Last week, we asked
you to tell us your thoughts on the most
significant scientific accomplishments from the
past 150 years. Here's what you told us...
Dsmith
The most important discoveries?
My thoughts are: the structure and role of DNA,
the stucture of the galaxy, and the red-shift and
the expanding universe
The most important discovery yet to come?
unequivocal evidence of life elsewhere in the universe.
Paul Mistretta
the transistor, plastics, antibiotics, and good
running shoes
Connie Hirsch
Germ theory of disease. Notice how long before
the advent of microscopes that the idea really
caught on, and doctors began to take actions in
accord with it.
CURTIZ
I think the most important innovation of the
last 150 yrs. is the automobile assemblyline. The
reasons are;
1) it made it possible for the cost to
be affordable to most people.
2) when people began to travel and move
to farther places, communications technics were
devised to keep in touch between seperated loved
ones, business and personal friends.
3) this then led to better phones,
radio and t.v.
4) as seperations became greater and
for longer times, air travel became better and more
reliable.
5) air travel led to thoughts of flying
higher and farther which eventually led to space
shots.
6) this led to maned space flight and
the need for smaller and better ways to control
these spaceflights, as well as communications
between the space-craft and the earth.
7) this then eventually became possible
because of the advances in computor technology.
8) these advances have led us to todays
P.C.'s that allow anyone in the world to learn
anything that man has been able to design,
discover, imagine or do.
So, my vote is for the assembly line, without
which we might all still be living our whole life
within 20 miles of the place where we were born.
Pam Roberts
The most important discovery, in my opinion, is
the collective exploration of genetics and
heredity. This field touches so many others,
evolution and the origin of life, medicine and
disease control, the basic biology of all life,
chemistry, for all I know particle physics and
astronomy as well. The biggest innovation has
been mass media - TV, Radio, Internet, etc.
Otherwise how would we, the ordinary citizens, be
able to get information, often directly from those
that discovered/made/caused it?
Thanks to all of you
who took the time to write in!
