The 20 most important tools ever

Forbes have compiled a list of the 20 most important tools ever to bring the world where it is today. The topmost tool is the knife of course, or its stone age variant. About the knife they write:

It’s one of the most ancient tools in our arsenal–our ancestors chipped the first ones out of rock more than two million years ago. It’s so useful that five out of our top twenty tools–the chisel, the lathe, the saw, the scythe and the sword–are themselves forms of the knife, specialized for different circumstances. The knife helps feed us, shelter us, defend us and assure our survival. It’s the most reliable, useful and important tool in human history.

I totally agree that the knife is the most important tool the humans ever invented. It gave them the edge they needed. Just think how the early humans were constantly exposed to ferocious animals that were 10 or 100 times powerful than humans. These animals were not only strong and fast, they also had claws and teeth that acted as formidable tools. Humans wouldn’t have survived without a sharp-edged tool. The slicing and piercing tools — mostly chipped rocks at that time — defended them as well as helped them break bones of dead animals to eat the bone marrow. With stones chipped in the shape of blades they could chop wood, tear the hide off dead animals to wrap it around and crack hard nuts.

After the knife they’ve listed, interestingly, the abacus. Instead of the abacus, the second most important tool should have either been the wheel or fire. Fire is not exactly a tool, but it surely made a hell of a difference to the humans. With wheels, or with cylindrical objects upon which they could role heavy things and hence could transport their belonging to the suitable environments.

I don’t exactly agree with the list, but it’s a good food for thought.