Poll Of The Month: What do you think was the best invention, ever made? Why?
April, 2025's poll in the Mirrors For The Mind, Heart and Soul series
Many humans covetously claim that self-awareness, intelligence and sentience are unique to humans. These are people that place the manifestations of industrial civilization on a high pedestal as wonderful expressions of human genius. They see the conversion and domination of biodiverse habitat into dead uniform products (in the name of economic growth) as a good thing.
Others recognize the intelligence and spirit that was gifted by the Creator of all things in many non-human beings and they see humans as being younger siblings having much to learn from our elder non-human) kin. These are people that value place based wisdom, reciprocal connections with other beings and social technologies that encourage and empower humans to take on the role as a Keystone Species and agents of regeneration as worthy expressions of human gifts.
Both of those groups of people (and everyone in between) have respect for technologies, lenses of perception and ideas that were invented by humans.
These inventions may take the form of a physical object, technique or they may take the form of a tradition/belief system that shapes sociocultural dynamics.
Asking ourselves which invention of humans we value the most offers us an insight into our current (sometimes subconscious) priorities in life and gives us the opportunity to reassess (or double down and expand on) our understanding (and the potential applications/implications) of said invention.
Before we commence with the voting and discussion, some house keeping..
So, in the past, I suspect some of you rule breaking poll rebels out there have voted in multiple boxes (subverting the dictatorship of my self-proclaimed poll authority) and throwing a monkey wrench into my carefully planned micro managed poll aspirations (darn you seditious poll voters!). Thus, I am turning the tables on you guys this time and I have designed the poll so that even if you click one in each box, it will still provide meaningful insight and opportunities for introspection. So, if you feel so inclined, you can vote in as many boxes as you want! :)
Or, you can vote in just one single one (as the original intention of this series aimed to encourage, which takes more careful consideration and offers a more potent form of introspection in my opinion).
Also, I will provide some pertinent reference material for any voting options that are obscure or potentially open to interpretation under each box for clarification. So I invite you to take a look below each if you wanna be sure what you are voting for, before clicking.
And, if you do not like any of the options for inventions below and want to add your own option, head down to the last section where there is the option to vote for “Other” (and please explain the invention you would like to vote for, which was not included in my options, in the comment section).
Also, regardless of what you vote for, please explain why you voted for that in a comment to promote constructive discussion and so we can all learn from each other’s unique perspectives.
Okay let the voting pandemonium begin!
These are pretty self explanatory, though I will link this quote for some an interesting perspective on oral vs print based cultures for more context.
For more info on one type of regenerative relationship humans cultivated with animals watch this.
For info on what I mean by food forests check out the links under this post and this comment.
For more info on Terra Preta, read this post.
For more info on allopathic medicine read this.
For more info on the history and mechanics of synthetic NPK fertilizer, read this.
For more info on the Covenant of the Honorable Harvest watch this and/or read “Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer (here is a video reading of the pertinent chapter from that book).
For information on voluntaryism watch/listen to this, this, or this:
For info on the newest gussied up iteration of Wernher von Braun’s 100 year old rocket tech, look no further than Elon Musk’s messy, haphazard and wasteful rockets.
For info on Electrogravitic propulsion tech read this.
For info on EM1 watch this.
For some info on Anarchism, read this and this.
For some biomimicry and Ute prayer inspired poetry, read this.
For info on Cold Fusion tech watch this.
For info on Hot fusion read this.
For information on Algocracy, watch this.
I would appreciate it if you could elaborate on your reason for voting for what ever option you chose in the comments section to promote constructive discussion.
Thank you in advance to those who are taking the time to vote and comment to promote constructive discussion and hold up a candle to the mirror.
(I was inspired to pose this question to all of you fine people by this note)
I clicked 'fire' by accident thinking any click on the email would just open the questionnaire, but it recorded as a click. So please remove 1 vote if you can!
Many of these I do not view as inventions , just natural forces. I guess you mean the understanding of and how to harness that force. Many also rely upon other inventions in a long history of 'progress' (Douglas Adams Hitch-hikers guide: I’ve gone off the idea of progress. It’s overrated!).
In terms of inventions I personally love - the bicycle. Its been my only personal transport all my life, I've explored many places under my own steam. Which in turn relies upon the wheel, metalworking, rubber tyres and so on.
Not an invention, but the development which will make the greatest impact on humanity and this planet will be us learning to expand consciousness, living from the heart in line with much indigenous practice, so we make our choices from feeling, from being in tune with Creator, the Cosmos, Life everywhere - however you wish to express it. This is what I have been working on personally most of my adult life.
I may have inadvertently voted for Christianity, please ignore. I voted for 'other'. Nearly everything on your list has lead humanity away from nature and towards it's own imprisonment and the decline of the natural abundance that once surrounded us. My vote is for the tribe. I don't know if we discovered it exactly, but it is our home. It is the perfect way for humans to organise, to live, and to flourish. Done well, it allows for individualism in the service of all and for security, intelligence, strength and generosity beyond any individual. It negates the need for power structures, laws, formal education, money and jobs, and eradicates depression, anxiety, loneliness and insecurity. Done really well, it does all those things without the slightest permanent damage to the world around it.