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What would you consider the greatest scientific achievement Pre-1800's??

Discovery of modern mathematics probably. (Arabs)

/Edit: Sanitation, electricity and magnetism, and steam/combustion engines would also make a showing.

 
Printing press.

The availability of the written word opened up areas of knowledge in every field.
 
Obviously the wheel.

Pre 1800s is FAR to great a period to consider. The wheel is the greatest discovery of all time. It will win every time.
 
Roman medical technology... which was then lost until it was reinvented again by modern doctors in the 1900s, but it was awesome when it was in existence.
 
Language
[edit] Oh I forgot something scientific....does language count? How about farming? I think that was about as scientific as it got in those days.
 
Originally posted by: So
Originally posted by: Atheus
Discovery of modern mathematics probably. (Arabs)

/Edit: Sanitation, electricity and magnetism, and steam/combustion engines would also make a showing.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure that practical calculus was applied by europeans, even if Arabs had put together pieces of it.
Click to expand...

I said arabs because I meant the bits they originally accomplished - positional counting system and such. Either this or the written word are the most important discoveries, but actually might not be the greatest scientific achievement, as they were almost destined to happen anyway with or without scientific effort...

And stop going on about the wheel! If you were an Eskimo you wouldn't want any wheels would you? And they get on fine. They _do_ need maths and writing though.
 
I'm changing my mind - language and arithmatic are not scientific achievements because there was no science back then. I'm going for Newton's equations.
 
Originally posted by: Atheus
I'm changing my mind - language and arithmatic are not scientific achievements because there was no science back then. I'm going for Newton's equations.
Click to expand...

Well, there was science in the sense that there were problems and certain people (or a group of people) developed ways to solve them. Mostly through simple trial and error...but that's really not all that far off of today's scientific method. Problem-->Observations/Screw-ups/try-agains/mulligans--->Solution.
 
Originally posted by: Atheus
I'm changing my mind - language and arithmatic are not scientific achievements because there was no science back then. I'm going for Newton's equations.
Click to expand...

How about the scientific method itself?

I'd also like to nominate:
Atomic theory (model of the atom)
Germ Theory
Relativty
Quantum theory
Mendel's model of inheritence
Darwinian evolution
 
Originally posted by: So
Originally posted by: Atheus
I'm changing my mind - language and arithmatic are not scientific achievements because there was no science back then. I'm going for Newton's equations.
Click to expand...

How about the scientific method itself?

I'd also like to nominate:
Atomic theory (model of the atom)
Germ Theory
Relativty
Quantum theory
Mendel's model of inheritence
Darwinian evolution
Click to expand...

But he said "pre-1800s"...
 
Originally posted by: Descartes
Originally posted by: So
Originally posted by: Atheus
I'm changing my mind - language and arithmatic are not scientific achievements because there was no science back then. I'm going for Newton's equations.
Click to expand...

How about the scientific method itself?

I'd also like to nominate:
Atomic theory (model of the atom)
Germ Theory
Relativty
Quantum theory
Mendel's model of inheritence
Darwinian evolution
Click to expand...

But he said "pre-1800s"...
Click to expand...

oh...duh. 😱
 
Development of agriculture and the domestication of animals.
Allowed civilization to develop... Neolithic Revolution ftw.
 
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