennie Editor-In-Chief, Scientific American	Mills Professor of Philosophy of Mind at the University of California John R. Searle Mills Professor of Philosophy of Mind at the University of...
Professor at the Center for Neural Science, New York University Joseph LeDoux Professor of Neural Science, Psychology, Psychiatry, and...	Physicist Philip Brockman Physicist
Post doctoral fellow in the Department Of Psychology, University Of Alberta Chris Westbury Post doctoral fellow in the Department Of Psychology,...	Computer Scientist, is director of MIT's AI Lab Rodney A. Brooks Panasonic Professor of Robotics (emeritus); Former Director...
wrote The Hominid Gang: Behind the Scenes in the Search for Human Origins Delta Willis Paleontologist; Author, Hominid Gang	Director of Science Programs at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation Kenneth W. Ford Retired Director of the American Institute of Physics
Professor and director of the Center for Neurobiology and Psychiatry at the University of California Samuel Barondes Professor of Neurobiology and Psychiatry, UCSF; Author,...	Professor of mathematics at Temple University in Philadelphia John Allen Paulos professor of mathematics at Temple University
Media Analyst; Documentary Writer; Author, Life, Inc. Douglas Rushkoff Media Analyst; Documentary Writer; Author, Throwing Rocks...	Java evangelist and director of developer relations at Sun Microsystems Lew Tucker Director of JavaSoft's Corporate and ISV Relations for...
Editor emeritus of Nature; physicist Sir John Maddox Editor (Emeritus), Nature; Royal Commissions on...	Professor of Psychology at Boston College Ellen Winner Psychologist, Boston College; Author, How Art Works: A...
Film director and writer-producer Bob Rafelson Film director and writer-producer	Researcher at the CREA in Paris Dan Sperber Social and Cognitive Scientist; CEU Budapest and CNRS Paris...
researcher at the Institut National de la SantÃ© studies cognitive neuropsychology of language and number processing in the human brain Stanislas Dehaene Neuroscientist; Collège de France, Paris; Author, How We...	Writer and Television Producer Karl Sabbagh Producer; Founder, Managing Director, Skyscraper...
Professor of Computer Science at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor John H. Holland Professor of psychology and a professor of computer science...	Editor of Mark Jay Mirsky writer and founder and editor of Fiction Magazine
Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Philosophy/ Neuroscience/Psychology Program at Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, MO, USA Andy Clark Professor of Cognitive Philosophy, Department of Philosophy...	Computer scientist John Mccarthy Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University
Theoretical physicist Julian Barbour Theoretical physicist; Author, The Janus Point	Paleoanthropologist, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Michigan Milford H. Wolpoff Professor of Anthropology, University of Michigan; Adjunct...
Science Correspondent of The Economist and former deputy editor of the Daily Telegraph's technology Tom Standage Business Affairs Editor, The Economist; Author, The Edible...	Ambrose Swasey Professor of Physics, Professor of Astronomy Lawrence M. Krauss Theoretical Physicist; Foundation Professor, School of...
Professor of Psychology at The University of Texas at Austin David M. Buss Professor of Psychology, University of Texas, Austin;...	Professor Emeritus in the Dept. of Geology & Geophysics at the University of California Garniss Curtis Geochronologist Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley
research astronomer at the Joule Physics Laboratory at the University of Salford Duncan Steel research astronomer at the Joule Physics Laboratory at the...	Director of the Human Origins Program, Dept. of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution in Washington Richard Potts Director of The Human Origins Program
director emeritus of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory Leon M. Lederman Director emeritus of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory	Mathematician Verena Huber-Dyson 1923-2016; Emeritus Professor, Formerly, Philosophy...
attorney, is counsel for the Electronic Frontier Foundation Mike Godwin Contributing Editor at Reason	Science writer and communicator based in Copenhagen Tor Nørretranders Writer; Speaker; Thinker, Copenhagen, Denmark
geoarchaeologist and works as chief physical scientist on many archaeological field projects in Mediterranean countries Eberhard Zangger Managing director of science communications	science writer John Horgan Director, Center for Science Writings, Stevens Institute of...
writing about science and culture has appeared in The New York Times Magazine David Berreby Journalist; Author, Us and Them	computer scientist and musician, is a pioneer of virtual reality Jaron Lanier Computer Scientist; Musician; Author, Who Owns The Future?
computer scientist Christopher G. Langton member of the External Faculty of the Santa Fe Institute	Editor of Nature Philip Campbell Editor-in-Chief of Nature since 1995; Beginning summer 2018...
executive editor of The New Yorker Hendrik Hertzberg Executive Editor, The New Yorker	cofounder and Vice-President of Global Business Network Jay Ogilvy a cofounder of GBN, a Partner in the Monitor Group of...
theoretical psychologist Nicholas Humphrey Emeritus Professor of Psychology, London School of...	evolutionary biologist and a member of the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University David Haig George Putnam Professor of Biology, Harvard University;...
Professor in the Biological Sciences Department at Stanford University Stephen Schneider climatologist, is a professor in the Department of...	Associate Professor of Medicinem National Autonomous University of Mexico Antonio R. Cabral Associate Professor of Medicine at the National Autonomous...
adjunct professor of psychology, University of Massachusetts at Amherst Arnold Trehub Psychologist, University of Massachusetts, Amherst; Author...	Professor of Classical Studies and Vice Provost for Information Systems and Computing at the University of Pennsylvania James J. O'Donnell Classics Scholar, University Librarian, ASU; Author, Pagans
evolutionary biologist and the Charles Simonyi Professor For The Understanding Of Science at Oxford University Richard Dawkins Evolutionary Biologist; Emeritus Professor of the Public...	flutist whose latest album is Planet Flute Viviana Guzman Flutist
President and CEO of Learn Technologies Interactive in New York City Luyen Chou Senior Vice President, Product Strategy, Pearson	professor of psychology at Hope College David G. Myers Professor of Psychology, Hope College; Co-author,...
Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of the West of England, Bristol Susan Blackmore Psychologist; Visiting Professor, University of Plymouth;...	mathematical physicist working on quantum gravity using the techniques of higher-dimensional algebra John Baez Mathematical Physicist, U.C. Riverside
mathematician Keith Devlin Mathematician; Executive Director, H-STAR Institute,...	professor of the sociology of sciences at MIT Sherry Turkle Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor of the Social Studies of...
professor of astrophysics at the Institute for Advanced Study, in Princeton Piet Hut professor of astrophysics at the Institute for Advanced...	physicist and computer scientist W. Daniel Hillis Physicist, Computer Scientist, Co-Founder, Applied...
Professor, New Media Department of Film & Media, Hunter College Clay Shirky Social & Technology Network Topology Researcher;...	physicist, is Associate Vice Provost for Research at Columbia University Raphael Kasper physicist, is Associate Vice Provost for Research at...
Chief Architect, Microsoft Corporation Charles Simonyi Software Engineer, Computer Scientist, Entrepreneur,...	pioneer in Computational Neurobiology Terrence J. Sejnowski Computational Neuroscientist; Francis Crick Professor, the...
President of The Archer Group Eric J. Hall CFO of rightscenter.com, Inc	founder of The Whole Earth Catalog, cofounder of The Well Stewart Brand Founder, the Whole Earth Catalog; Co-founder, The Well; Co-...
neurobiologist, is Professor of Biology and Director, Brain and Behaviour Research Group, The Open Universit Steven Rose neurobiologist, is Professor of Biology and Director, Brain...	Professor, Departments of Anesthesiology and Psychology, University of Arizonan Stuart Hameroff Professor, Anesthesiology and Psychology Associate Director...
Professor of Education at Harvard University Howard Gardner Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education, Harvard...	chairman and creative director of the TED Richard Saul Wurman Founder, TED Conference; EG Conference; TEDMED Conferences...
Waynflete Professor of Physiology, University of Oxford Colin Blakemore Chief Executive, Medical Research Council;Waynflete...	professor of electrical engineering at the University of Southern California Bart Kosko Information Scientist and Professor of Electrical...
professor emeritus at the University of matics Reuben Hersh Professor emeritus, University of New Mexico	Correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly Stephen Budiansky Journalist; Author, Journey to the Edge of Reason
biologist and BBC Radio Four broadcaster Jeremy Cherfas Biologist; Senior Science Writer, Bioversity International...	Nobel laureate physicist at Princeton and one of the leading theorists on superconductivity Philip W. Anderson Nobel Laureate; Physicist
computer scientist and cognitive psychologist Roger Schank CEO, Socratic Arts Inc.; John Evans Professor Emeritus of...	Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology and Director of the Brain Perception Laboratory Vilayanur Ramachandran Neuroscientist; Professor & Director, Center for Brain...
mathematician and computer scientist Marvin Minsky Mathematician; computer scientist; Professor of Media Arts...	science writer, and a research associate of the American Museum of Natural History Margaret Wertheim science writer and commentator
theoretical neurophysiologist on the faculty of the University of Washington School of Medicine William H. Calvin Theoretical Neurobiologist; Affiliate Professor Emeritus,...	president of Animatrix Marney Morris Professor of Interaction Design, Engineering Department,...
professor of psychology and education at the University of Chicago Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Psychologist; Director, Quality of Life Research Center,...	research staff member at the IBM T. J. Watson Research Center Clifford Pickover Author, The Math Book, The Physics Book, and The Medical...
Professor of Physics at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton Freeman Dyson Physicist, Institute of Advanced Study; Author, Disturbing...	leading authority in the field of Russian Aleut kayaks George Dyson Science Historian; Author, Analogia
Edwin Howard Armstrong Professor of Computer Science at Columbia University and External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute Joseph Traub Professor of Computer Science, Columbia University;...	an artist, writer, and business man Michael Nesmith Existence is Non-Time, Non-Sequential, and Non-Objective
philosopher, is Director of the Center for Cognitive Studies Daniel C. Dennett Philosopher; Austin B. Fletcher Professor of Philosophy, Co...