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We have already done a “your view” on the best human invention and as I was recently browsing the forums, I saw a post by The Doppleganger suggesting a your view on the opposite subject – what is the worst human invention. So – here it is! Be sure to give your reasons in the comments.
What is the Best TV Show Ever?
My answer: Television. Looking through the recent channel listings for cable, there is very little of merit to be seen there. Aside from the news (which is always biased one way or another) and documentaries – which also often have a bias, the television seems to have contributed nothing to society. In fact, I think you could safely say that television, having become a nanny for so many children, and an escape for so many adults, has helped to dumb down our society and reduce our ability to use our imaginations. I should confess that while I almost never watch TV, I do occasionally watch “made for TV” programs which I have downloaded (to avoid ads).
November 25th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
the gun… It KIlLz!!1!1!1
November 25th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
The outdoor treadmill. (look it up)
November 25th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
condoms
November 25th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
“New” Coke
November 25th, 2008 at 8:36 pm
the bananna protective case
November 25th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
ho ho … television contributed a lot to society! it’s incredible. I agree that in most developed countries it also contributed to decrease people’s mental skills, but just lately.
Television helped making people closer and lazier. Which is what humans are doing for ages, so it contributed in that way. If you miss the old golden age of true values, wait a bit more to come back in the past
November 25th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
The automobile. reponsible for numerous deaths and will someday destroy the planet.
November 25th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
I do not think there is a single worst invention in human history. My reasoning is that for everything invented (that I can think of) there are other inventions that would not have been discovered where it not for that original invention. I’m struggling to think of a single invention that has not had at least one positive externality associated with its discovery.
Of course if this is true it raises questions about how much negativity is acceptable in order to cause a positive result.
Also, it would mean that the very first human invention (communication???) would be both the greatest AND worst invention ever. In this case, it would single-handedly have resulted in every subsequent positive and every subsequent negative invention ever discovered.
November 25th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
The automobile .It has made us fat and lazy. It made the suburbs possible. It pollutes.
November 25th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
It should be the gun powder. Yeah, fireworks are nice, but the things invented or associated with that…like guns, cannons, nukes. It will eventually lead to our utmost destruction.
November 25th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
The one and only ShamWow!
November 25th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
the leaf blower
November 25th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
electric bicycles.
I mean like wtf?
Turning a lovely form of exercise into… goodness knows what ;__;
November 25th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
nukes truly brought us into a hobbesian society
November 25th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
JFrater
Is this your list. I read the comments on why you believe television fits the worst human invention, however, from reading previous comments, I believe your life has been both positively and negatively influenced by watching television. This is not a bad thing. Television had a large influence on individuals growing up between 1954 and now(maybe even a few years earlier).
From reading many of your lists(and others on this site and beyond), television has had a major effect on almost all people we deal with.
I probably watched too much television as a child, but it was my only(and best – this is debatable since I also loved reading) escape at the time. It is still an escape now for everyone who watches. We all need some kind of escape, and this medium has proven to be accessible. Would reading be better? Probably. I still read 1-2 books a month, but the accessity of DVR(I skip through all commercials) has made this a major for5m of escape.
November 25th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
Where did that 5 come from in the last line?
November 25th, 2008 at 9:39 pm
shadow: In a way I think the “escape” element of TV is one of its bad elements – people rely on it to escape a life that doesn’t please them. Surely it is better to fix the problems in life than hide from them in front of a glowing screen?
November 25th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
Probably the gun/bombs. Weapons in general. But, they might possibly have saved a few lives as well, but mostly they just are responsible for killing (I am aware people kill people, not guns, etc but still, guns are bad)
November 25th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
Oh, one more thing I thought of while hitting submit… the bible. Probably tops out guns… yeah, I have my reasons. I really feel it’s not a bad thing entirely in its self, but it’s caused an extreme amount of bad thing to happen by the people who take it too darn seriously. a few hundred (thousand?) years later and it still brings misery to people.
November 25th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
MONEY!!!!!
November 25th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
Wrong. Without TV there would have been no ‘Monty Python’ or ‘Fawlty Towers’. No ‘Only Fools And Horses’. No ‘Last Of The Summer Wine’. No ‘Simpsons’. No ‘Futurama’. No ‘Dad’s Army’. No ‘Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrins’. No ‘Rising Damp’. No ‘One Foot In The Grave’. Most of us would never have experienced the wonders of natural history as presented by the likes of David Attenborough. The chances of seeing a wide range of wonderful films, above all once past general release, would have been reduced beyond count (unless you’re going to cheat and say videos as DVD have nothing to do with TV). Great sporting events and occasions live would be very rare and expensive outings, if even within geographical reach for most. Gor Strewth. Worran addict I am. And how it’s enriched my life … As they say, there’s a little button called the ‘Off’ switch. Surely one of Man’s best inventions?
The real answer has to be the collapsible deckchair.
Precision,
“I’m struggling to think of a single invention that has not had at least one positive externality associated with its discovery.”
If you’d lived in an earlier age, try one of those devices that was designed to kill with maximum suffering by slow torture whilst keeping the victim alive for as long as possible. You might, I suppose, make out a long-shot case for their having led to more humane execution and ultimately to the abandonment of the death sentence in many countries. Hmmmmmmm.
November 25th, 2008 at 9:52 pm
Though I agree totally that television is not always a positive thing, I think it also has many positives as well. How else would people have been able to have seen lunar landings, actually view our political candidates as real people instead of just a voice in the air? Sure, there is a lot of trash out there, but there is also a lot of good things that have influenced generations. But just like the above, I read constantly and love a good book probably most of all, but sometimes we just need an escape from the reality of the world and television can be that. I have to agree that guns would be at the top of my list. What is the usefulness in an instrument meant only for harming or killing? It is bad enough that some people have violent behavior and then add a gun to the situation and that makes a volatile situation even more volatile.
November 25th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
The worst human invention of all time:
Religion… more precisely, organized religion. (think all of the Abrahamic religions, etc.)
November 25th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
17. jfrater
“Surely it is better to fix the problems in life than hide from them in front of a glowing screen.”
I agree. Most of everyone’s time is devoted to making enough to live and supporting one’s obligations. Hopefully, as little time as necessary is spent on this requirement. The rest of the time available can be used to do the things that are enjoyed. Do I think that sitting in front of a glowing screen is the most productive thing I could be doing? No. Is it convenient? Yes. Do Irelax and enjoy most of what I watch? Yes. Would I do something else that may be more productive to me and all other humanity, were I not watching the “boob tube”. I would like to think so, but probably not.
Gotta catch the latest CSI now.
November 25th, 2008 at 10:02 pm
Is it just that I haven’t read the comments careful enough, or has nobody mentioned about nuclear bombs?
I agree that guns are bad, but they can help you in a situation where you can be killed. But nuclear bombs can destroy the world several times. Look at what North Korea is doing…
November 25th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
Anon – I think you’re on to something there re: torture devices. I confess that I did not think overly long or hard on the subject and was quite prepared to be proven wrong when I posted my comment. I suppose I had anticipated most of the responses to this question to be along the lines of weapons or religions, and was thinking of these while writing.
Regarding torture though – could it be said that these may have advanced our understanding of human biology by pushing boundaries that would otherwise be unethical? Unit 731 from WWII springs to mind.
November 25th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Cigarettes.
Guns/bombs.
Money/Capitalism.
Cars.
Pride.
Lies/Propaganda.
Emperialism.
The “numa numa” song.
… to name a few.
November 25th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
fire.
well, the use of it for light, heat and cooking (later forging metals…etc etc etc) that allowed us to truly venture out of the cave and into the world.
and look at what havoc we’ve created since.
*sigh*
there are days i do believe it’d been better if we’d never evolved past that cave…..
November 25th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
Precision,
As I was implying by my Hmmmmmm, it’s perfectly possible to find an obverse side to absolutely every coin. *Good* and *bad* if you want to be simplistic: probably positive or negative is better, and even then depending on the viewpoinht. A profound cynic might say nuclear weapons offer the beleaguered planet a chance to be rid of a very great number of us very speedily. Or looking at the same example from the opposite angle, the actual very limited use of atomic weapons could be said to have warned how terrible they indeed are, and have been responsible for their not having been used again since (or hopefully ever more). Getting more reasonable still, nuclear theory has led to what might be the most viable alternative to carbon dioxide pollution producing energy sources.
November 25th, 2008 at 10:28 pm
The step. That piece of exercise equipment that is a single step. IE a block. It costs a pretty penny, is something most everyone either has in their house (that being a step) or- if they just NEED to have it in front of their TV- something they can recreate with some paint cans and a 2×4.
November 25th, 2008 at 10:33 pm
Rap Music!
November 25th, 2008 at 10:34 pm
Nuclear Weapons
November 25th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
Are we allowed more than one?
The mobile phone. People wake me up on buses and trains with the bloody things. They go off during concerts, church services and the like. People get invited to our home for socialising and to enjoy a meal Anita spends hours preparing and disappear to the end of the room or out into the hall glued onto the wretched thing for half the night. Sometimes I go back to UK and find it difficult to contact my own daughters for all the texting and chatting that’s going on. Anita’s mum’s previously friendly little community has just been torn apart by one of those aerials mushrooming up in the middle of it overnight (a great subject for a film!).
TV? Huh, It can’t hold a candle to that evil device!
November 25th, 2008 at 10:41 pm
xXTurkinatorXx, (31.)
“Rap Music!”
Thanks for the reminder. That’ll do for my *bonus*! Mercifully, right now we don’t have any neighbours bashing it out at high vol. so it penetrates through the walls of our house. But for how long?
November 25th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
Abortion
November 25th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
That’s simple. War.
November 25th, 2008 at 11:20 pm
fast food and all weapons since guns were invented.
both of those are responsible for a lot of lives lost.
November 25th, 2008 at 11:22 pm
The electric Pizza cutter…
Seriously, it exists…It’s one of those round pizza cutters, but with a little battery operated motor…cuz apparently, Pizza is so hard to cut through that you need extra propulsion….
November 25th, 2008 at 11:28 pm
cell phones. period.
November 25th, 2008 at 11:33 pm
Religion and Country music
November 25th, 2008 at 11:33 pm
managers.
November 25th, 2008 at 11:43 pm
necessity is the mother of invention..
taking this quote into consideration, then their are no inventions that has no use..
but then again, some are just plain stupid.
cigarettes – what’s the use? you’ll die ten years early if you’re a chain smoker..
nuclear weapons – we all know we don’t want it to be use..
November 26th, 2008 at 12:00 am
http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/images/japanese_invention.jpg
cmon what is that?
Banana rack is kind of stupid too
November 26th, 2008 at 12:03 am
probably cigarettes. Or any other man-made killers, but tobacco smoking is probably the worst.
November 26th, 2008 at 12:03 am
The Automobile. Automobile. Automobile.
If it had never been created then there wouldn’t be 10 million (I threw that number out off the top of my head) of the smog-inducing, driver-angering, people-fattening eyesores out there on the roads.
They have polluted the the planet more than anything else in history… in many different ways. Not only by the endless streams of carbon dioxide/monoxide soot that streams out of the tails of each one… but also by indirectly contributing to oil spills and litter.
There’s the death factor… both with drivers and pedestrians… there’s the fact that many towns and cities worldwide were built to accommodate for it, thus making it harder for people to walk to get anywhere (and therefore leading to unhealthy people)
… and my personal favorite… that with the automobile comes the subsequent demand and greed for oil and gas has developed an industry so powerful that wars are fought over it, and is so rich that it is practically above and beyond any government existing in the world today.
Essentially, Automobiles and its friend oil rule the world.
November 26th, 2008 at 12:09 am
I disagree with those that say the gun is the worst. There have been many times that guns have saved lives, not only in providing food but defending against invaders.
I would have to say the television is the worst. What slight benefit it has given in terms of education (usually biased) or any other life-saving news that was passed on, is vastly outweighed by the harm it has done.
People might be quick to point out all the people that have been killed with guns but I don’t think they realize how beneficial a tool it has been.
November 26th, 2008 at 12:12 am
The Segway
Not necessarily the worst invention, but probably the most pointless. I mean seriously, what the hell?
November 26th, 2008 at 12:37 am
If I am able to expand this to discoveries. I would say oil. It is killing the earth. Cars are fine without the oil and gas. Guns kill people, no big deal. If they didn’t there would be more diseases due to a high population. The oil thing may end us as a species. The only other thing that could end us totally is the nuke.
November 26th, 2008 at 12:37 am
There are far too many ways to look at this Mr frater.
Your statement that TV is the worst human invention is based on the idea of how it has affected human health (that is to say, it inspires people to not go outside and exercise).
In that same thought I could easily say that the myriad of technology availible to us through hospitals are the worst, because they are contributing to the overpopulation and continuation of the worst in the human gene pool.
The TV has previously contributed alot to the conveyance of infomation (specifically, news, world events)to the large masses. I think it may have contributed to the internet in how it is presented to us.
Those that say that the gun is the worst invention say so becuase of the human collateral damage.
What about the animals that needlessly get killed? What of the people who have been saved because the police have access to these weapons?
November 26th, 2008 at 12:49 am
Wow, we got up to 19 comments before someone mentioned religion! I didn’t think it would take that long; I’m proud of you guys!
The worst invention is definitely the telephone. Especially around dinner. Or any other time of the day. JUST LEAVE ME ALONE, SHEESH
November 26th, 2008 at 12:54 am
Pink flamingos in the garden
November 26th, 2008 at 12:56 am
i will say….power..
everything bad is about it, nazis, white supremacy, 9/11, my religion vs your religion, …power..the need to feel realized only because you need to make a point , ah abba..power.
November 26th, 2008 at 12:59 am
POWERTHIRST! Check it out on youtube. Hilarious. XD
November 26th, 2008 at 1:06 am
LMAO!! hahaha, Kenya, ……Kenya!! jajajaj
November 26th, 2008 at 1:22 am
God
Democracy
Texas
Capitalism
Texas
November 26th, 2008 at 1:25 am
Religion.
Religion is like communism in that, in theory they both sound like good ideas, but human nature turns them into abominations.
November 26th, 2008 at 1:28 am
Television is no different from any other entertainment medium. Whether it’s a book, cinema, live theater, radio, live music… whatever… entertainment is only as good or bad as its content. Nearly every one of your complaints about television could easily be applied to books: Bias in non-fiction, escapism, a tool to keep kids occupied so parents don’t have to worry about them, sedentary entertainment. Pretty much the only exception is the complaint about imagination.
———-
If I had to choose one thing I’d probably say Government. I’m not an anarchist, mind you, but that’s more of a practical issue (it won’t work) than moral one.
There has never, in history, been a government that has not dedicated itself to accumulating more control over its subjects’ lives, nor has there ever been one which has relinquished power without at least the threat of violent revolution. Heck, it wasn’t until 1801 when there had even been a peaceful transfer of power between rival factions of the [i]same[/i] government (John Adams to Thomas Jefferson.)
Government corrupts everything it touches. It is government which turned “Love your neighbor as yourself” into “Kill the infidel.” It is government which turned “Let’s help the poor” into “Give us 2/3’s of your money.”
But, perhaps the worst aspect of government is the paradox that the most harmful creation in human history somehow manages to be among the most indispensable.
November 26th, 2008 at 1:51 am
God.
November 26th, 2008 at 1:53 am
Man
November 26th, 2008 at 1:58 am
I’m gonna have to say Nuclear Bombs, the one invention that could wipe out all life on earth in a matter of hours. Cigarettes are pretty terrible too, you get nothing good out of them AT ALL.
November 26th, 2008 at 2:05 am
Sex is the worst ever . . it hurts
November 26th, 2008 at 2:24 am
religion, hands down.
November 26th, 2008 at 2:32 am
Religon.
November 26th, 2008 at 2:44 am
Gay marriage, hate them, and now all of you gay defenders curse me.
November 26th, 2008 at 3:30 am
Nuclear Weapons
November 26th, 2008 at 3:33 am
Osama Bin Laden, didn’t the CIA create him
November 26th, 2008 at 3:34 am
Alcohol. (For the drinking, not medicating use). Not cool and not funny either. Yuck.
November 26th, 2008 at 3:35 am
BOMBS!
November 26th, 2008 at 4:03 am
#56 Sdggrant. That’s one of the best sayings ever! I still can’t believe tv and automobiles are on here how many people who say they despise them on the list actually own them? And they’re bad because they stop social interaction cmon apart from the fact that phones are used to communicate and therefore be social aswell as organise to meet people etc there are far worse problems than this. I do have to agree religion is one of the worst inventions due to the mindless drones who follow it and fight for their god its insane and stupid. However I think I’ll go with torture devices seeing as though they inflict massive pain and prolong it what could be worse than that? Anti-social people? Instant death? Pollution?
November 26th, 2008 at 4:03 am
#56 Sdggrant. That’s one of the best sayings ever! I still can’t believe tv and automobiles are on here how many people who say they despise them on the list actually own them? And they’re bad because they stop social interaction cmon apart from the fact that phones are used to communicate and therefore be social aswell as organise to meet people etc there are far worse problems than this. I do have to agree religion is one of the worst inventions due to the mindless drones who follow it and fight for their god its insane and stupid. However I think I’ll go with torture devices seeing as though they inflict massive pain and prolong it what could be worse than that? Anti-social people? Instant death? Pollution?
November 26th, 2008 at 4:03 am
“Clap On!
Clap Off!
Clap On, Clap Off. The Clapper!!
November 26th, 2008 at 4:42 am
I think almost everything that’s been invented could be justified for its invention. I believed that God and religion were the worst but then there are arguments against those as well. People need something to hold on to and hence the concept of God; and religions were right around the time they were invented, it could be argued if they really fit into today’s scientific world.
I would say if porn is somebody’s invention then it lies right there at the edge of the worst inventions. The reason is that firstly it kills your imagination and secondly it subdues your zest to go out and be outspoken. I fail to remember if there’s any positive impact of it though. Well, all said, I still pray at the temple of Godess porn almost every day (TMI)…
By the way worst invention would be something like “List of top 10 worst lists,” I hope I don’t ever see that here at LV…just kidding Jamie
November 26th, 2008 at 5:03 am
high heels…..
not comfy, health damaging,makes most women walk slower, hazardous to other people (hear from someone who has been stepped on stupid heels has to say)……..
who cares it look nice, it’s stupid, does it even look thaaat nice, stupid heels! i’m a gal btw
November 26th, 2008 at 5:23 am
Religion. The cause of more problems, persecution, and murder than any other idea, concept or device.
November 26th, 2008 at 5:29 am
I`d say The automobile It kills people & make them lazy
November 26th, 2008 at 5:41 am
Twilight
Worst thing in the history of mankind.
November 26th, 2008 at 5:49 am
alcohol. it causes cirrhosis of liver, cancer of Bowel, oesophagus,head n neck,liver(hepatoma),oesophagitis, gastritis,pancreatitis,hepatitis,cardiomyophaty,hypertension,coronary Artherosclerosis, angina,heart attack, strokes,apoplexy, Fits,paralyses, peripheral etc. they are juz 1/3 of them. if u want 2 know more,go to http://www.ilovezakirnaik. com./ all rite guys bye.
November 26th, 2008 at 5:54 am
tv’s slowly becoming useless nowadays.i mean almost all of the tv shows aired can be downloaded from the internet, thanks a lot to eztv!
@ topic: i think the worst human invention is the cellphone. money was once the root of all evil. now, it’s cellphone.
here’s the proof:
November 26th, 2008 at 5:55 am
tobacco
guns
drugs
segway(the thing u need to lean to make it move)
n
wwe
November 26th, 2008 at 6:06 am
oh.i forgot to mention my objection to you. television is a very great invention!!!without it i could’nt watch hundreds of great korean dramas such as stairway to heaven, sad love story, romance,my girl, hotelier etc
November 26th, 2008 at 6:08 am
rap”music”…..the most horrible sounds ever made by man
November 26th, 2008 at 6:24 am
#61. Fernut – November 26th, 2008 at 2:05 am
Sex is the worst ever . . it hurts
/ came in to say “Then you’re doing it wrong”
November 26th, 2008 at 6:29 am
God and religion? geez people, look past your bias to see that the infrastructure of society would fall apart if it weren’t for these. we would lose many hospitals and schools, most charitable organizations and unleash billions of people who no longer have a moral code.
surely there are things that don’t have as many positives to go along with the negative aspects.
there is a common theme between just about every suggestion so far. human.
if a gun can be used to provide food for a family (good) and kill somebody you disagree with (bad) then it seems that the invention is subject to the whims of the user.
man, pride, anger, jealousy, pettiness, sin essentially is our problem.
although to answer the question, i would say the little thing in public bathrooms that stops the toilet paper roll from moving freely thus giving you only one or two squares at a time.
November 26th, 2008 at 6:37 am
I’m torn between the hydrogen bomb and high fructose corn syrup.
November 26th, 2008 at 6:38 am
Oh, snap… Gabby- You took my line!
November 26th, 2008 at 6:42 am
“although to answer the question, i would say the little thing in public bathrooms that stops the toilet paper roll from moving freely thus giving you only one or two squares at a time.”
YES! DiscHuker! Is toilet paper thievery really that big a problem?
November 26th, 2008 at 6:42 am
our soon-to-be president, invented by communists and radicals to destroy this country
November 26th, 2008 at 7:07 am
#1: guns don’t kill people do
#8: i agree with you perfectly. I was about saying nuclear bombs but what about nuclear energy?
November 26th, 2008 at 7:08 am
Taxes!
November 26th, 2008 at 7:08 am
Haha Randall! Have you seen those commercials now about how high fructose corn syrup supposedly really isn’t bad for you? hmm…I need to find it somewhere and get back to you…anyway the commercials don’t convince me, I still think it’s bad for you, especially when it’s unnecessarily added to things that don’t need it like juice.
November 26th, 2008 at 7:11 am
Bluetooth Headsets
I cannot tell you how many times I have been quietly shopping in the supermarket while some rude person is walking down each and every aisle laughing and talking extra-loudly with their earpiece in (like your friend can’t hear you if you use your inside voice).
I understand that using headsets are very convenient for hands-free phone use while driving, but maybe they should be sold with a tether that forces you to leave it in your vehicle. That way, you don’t have to be such a jerk.
And for the people that walk around with one constantly in their ear…I hope you get ear cancer and drop dead! It’s like you’re always expecting a call, and nobody is sure if you’re talking to them or if you’re on the phone. It’s not a status symbol or a piece of jewelry. And if you spend so much time on the phone that it is so much of a bother for you to be putting it in and taking it out all the time, then I think there is something wrong with you!
If anyone reading this is wearing a Bluetooth headset and is either talking loudly in public or not talking on the phone at all, I am not sorry. You are probably extremely annoying and/or creepy. Please try to better yourselves.
Thank you.
November 26th, 2008 at 7:12 am
Randall stole mine.
November 26th, 2008 at 7:26 am
school XD
November 26th, 2008 at 7:29 am
one more….RELIGION, has the ever been an invention that killed more people or was the reason to wage war; belief in God is one thing; organized belief and forcing it upon others is another, one with often horrific consequences.
November 26th, 2008 at 7:35 am
Gunpowder is the worst invention. It destroyed feudalism, but it will destroy humanity. (Just kiddin, hurrah gunpowder, damn barbie dolls, hurrah atomic bombs, damn spongebob)
November 26th, 2008 at 7:37 am
This is actually a pretty good question…
I’ll have to say REALITY TV!!!!
Tila Tequila and The Hills alone are enough to lose hope in humanity.
But that doesn’t mean I hate TV as a whole.
November 26th, 2008 at 7:41 am
Also, why is the image “WHAT IS THE BEST TV SHOW EVER?” “My Answer: Television”? Never heard of that one…
November 26th, 2008 at 7:42 am
lawl letz all say religion or god, guyz. . .hurhur. . .amirite?
Honestly, though, it’s homosexuality.
November 26th, 2008 at 7:44 am
By the way, godless philosophies have been the cause of far more deaths than all religions put together, even if you count bloodthirsty religions like Islam that have violence as one of their main tenets.
November 26th, 2008 at 7:45 am
Ugh, I forgot to say that the only Reality show that I consider worth it is The Amazing Race. Okay I’ll stop with the multiposts now (although I’m eager to defend TV’s contributions to modern society…
)
November 26th, 2008 at 7:49 am
WHY, THE ANSWER HAS TO BE—LISTS!
November 26th, 2008 at 7:57 am
Bob @97: Can you give me an example of how “godless philosophies have been the cause of far more deaths than all religions put together” ?
November 26th, 2008 at 8:03 am
You are all wrong.
The worst invention by man is alligator clips.
November 26th, 2008 at 8:06 am
I agree with TV to a point. I think if TV were to shut off at 11 or 12 at night and come back on at 5 or 6, that would encourage a lot of people to get more sleep. Like they used to when it was first invented.
I would say the remote is worse than the TV. The more inventions humans create to make our lives easier are slowly making us all heavier and killing us off sooner… Watch Wall-E. I think they were spot-on to where we are headed with trash and conveniences.
November 26th, 2008 at 8:07 am
Organized fanatical religion and neoliberal capitalism are the first things that come to my mind when considering the worst inventions of mankind.
November 26th, 2008 at 8:16 am
Disc (81)- WOW, I was actually phrasing my post in my mind when I read yours and figured you had already eloquently written what I wanted to say. Kudos.
November 26th, 2008 at 8:24 am
thanks gtt. which part? i am equally supportive of God/religion and free flowing toilet paper.
November 26th, 2008 at 8:29 am
Bob, (96),
“Honestly, though, it’s homosexuality”
Let’s have the name of its *inventor* then, Bob. Every invention has to have an inventor.
For those who say nuclear weapons. Really? Any device which so scares shit out of humanity as to be the ONLY way of stopping a third and most lethal world conflict for the entire last 60+ years can’t be all bad. Oh yes it has been, sad to say, don’t let’s try to pretend otherwise.
November 26th, 2008 at 8:32 am
Randall: check this ad out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEbRxTOyGf0
there’s a couple of them..it’s really bizarre because I’ve read everywhere else that it’s bad for you but these commercials try to convince otherwise
November 26th, 2008 at 8:36 am
Bob,ur comment will for sure hurt us(muslim).Well, i cannot blame you 100% as there are so many misconceptions about islam.study first every statement that u hear and u will realize that islam do not teach terrorism.
November 26th, 2008 at 8:38 am
Hot Pockets!
November 26th, 2008 at 8:43 am
bucslim: you mean boiling hot magma and pepperoni pockets
November 26th, 2008 at 8:43 am
Disc et al.,
Its inventor as well as beneficiaries of the bog paper stop gadget might well claim that the worst invention is the fellow human being who keeps pulling and pulling and pulling the free-flow type. Result: the next person along discovers too late there is none left for their dire (or diorrhea) hour of need. Hands up anyone who’s NOT been in that situation? Recommendation. Use paper handkerchiefs and always carry a sufficiently large wadge in your pockets. (That’s for blokes and ladies who don’t use handbags.)
November 26th, 2008 at 8:53 am
for everyone who says tobacco and is from the united states think again. Tobacco was one of the most important staple crops in this country in the 17th and 18th century. W/O it the colonies would not have survived. That was their biggest export out of the colonies allowing them to thrive and begin to incorporate other crops. Tobacco was not an awful invention, nor are cigarettes
November 26th, 2008 at 9:01 am
99. Bob
“By the way, godless philosophies have been the cause of far more deaths than all religions put together, even if you count bloodthirsty religions like Islam that have violence as one of their main tenets.”
What Godless Philosophies? Could you explain
November 26th, 2008 at 9:13 am
Leaded petrol, and CFC’s to cool refrigirators
November 26th, 2008 at 9:16 am
42. scarlet_tear: necessity is the mother of invention..
****
Oh, no! Necessity is the mother of strange bedfellows!
As to the Atom bomb, and all that followed, even Einstein was devastated when he realized what he had helped to do. Had the first not been invented, none of the following been invented, we’d undoubted be living in a much more serene (at least mentally, phychologically) world.
November 26th, 2008 at 9:19 am
KFC!
The Colonel puts an addictive substance in his chicken that makes you crave it fortnightly, SMARTASS! OOO I hate the Colonel and his wee beady eyes!
November 26th, 2008 at 9:25 am
segue, (117),
Ah, one of our very rare bit civilised points of disagreement then? (See my 108.) I can only add that having lived through a world war and a cold war, I know my preference without a moment’s hesitation. The cold had really frightening moments, but like the genuine threat of a major earthquake where we live now, it dod not prey endlessly on my mind, or those of all I knew, or blight our lives. With nuclear weapons I could have been called up for active service when on call (up to 45). Without them I’m as near certain as possible I would have been.
November 26th, 2008 at 9:27 am
The cell phone.
November 26th, 2008 at 9:45 am
the womans vibrator…
ROFL
seriously though…i think it sucks.
November 26th, 2008 at 9:55 am
Lawn Jarts! http://snag.files.wordpress.com/2007/01/jarts.jpg
Remember those things? Really fun game but someone should have seen the writing on the wall that kids (like me) would throw them up as high as possible not knowing where or who they will land on.
OK not really the worst human invention but for some reason Lawn Jarts came to my mind.
November 26th, 2008 at 9:56 am
Oh I disagree with television being the worst. I have learned a lot of things from the simpsons and it has also taught me to be more open minded to other cultures and societies by watching and learning about them.
My worst thing, although it was probably already said, is religion.
Not god, but religion.
November 26th, 2008 at 10:10 am
I agree with u Buckslim.KFC suppliers cram birds into huge waste-filled factories,breed and drug them to grow so large that they can’t even walk and often break their wings and legs.So, ladies and gentlethinker let us boycott Kentucky Fried Cruelty(KFC)
November 26th, 2008 at 10:12 am
A pity we have no opening parameter to define what was intended to constitute an invention here. Presumably though it was intended to cover material gadgets and implements, not philosophies and religions, attitudes, natural resources or human behaviour, etc. Many of those non-material *inventions* add little but pointless aggro to this thread, as elsewhere in LV.
Maybe the following point has already been made explicitly or implicitly, but the definition The Worst Human Invention doesn’t have to signify it has no beneficial side. E.g. despite saving lives in emergencies, improving business deals and the like, cell phones still qualify. Likewise the openingchoice of TV.
Perhaps this needs splitting into two: The most terrible human ionvention AND The most irritating human invention!
November 26th, 2008 at 10:19 am
Tobacco isn’t an invention. The cigarette is. It has just killed one of my two best friends, despite his having given it up immediately the anti-cancer campaign started all that time ago. So don’t give me that codswallop about cigarettes not being an awful invention danmoo, despite my learning so much from those wonderful little informative picture cards they used to put in the packets.
November 26th, 2008 at 11:00 am
simple; the zike
November 26th, 2008 at 11:10 am
I will agree with TV to an extent; at one time it was informative and educational. However with the advent of this “reality TV” bull shit all use for TV is gone and that is the reason we got rid of our cable.
November 26th, 2008 at 11:13 am
The Federal Reserve
November 26th, 2008 at 11:23 am
TV while it has many bad things, is the reason you can travel around the world and SPEAK ENGLISH to people. If you have ever been to a country that doesnt teach English in school and were able to survive speaking english, this is most likely because the people that COULD speak English watched a lot of TV
November 26th, 2008 at 11:23 am
Nuclear bombs. Why would we want to create something that could blow us all up?
November 26th, 2008 at 11:56 am
Gonna be hard to get any kind of consensus here.
Nukes are TERRIBLE when used…but what has their very presence done to the world? We’re a lot less willing to engage in major wars–look at the 1800s and compare to the 1950s and later; there have been tons of small wars (which are no less horrific) but no massive conflicts so far. Here’s hoping.
Petroleum distillation? On one hand, it brought us to our modern age. On the other, it might wipe us out. Who knows? That throws it in with the same potential as such things as robotics, artificial intelligence and nanotechnology–each of which COULD rock, or they COULD annihilate us.
Or religion. It’s one of the things that led to civilization rising at all. When Rome fell, the only reason that not all the works and ideas of Rome and Greece were lost was because of monks making copy after copy. Tons of people can only find contentment in religion. And yet, at the same time, it’s been abused to justify atrocities and manipulate people. You can probably say the same thing about any economic or governmental system.
How about this as an idea: Tobacco.
November 26th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Talanic,
(Sighs) There’s a pretty extensive tobacco thread above you already. It goes down as far as Post 126.
(Sighs again) There’s also a fair consideration of the pros and cons of nuclear weapons. It reaches Post 119, and then crops up again in Post 131 without reference to previous discussion.
Interactive discussion is actually far more interesting, believe it or not. And Talanic, regulars just HATE seeing something presented as brand new which has long been discussed in the thread. It may even be their *worst human invention*! Hahaha.
November 26th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Atomic bomb is by far the worst invention of mankind.
it is enough to say that the creator of the bomb Robert Oppenheimer after seeing first nuclear test said : “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds” .
Anything that has power to take so many lives should not be in people’s hands.
November 26th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Godless philosophies that have led directly to wholesale slaughter?
Nazism and communism to name a couple (and let’s not forget the fans of eugenics that were popular in the 18/1900s)…killing over belief is not solely a religious thing.
I know blaming religion is a REALLY popular, but lets be fair. Mankind has shown it can kill for many reasons.
Worst invention, any philosophies or governmental forms that take away from the individual rights of people…or to be more partisan, anything that takes away from free markets or liberties.
inb4 capitalist pig or religious fundie
November 26th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Yep…cigarettes have to be right up there. They smell, are bad for your health, highly addictive and completely pointless.
November 26th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
Religion.
November 26th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
#124 Fazrin – you’re confusing me with the animal rights lunatic fringe. I enjoy chicken, chopped up, dusted with flour and salt, deep fried and slathered in sauce, or roasted, or the filling in a Philly sandwich, or only the wings with bbq sauce or cold from the fridge the next day.
So, to quote Maddux, for every animal you refuse to eat, I’m going to eat three, negating your fondness for the salvation of the animal kingdom put on this planet to be consumed by us.
Teach that chicken to build a hospital or drive a car, and I’m on your side.
November 26th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
The macarena,
November 26th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
People saying that religion killed more people than anything else, how ignorant can you be. Who ever taught you this was wrong. War and disease have kill way more people then religious persecution. There have been far more persecuted people because of their race, nationality’s, ideas, and tribal ancestry. Look at Africa since the imperialism of the land, its people have been subjected to killings, slavery, and torture. Even now, they are killing each other just because of the tribal differences. WW2 Nazi’s killed millions of people because of their heritage, Japan slaughter millions of people because their race/nationality. Mention one war on religion I’ll raise raise you 10 wars started over other reasons. Don’t be so blind sided by your vendetta towards religion, that you believe one thing you’ve read or heard.
November 26th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Jackie:
Goddamn high fructose corn syrup peddlers, trying to force their clear semi-liquid Koolaid on us… forcing us to buy more and more and more, keeping The High Fructose Council and the High Fructose High Lord of Sweetness in perpetual business… damn them all to hell.
That, or like I said, the hydrogen bomb. Not a nice invention. Scary, very scary. But has hurt fewer people than High Fructose Corn Syrup, I betchya. Hmmm. Tough choice.
Actually, you know, if you put high fructose corn syrup in ANYTHING, Americans’ll buy it. Did you know that? It’s true.
Ah well. This truly is a silly Your View.
Television the worst invention? (!) PSSSHAWWW!!! Think of the world without TV… (as Homer Simpson said–I paraphrase cuz I can’t remember the exact quote–”friend, parent, secret lover…”) No televised boxing! No Monday Night Football! No Diana Rigg in her skin-tight leather outfits (drool). No Marianne in her lil’ short shorts and cut off top (double drool). None of the sheer delight of waiting for those odd moments when Joyce Dewitt would wear something tight or revealing, and you’re yelling at the TV for that dumbass Jack Tripper to get the hell out of your way! No Star Trek (original only!) with the Spock and the Kirk and “Dammit I’m a doctor, not a concierge!” (”I’m not a madam! I’m a CONCIERGE!”—and how would I have heard that when the damn movie came out when I was only THREE, but for TV? I ask you!) No “Circus of the Stars” or “Battle of the Network Stars!” No “Love Boat” and no… well wait, I’m making the argument for it here, aren’t I? Well… no Star Trek! That was a damn good show! So was Seinfeld! Cripes! No Twilight Zone, no Naked City, no The Defenders, no Wild Wild West… am I making my point? No, I didn’t think so.
I do like Ghost Hunters and How It’s Made though… the quality of my life would be lessened without them.
I also think Cheez Whiz is pretty sucky, and should be considered as another terrible invention. Wonderbread too. Yick.
November 26th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
JB is a fucking moron. anyone who thinks that inventions like the television are making people “lazier” should go live in an amish town. the purpose of all invention is to ease the toil of man, and if you look at it from a cavemans point of veiw, all humans are lazy. and as for the making people stupider part, its only dipshits like you who think like that. in fact, why do you turn in your computer and buy a nice stationary kit, so you can mail people stupidity.
November 26th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Automatic-flush toilets. They inevitable flush at the most inopportune time, and are notorious for splashing one’s nether regions with whatever vile substance is in the bowl.
November 26th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
can anyone who posted homosexuality please explain why you think it is wrong? outside of religion, I have yet to find a single intellegent answer to that question. I keep hearing it destroys families but noone can say why!
The worst inventions all can be found on an infomercial staring Billy Mays….he’s a great salesman but all the products he promotes are useless!
November 26th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
and to theSKIN, ever hear of manifest destiny? its what europenas belived. it means that god ordained them with holy right to conqure africa and america. hitler specifically killed the jews and atheists becouse of his roman catholic veiws, whitch he said many times[also, jewish is not a race, dumbass.]. the crusades were in the complete name of christianity. the salem witch trials, saddam hussein s slaugher of shiites, etc. etc.
in short, you are a fucking idiot.
November 26th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
The Cartoon Network has destroyed society!
Life was better before children had access to cartoons 24 hours a day.
In “the old days”, Saturday morning cartoons were a meaningful part of our lives. We got up early, fixed a bowl of cereal (our first experience at “cooking”), snuggled up in our favorite chair or with a favorite pillow and settled in for 5 or 6 hours of pure kidertainment. Followed by “GASP” going outside and playing… nowdays cartoons are aways on, never giving kids a chance to “PUT DOWN THE FOOD AND STEP AWAY FROM THE TV”
Saturday mornings were something to look forward to all week(teaching patience)
Saturday mornings were a privilege and could be taken away
(teaching actions have consequences)
Saturday mornings were a good thing.
sigh…Stupid Cartoon Network…
November 26th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Holy crap…Hitler…a Catholic? Raised maybe. But observant? Hell no.
Hitler’s numerous crimes were not committed out of his zeal for the Catholic church. Check it out…http://www.lawandreligion.com/nurinst1.shtml
Fool.
And “Jewish” can refer to both a religion or a ethnicity.
And Saddam’s persecution of the Shiites was much more about their revolt…not their religion. Saddam was pretty secular…Islamic only when it politically suited him.
Give me a religious conflict, and i’ll give you secular reasons for a ‘religious’ war.
Settle your 16yo butt down ringo, no one is trying to convert you.
November 26th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
ringo get your facts straigh, Hitler was Catholic,but he`s motives werent influence by it,to say that is just plain ignorant, read Alfred Rosenberg(one of hitler`s chieff ideologist) “The Myth of the 20th Century” in wich he blast the catholic church pretty damn hard, he`s hatred of the jews wasnt religion motivated, study first.
the manifest destiny was an american manifest, not European, and it was NOT influenced by God, but rather by power,nationalisim etc..
get your facts straight buddy.
And religion is always and excuse, not the reason, ideology gone extreme is the fault, communism(Stanlin), religious fundamentalism (kkk)..ideology, not religion.
November 26th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
Meth !!!!
November 26th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
war
intelligence
religion
November 26th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
the air conditioner! it allows people to stay inside even on hot days so they do not need to go take part in their community and stuff. less people meet i guess. idk
November 26th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
on intelligence, think about back before we could create, we had no ozone holes, or many extinct/endangered species
look at it now
i rest my case.
November 26th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
God invented humans- the most harmful invention ever
November 26th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
Organized religion is the worst “invention” of mankind. Ever.
November 26th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
119. Anon: segue, (117), Ah, one of our very rare bit civilised points of disagreement then?
****
Yes, it is. I remember so vividly my grammar school days; once a month the civil defense sirens would sound, and you would crawl under your desk (if at school, a table if at home) curl into a ball, and clasp your fingers together behind your neck. When one next siren sounded we’d lineup and march to our underground lunchroom, where we’d wait for the next “all clear” siren.
I had an ulcer by nine, sure I’d be dead one of those times the sirens sounded. I’d seen the civil defense films, I knew crawling under the desk was a waste of time.
During the Cold War, my dad was Supervisor of a construction crew which was putting up perimeter fencing around minuteman silos in the Northwest. In all of the little towns around the sites everyone, children included, wore dogtags so that, in case of nuclear attack (they’d be a first strike location), the bodies could be identified. I was 12. Imagine what kind of influence that had on my psyche.
November 26th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
Dischuker: you have a good point about funding and religion but I don’t know of any hospitals funded by the church and every religous school I know of costs a fortune to go to and brainwashes children or atleast attempts to about religion I would know I started in a catholic pre school and finished all my schooling years at a catholic school. That aside if religous people’s ethics are only due to a childhood like reward system, that being good you get rewarded (heaven), bad you get punished (hell) then what people are they anyway? they merely act good or bad on a reward basis not because they have any real moral fibre but because a book told them to. I think or atleast hope it goes a bit deeper than that and their actions and morals are more concrete than that for there sake and everyone else’s too. As for bob #98,#99 firstly how is homosexuality an invention? And even if it was how is that bad unless you were raped and are holding a grudge I suppose and as for godless philosophy being a bigger killer than religion? Where did you pull that from I’m sure even the religous people will back me on saying that’s a lie. In fact it was the philosophical teachers who were killed and imprisoned by religous fanaticals and I can list quite a few.
November 26th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
CLOTHING
GUNS
RELIGION
TIME
CELL PHONES
MCDONALC
KAVIAR
TELEVISION
If I would have to chose just one, it would be RELIGION !
November 26th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
The Xbox 360, the Wii and PS3 are much better
November 26th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
In my opinion, the Casket. I believe people should contribute to the environment instead of being locked in a box unable to decay as every other thing does. Burial grounds take up tons of space as well. Not entirely sure if this was an invention or more as a rite of passage, but either way someone along the line more or less brought it to be.
November 26th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
deep friers. it makes people fat and fat people fatter.
November 26th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
cb
There are numerous Catholic hopsitals…feel free to google ones in your area.
As for your schooling, well, I think the fact that you were ‘brainwashed’ from pre school to graduation is a great example of someone coming from a religious backround, and still making decisions for themselves.
So how then again are schools brainwashing the kiddies? I think we can both agree that when we are adults, we make our own decisions, and someones adult faith is certianly one of them.
You view that religon=wars shows you really do not have a firm grasp of historical fact nor a realistic concept of why wars/conflicts are fought. Most conclicts are over resources, cultural influence, or just plain old power lust.
Very rarely is relgion in itself a motive to go to war.
But, I think your rather simplistic interpretation (”a book that promises rewards”) take on religion, and let’s be honest, you are talking about Christianity, shows you to be someone is who is really more concerned with maligining a denomination you disapprove of than anything else.
November 26th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
The DVD rewinder is THE king of stupid inventions
November 26th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Text messaging, its created a barrier for real communication, its dumbed down our youth, and it’s anti social. I am an avid texter. Urgghh.
November 26th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
McDonalds 15 cent cheeseburgers.
November 26th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Ringo710:
First, if you are going to write something anywhere (public forum or private note) go back to school or use a dictionary and look up the word. Spelling mistakes, poor syntax, etc. just make you sound plain ol’ dumb!
Second, if you’re going to pontificate (look it up) about Roman Catholicism, Hitler, and other things try to get your facts straight. If you have only a vague idea of the actual historical facts and context then google the subject or look it up in a school textbook before making a fool of yourself in public. Otherwise you just strike all observers as ignorant.
Needless to say, your arguments have fallen flat and doubtless have turned others off to your way of thinking.
On the other hand, if you are – as I suspect – just some angry kid spouting off then all your spittle-flying hate phrases will neither rouse us nor satisfy you. And frankly I truly feel sorry for you.
November 26th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Mr. Plow
The closest catholic hospital to me is nearly 6 hours away still a valid point though. In my post I wrote “brainwashes children or at least attempts to about religion”. It’s quite easy how they brainwash children, I had to have studies of religion as a compulsory lesson in my HSC, I was given a bible I had to read and do exercises in. I was made to participate in a re-enactment of the crucification of Jesus, made to go to church weekly and do the rosary amongst other things. I have many friends who were brainwashed into religion. One of them said if it wasn’t for him being tutored in physics he would still believe what the school fed him and many other smart friends of mine still do. Still religious brainwashing is slightly off topic. As for me saying religion = wars that’s very much out of context all I said was religion was a bigger killer than godless philosophies and how mindless drones fight for their god that’s hardly stating that religion = wars. (except these posts are a good example of some listverse wars hehe).
All in all I still believe torture (whether that include the rosary is up to you) is still the worst invention but religion is up there for it’s brainwashing, slowing down of civilization (Galileo, killing and imprisonment of ancient philosophers, men & dinosaur business etc), Sacrifices, Jihads, conflict (note conflict not war), Eating only certain things ie haram, kosher,being a vego etc and the taking away of people’s rights.
November 26th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
dude quit saying nukes, if the stupid jap bastards didn’t have to blindside us in the first place nobody would know their power is except for the testers, and cigarettes, you have a choice, the worst invention is whatever makes the largest number of people miserable, yea religion is pretty stupid too, look how many wars it has created, therefore requiring upgrades in weapons to kill your ‘inferior’ religious opponent, religion probly
November 26th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
dude and mr. plow, i just heard on the news the other day that every war being fought right now is religious, and look how many in the past, so it is a huge motive
November 26th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
CB, I hardly see where religion, the rosary, or your unhappiness at a Catholic school have anything to do with inventions. If you have a beef with religion, Catholicism, etc. that is your business. But let’s focus on the question here: the worst invention.
Inventions by the very definition are intended to improve something. If the invention has worked then hopefully it has improved upon its purpose. So to me the questions here are:
a) What invention was truly a horrible invention;
b) What invention was completely and utterly useless.
My choice for a) is nuclear weapons. My choice for b) is poison gas in WW1 (devastating for both the intended victim as well as the user).
November 26th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
The internal combustion engine.
Steam, Wind and Hydro power were already in use when petroleum based technologies were developed. If the internal combustion engine had not been invented, mankind would have focused on developing those clean and renewable energy sources much sooner.
November 26th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
Narvik, it was not religion that caused wars. It is the greed, selfishness, and lack of moral center that caused wars. Plenty of unscrupulous individuals have hidden behind the mantle of a religious cloak. But that does not inherently prove that that religion is bad nor that religions in general are the cause of the problems. It simply shows that human nature is generally corrupt.
November 26th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
nice job Theodoric.
November 26th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
Theodoric of York:
“I hardly see where religion, the rosary, or your unhappiness at a Catholic school have anything to do with inventions”
Religion is an invention hence the relevance in this forum that being “Your View: What is the worst human invention”
Invention is simply something that was invented.
Invented by definition is the following:
1. To produce or contrive (something previously unknown) by the use of ingenuity or imagination.
2. To make up; fabricate: invent a likely excuse.
Hope this helps clear up why I suggested religion and then named several reasons why it is one of the worst inventions.
November 26th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
171 York, agreed.
Navik, whatever troll.
cb, you still are no longer a practicing Catholic, so why are you NOT brainwashed and all those you graduated with ARE? Either you are supremely brilliant or maybe the brainwashing is not that effective.
And are you really that surprised that a religious school endorses a religion?
Also i’ve never heard of eating kosher violating anyone’s individual rights. Religion is a choice, just like your choice to leave, there are no taking of liberties, one simply chooses a lifestyle in which they know they will have certain rules.
AS for religion being such a killer, peruse this link, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars_and_disasters_by_death_toll
Is religion really the biggest killer…or conflict causer? It is a myth that religion is the prime cause of conflict…the historical record simply does not bear that out, read for yourself.
I agree on the torture, but still maintain that liberty killing philosophies and governments are the worst invention humanity has created.
November 26th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Without TV we would have no Listverse.
Telemarketing.
November 26th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
Reader comments.
November 26th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Bigwig Rabbit -
you wascaly wabbit! as much as i bitch and moan about commentors..at times…it is what makes this site so entertaining. otherwise it’d just be lists..which is great but the internet is about interaction NOT just reading.
so pooh pooh on your comment bashing commentors!
for shame you wascaly wabbit!
November 26th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
Mr Plow
Have you ever heard a brainwashed person say they’re brainwashed? All those people that follow cults, mass suicides, suicide bombers that believe they will go to heaven and get heaps of virgins etc are they not brainwashed?
The conclusion that you came to stating that either I am supremely brilliant or the brainwashing in not that effective is fairly limited. Could it be perhaps that I was further educated than those through science or philosophy. Perhaps it was that I was not as ignorant as others the possibilities are far more than the my brilliance or the ineffectiveness of their brainwashing.\
Thank you for the link even if it is misguided as you keep stating that I believe religion is “such a killer”. It’s just more of a killer than a godless philosphy is all I said. However the human sacrifice statistics were interesting.
November 26th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Annoying forced 4chan internet memes. God dammit man, it was funny for about… Two minutes! No more!
November 26th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
CB, Let’s objectively look at the numbers, shall we? In terms of “religious wars” we can easily lump in the Jihad by Muslims from 632 to at least the suige of Vienna in 1638; on the Christian side the Crusades in retaliation from the 11th century on; the Dutch Revolt (1560s to 1648); the 30 Years’ War (1618-1648) but really almost nothing afterwards (unless you include the Taiping rebellion 1850-1864 in China). The Napoleanic Wars were fought for a secular ideal. The wars of the 19th century (Crimean War, wars of Italian and German reunification; American Civil War) were all for nationalism in one sense or another. The British, French and Russian imperial wars were simply expansionist. Thus we are left with the 20th century. Those wars (WW1, WW2, colonial struggles in Africa and Asia, proxy fights of the Cold War, etc.) were all purely secular. Unless you consider Nazi-ism, Communism and Western liberal democracy religions (I don’t and I have never heard anyone who does). The death tally from the 20th century wars – easily more than 100 million (20 million WW1; 60 million WW2; 40 million Chinese civil wars; etc.) were all secular. Casualties in the Crusades were sometimes as low as a few dozen in battles and never more than a few 10s of 1000s. There were not that many combatants. Even the worst excesses of the Muslim-Christian wars (eg Vienna, Constantinople, etc.) were 100,000s. At most the tally from the Thirty Years’ War was 1 million (largely thru starvation and disease).
Now, tally up how you get religion to blame for those numbers or where you find a larger tally of deaths directly attributable to ANY religion?
November 26th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
I almost feel like I am talking to a brick wall. Where in any of my posts did I say religion starts wars and is the biggest killer etc? I didn’t and you are straying from the subject. However your post does show religion does kill hundreds of thousands and I thank you for showing yet another reason why religion is one of the worst human inventions.
November 26th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
“more of a killer than a godless philosphy ”
Well cb, I think those particular stats prove just the opposite. (Even if you add in the sacrifice stats, as I would lop those in the religion camp.)
Your statement that religion is more of a killer than a godless philosophy is objectively wrong. It should be pretty obvious for you, as I provided a link with some very basic stats showing just how many wars/conflicts/deaths are NOT in fact based in religion.
As for the brainwashing stuff. You grew up in a religious school, thought about it, and decided it was not for you. Do you know for a fact that the rest of your class mates, or any religious person for that matter, have not sat down and had the “do I believe or not” talk with themselves?
As a man who has been “further educated” in science or philosophy, how do you know that those with faith have not made a conscience decision to practice that faith?
The truth is you don’t know.
Your non belief does not make you any better or worse than those who believe.
November 26th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
Everything we know to exist is an invention. Literally. And notice its always the atheists that bring up religion? Why are you so scared to admit that others views are as possible as any of yours? Seriously, everytime an atheist or anyone who doesn’t believe in religion has to comment on it the first chance they get, and it seems the comments stem from your insecurities about the unknown. Those who believe in religion know about as much of what happens after death then those who don’t believe in religion, yet if you have any beliefs you will get called out on it. I can’t remember the last time i came in these comments and heard anyone preaching their religion, however i can always find someone calling it out. ok, we get it, you don’t believe in anything, now get over it and move on, cuz if you felt so strongly about it you wouldn’t have to keep commenting about it every time you have an opinion about anything. like i said, we get it already.
November 26th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
Saying television is the worst invention ever is pretty ignorant. Have cases arisen where it has been abused? Yes, just like any other mass media. However, it remains an incredibly complex and infinitely valuable artform. At its highest, television has helped expand the nation’s imagination and created eternal chronicles of the human condition.
The kind of person who is “dumbed down” by television never needed any help getting dumber, it was going to happen one way or another for him, anyway. If he decides to let TV nanny his children, it is his fault and his fault alone. In the years before television, that person would have let the bad neighborhood children parent his child. The invention of television was inconsequential to it.
November 26th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
Rock Band. I’m totally addicted to it, I’m having withdrawals right now… Curse you, Rock Band, for taking over my life!! Also, Crocs, truck nuts, techno music. I love TV too much to agree with you, jfrater.
Also, BTG, what is your beef with Texas? I’m a Texan!
November 26th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
cb,
Settle down tiger, I think myself and York are trying to show that objectively, using stats, that secular/godless philosophies have killed many more people than all the religions combined.
“all I said was religion was a bigger killer than godless philosophies”
Your quote.
And you have another good one…
“However your post does show religion does kill hundreds of thousands ”
By that logic, I could state the ’science’ has killed 100s of millions.
Sorry you are being ‘persecuted’ by all these brick wall like fundies. But, if you are going to state religion kills more than godless philosophies…than I don’t think it’s too much to ask for you to back it up a bit, no?
As a man of science, I would think you would be up for the discourse.
November 26th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Mr Plow,
So all wars that are not based on religion are based on godless philosophy? If that’s what you’re arguing we both have very different takes on what godless philosophy is.
“Do you know for a fact that the rest of your class mates, or any religious person for that matter, have not sat down and had the “do I believe or not” talk with themselves?”
Do you know? Does anyone? I concluded that either they must not have as if they really did they would have came to the scientifically accepted conclusion using empirical thought that god does not exist, Or perhaps they have and instead of using their knowledge they hid behind the comforting thought of heaven and the like drilled into them.
I don’t believe that I am better or worse than those that believe I just feel sorry for those that do and all the consequences and ways they must live their life in accordance to a fable.
November 26th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
“Do you know? Does anyone?”
No, but I am not the one throwing around the term ‘brainwashed’ am I?
“I concluded that either they must not have as if they really did they would have came to the scientifically accepted conclusion…they hid behind the comforting thought of heaven and the like drilled into them.”
So I agree with you or I am somehow a simpleton? Or a ‘weak’ person who relies on God as a crutch?
“I just feel sorry for those that do and all the consequences and ways they must live their life in accordance to a fable.”
Your intolerance is astounding.
You have proven nothing today in this thread, other than your intolerance for people who you do not agree with.
Charlatan.
November 26th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Or to use your words you have not used one shred of ‘empirical thought’ to address any of the of the data I have presented you with.
“I don’t believe that I am better or worse than those that believe”
We both know that is a lie, don’t we?
November 26th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Mr. Plow,
Thank you for your debate it was enlightening and I enjoyed seeing things from the other perspective, however may I just ask one question if you did have the do i or don’t I speech how did you come to the conclusion that you do believe?
Seeing as I am so intolerant it may help to broaden my views.
November 26th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
My own faith or non-faith is not the point of contention here nor is it really relevant, seeing as I am not trying to convert you to anything or defending religion…deflect all you want.
I simply was calling you out for not having your facts straight. I don’t see how my faith/non faith would change this discussion?
What may be more interesting is, why do you want to know?
The fact of the matter is, empirically, you could not defend your positions.
It’s not my gig to broaden your views about religion/wars/inventions…it’s yours.
November 26th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
i see a lot of people putting down war. without war: (circa 1940-ish) UN “hitler, please stop killing the jews”…hitler “no”, so either we go to war, or the holocaust continues. that also requires guns. i agree that nukes are bad, but there more efficient than conventional arms, but the radiation really hurts…
i have to say cigarettes and illegal drugs. harmful to all who use them
November 26th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
cell phones, whos with me?
November 26th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Just to be contrary…Evolution is the worst invention.
November 26th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
THE INTERNET!!!
But seriously, I think murder was the worst thing created by man.
November 26th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
mexmark, (193),
I’ve been with you since my Post 33, and if you read down through the thread you’ll find I’m not alone. Good reasons have also been stated.
I didn’t mention it originally, but I’ll back up the comment somewhere above about hearing someone apparently talking to you, turning round, and finding they are bleating away loudly into one of those wretched gadgets. In the early days of mobile phones the comnpanies even used to base adverts on smart young users making asses out of others (usually older folks) like that, or similarly. Ughhhh!
By the way, has anyone noticed that cute kind of self-conscious little dance some people do in public, especially yuppies, when pouring words into them? I call it the Mobile Strut, or the Mobile Two-Step.
November 26th, 2008 at 8:06 pm
I would have to say that the worst human invention ever would be humans. yep everything was fine when Adam and Eve were in their lovely garden then Adam realized that the hole in the tree he had been using could be substituted by Eve he fucked us all not just her. Also I am not a Christian if anyones wondering.
November 26th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Kealey 163 and others: A real life story defending cell phones and text messaging. A couple of years ago I was staying at a youth hostel on the Gold Coast of Queensland, Australia. Also staying there was a group of hearing impaired teenagers, about to go out for a day at one of the major theme parks. For someone hearing impaired, texting on a cell-phone must be the greatest thing to assist them to live in the real world.
Generally, it would be possible to argue good and bad points for and against any invention. This emerged a couple of months ago then the topic was “what is the best human invention”. Almost all the best inventions have a downside; almost all of the worst inventions have a genuine use.
I can’t nominate anything that hasn’t already been discussed to death already.
November 26th, 2008 at 9:12 pm
simmun (183)
i am an atheist and have nothing held against religion at all. please do not lump just because majority tends to behave a..certain way. personally i am almost a pious atheist. i can live with the effects of religion (like the establishment of government); i just do not follow the belief.
i believe that the worst human inventions are nuclear weaponry and cigarettes. i’m sure my reasoning can be explained by all the others who have said this before me.
November 26th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
The Village in which I live is extremely hilly, and we have only one cell tower. Needless to say, cell reception is non-existent in many parts of the residential parts of town, though the Village proper is pretty well covered.
At the bottom of the hill on which I live is one clear reception area. Any time of day or night, you can go by there and find cars parked with out-of-towners chatting away on their cell phones!
November 26th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
Religion, jazz, Domino’s pizza
November 26th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
Every invention has its good and its bad, all inventions are just as evil and as good as any other.
November 26th, 2008 at 11:40 pm
the IRS
November 26th, 2008 at 11:49 pm
I think the worst invention would be 1)War 2)twilight 3)illegal drugs 4)cigarrates
November 27th, 2008 at 1:11 am
Ok, for everyone making cigarettes out to be sent from the devil, need I remind you that, like religion, they require the individual to make the choice to do it. There’s a Surgeon General’s warning on all packs in the US, and most countries require manufacturers to place warning labels on the packs. Smokers know full well that tobacco is bad for them, and they choose to smoke it anyway. Even those in countries whose government doesn’t require manufacturers to label them can tell them difference between smokers and nonsmokers, and can see the side effects of those that have smoked for many years.
And I’m as much an atheist as anoybody, but CB, I can’t really say relgion is super horrible to the extreme. It has it’s ups and downs, and I may think it completely illogical, but it isn’t too terrible. Most “religious” wars have indeed been fought in the name of relgion only, and it not be the actual motive. Hitler may have indeed claimed to be a Roman Catholic, but what he did cannot possibly reflect on an entire organization of people, for not all Roman Catholics inherit the deep hatred of Jews that he had. He made that decision on his own. Him being a Roman Catholic was simply a characteristic of his. To say that religion caused World War II is as ridiculous as saying that facial hair caused it, for was Hitler not known for that little (for lack of a better term) caterpillar above is mouth?
Religion didn’t cause the war, more often than not, but was merely used as an excuse.
Although I do think that relgion is pretty mindless. No offence, peeps. ^-^
November 27th, 2008 at 1:20 am
Sorry for the double post, but forgive me the typos you’ll spot all over my previous post. It’s two o’clock on Thanksgiving morning, and I’m exhausted. >.
November 27th, 2008 at 1:59 am
Avocados.
November 27th, 2008 at 2:05 am
danmoo (114)
Tobacco was one of the most important staple crops in this country in the 17th and 18th century. W/O it the colonies would not have survived.
Sounds like a pretty good case against tobacco right there
But seriously that does not justify all the deaths and medical costs since the invention of cigarettes.
As for those who say you have a choice – ever hear of second hand smoke?
The truly bad inventions are
Law Degrees
Stock Options
Cheers
Lee
November 27th, 2008 at 3:51 am
I dunno if you meant to put this on purpose, but below the TV is say “what is the best Tv Show ever” but i think its a typo
November 27th, 2008 at 4:29 am
For those of you who think guns are the worst invention of all, please consider this…
The Roman Short Sword, over the centuries, has killed more human beings than any form of blunderbuss, matchlock, flintlock, cartridge rifle and/or machine gun. You can add all deaths also from land mines, artillery shells, aerial bombs, and BOTH nukes used in WW II and the Roman Short Sword still holds the record. Sounds crazy, but it’s true (check Wikipedia). The reason is simple. It was the primary weapon for over a thousand years in warfare, and used by every side who could lay their hands on one.
Also, one should note that the great organized religions of the world were killing people in countless numbers long before the west borrowed gunpowder from the Chinese. Only they did it in far more agonizing, humiliating, and slower ways. Crusades? Spanish Inquisition, anyone? How about a good old-fashioned witch hunt, or the killing of Jews for any reason from “passing the Great Plague” to just walking down the street?
Don’t knock gunpowder. Without that, we wouldn’t have a space program and the hope of eventually getting off this violent little blue ball out on the fringes of the galaxy.
On the other hand, this may explain UFOs. They may be here to contain us. I mean, my God, can you imagine humanity loose in a civilized galactic community? It’d be like releasing smallpox to the Native Americans. I can only imagine, but if they can warp space and time to zip around as they do, they probably have weapons that make hydrogen bombs look like spitwads. We need to clean up our own act before we go knocking on their doors.
Ironwood
November 27th, 2008 at 5:08 am
Longball (121)
So you have no problem with a man’s vibrator?
Disgusting
November 27th, 2008 at 5:38 am
Television.
And LOL @ morons saying “guns”. To think they’re anything more than a tool is silly…
November 27th, 2008 at 6:02 am
Hmmm…well guns and alcohol and cigarettes are obvious choices, but I’m going to set those aside, primarily for that reason: They’ve been covered already.
Worst? Kwanzaa.
Nobody knows what the hell it truly means, and I am a proud black woman saying that! Its only purpose is to further separate black people from the rest of society.
November 27th, 2008 at 7:44 am
ash: i completely agree.
twilight, for sure.
November 27th, 2008 at 9:52 am
Um, the image is still wrong!!
It should be “What is the worst human invention”, not “WHAT’S THE BEST TV SHOW”!! You should fix it, no?
I don’t know what else to say here…
November 27th, 2008 at 10:19 am
i think listverse is the worst human invention
lol
just kidding
i think mist must be money
November 27th, 2008 at 10:22 am
Either this is a generational misunderstanding, or I’ve gone gaga.
What is wrong with twilight? It’s one of the most beautiful times of day. Some of my most beautiful photos have been taken at twilight.
Or is this some “club” drug?
November 27th, 2008 at 11:18 am
segue: twilight is a new teeny-bopper movie based on a very successful book about modern day teenage vampires.
cb: don’t you see how your very position disallows for anyone to disagree with you. that is not very intellectually honest. by your definition, the person that believes the opposite of you is brainwashed, unintelligent, lacking education and common judgment. and all this is not based on any argument they have given but this is your pre-supposition. there is no way that anyone can have a rational discussion with you about this unless they already agree with you. otherwise you will not listen.
a position has to be falsifiable in the face of contradicting evidence or else you are turning into the dreaded fundamental that you hate so much who believes blindly.
November 27th, 2008 at 11:26 am
Nuclear weapons.
November 27th, 2008 at 11:47 am
218. DiscHuker: segue: twilight is a new teeny-bopper movie…
****
II knew it was a generational misunderstanding, but this is absurd! Talk about my being off-base!
Apologies to all the twilight fans (if any). I’d just never heard of it. Ever. In any context.
November 27th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
the banana protective case isn’t bad as claimed in message n°5, when you want a banana for lunch, it won’t be covered with brown spots
November 27th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Television? Jesus Christ, of course that’s not the worst.
And I saw somebody say that the condom was. Are you serious? That should top the fucking list of best inventions.
The worst invention by far has got to be Nascar Racing. Obviously.
November 27th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
I think the atom bomb would qualify as one of the worst inventions, if not THE worst. Its one use caused more suffering and damage than could have been anticipated, and its effects are still being seen today. And no one can say there is something positive about mass human suffering.
I would also agree with everyone who mentioned guns. Hooray, we can kill things easier…whatever.
I could also argue that religion has killed a lot of people (eg. The Crusades), but you can’t say that it’s a bad thing overall. I’m not religious myself, but whatever floats your boat
November 27th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
The electric chair comes to mind.
November 27th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
War.
November 27th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
Apologies if anyone’s already mentioned the automatic car alarm. I was just reminded by having my peace in the garden shattered by one (a mercifully rare event!). We read that several thousand per day sound off in greater Santiago alone. As a consequence, no one takes a blind bit of notice of them except to curse. An out of sight owner has no idea it’s his. No one hears if one goes off in the stix.
We had the operation to have ours removed terminally about ten years ago after it embarrassed us in a funeral car park!
November 27th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
The “religion” horse has been beaten to death. Let it rest in peace.
Worst invention by far: ILLEGAL DRUGS. Unlike all the examples above, this one has absolutely NO benefits (not even a teeny tiny one).
November 27th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
Anything available only from late-night/early morning ‘informercials’ (i.e. Ronco pocket fisherman, Ginzu knives, etc.)
November 27th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
227. GTT: Worst invention by far: ILLEGAL DRUGS.
****
Most illegal drugs start off as legal drugs. They are stolen, sold, ground into powder, cut with other substances, re-sold.
But the important thing to remember is that they start out as *legal* drugs.
Because of a severely painful, and extremely rare genetic disease I take a couple of opiate derived drugs which have a very high street value. I’ve had nurses in hospitals, who’ve not bothered to read my chart, have made absurd accusations which I have later had to report to the head of nursing.
My pharmacist takes extra precautions when he fills my scripts, and they are kept at home in a lock box.
It’s a frightening thing to know that what you have to take to make your life bearable, could easily be the thing that someone decides is worth killing you for. They’re legal in my hands, they’re illegal in anyone else’s hands.
November 27th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
ok, for the religion has killed more people than anything else argument…
the crusades are always used as the ultimate example of this atrocity. the most liberal number i could find for death toll over the 200 years of the conflict was 5 million.
to put this in perspective concerning this particular argument, i.e. religious beliefs causing death vs “godless philosphies” causing death, in the last 35 years, within the united states alone, 43 million have died through abortion.
it cannot be argued, in any rational sense, that abortion is a religous idealogy so you would have to attribute this number to the “godless philosophy” side of the ledger.
at the very least, the balance is close. these wide-sweeping, matter of fact statements need to be rethought.
November 27th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
Interesting reading folks. I’m going with something a little different. The fence. Not the fence that keeps cattle from roaming but the type of fence that is designed to keep people out. The type of barrier that insulates and separates the halves from the halve-nots. The type of barrier that makes artificial and arbitrary borders, borders that create differences when there really are none.
November 27th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
plastics!
November 27th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
SEX TOYS!!!
November 27th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
DiscHuker- More than the crusades have been cause by religeon. Most wars have, WW2 for example, Hitler trained to be a catholic preist. and way too many for me to type about.
Also abortion is not murder a person is not a person untill they are out. (in my opinion)
And i would say the worst invention was money, or banks. without them no one would be poor or starving and there would be no slaves.
Also i’m not fond of those doors that open one half at a time.
November 27th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
227. GTT – November 27th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
“Worst invention by far: ILLEGAL DRUGS. Unlike all the examples above, this one has absolutely NO benefits (not even a teeny tiny one).
*****
Okay, so I’d just have to ask why ILLEGAL? So, Illegal means it’s against the law in this or that country.
So the government makes the law
The government dictates what drugs are legal, and illegal.
So let’s say you live in the United States. So, because the united states government tells you this drug is bad for you, you take their word for it and think that its THE WORST invention ever created? I mean of course there are horrible drugs out there i.e. Meth, Cocaine, Heroine, ect. But seriously, because someone says its wrong for you to take this or that, you believe them to a point where it is the worst invention ever created?
My answer to the worst human invention ever made:Currency.
November 27th, 2008 at 10:57 pm
Really? noone cares to respond to my inquiry about why homosexuality is wrong other than religious veiws. Either I was correct in my comment or people are more fixated on bombs, guns, and tv!
November 27th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
Chris De Burgh…
truely awful!
November 27th, 2008 at 11:51 pm
Superiority complexes, egotism. Although these may not be classfied as inventions, the person who came up with the idea that he or she is superior to someone else (classic example racism) is the person who invented the absolute most destructive psychological mindset that could possibly be the sole cause of all devastation in this world. A ridiculous amount of wars are “religious” wars in which one religion, or group of people who believe in a particular religion, believe themselves superior to another and view them as rivals. To make themselves feel better, and to reestablish their dominance they feel the the need to crush the other because they believe they are better. Slavery. Slavery basically says “I am superior to you, and therefore you have to be my servant and do exactly what i say and do what i want, when i want, with no questions asked.” Why? because I am better than you. WWII. Hitler believes that the Jews are inferior/the cause of bad in the world. Therefore he feels the need to extinguish them because he thinks that the Jews are inferior. Oh and also just to throw that out there, i think another extremely bad “invention” is justice. Who is to say who deserves what in this world? And if someone is to deal out justice, who are you to dictate what happens to any given person? An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. I also find people who deal out justice on this earth or feel the need to determine what happens to any person AND who also believe in God/afterlife/judgement after death/divine justice, completely retarded and complete fcking idiots (excuse my language). They are being complete hypocrites because they’re saying “Oh we have to judge you and tell you whats going to happen to you and what you deserve even though after you die you’re going to get judged by God again.” They’re being hypocrites by saying that God will judge you when you die, but we have to judge you too. This is also a superiority complex thing because the person who is dealing out justice believes that they should have the power to dictate what happens to people and at the same time they are in a sense assuming the role of God. But at the same time they say that you must obey God. Using a transitive property they’re basically saying “you have to obey me.” Why? Because God says so. Which brings up another issue. Religion. Religion i think is an iffy subject because I believe religion has a positive effect on society because it gives faith and hope to people who are despairing, raises their spirits, and gives people a reason to live. If someone believed that there was no God, and then they got some horrible disease that is terminal, they would probably just lay down and die. However, someone who does believe in God may pray for their life, in hopes that they just might live. And who knows? There have been accounts of “miracle cures” in which the person miraculously recovers from some disease. Again this is only just one instance. However, you cannot ignore the negative effects. Religious wars, etc. I also believe that war, in general, is stupid, dumb, waste of life, and has no positive effects whatsoever. Now a lot of people are going to argue with me because they might bring up “Well if we didn’t take part in WWII then there might not be any Jews left on this planet.” What i’m saying is that, the war (more like obliteration) of the Jews in the first place was stupid and dumb. Obviously if someone decides to be a complete and total douchebag (excuse my language) and start a war in the first place, then the rules don’t matter anymore. War is war, all bets are off, whoever lives will live. Its sad, but thats what happens in war. I know this is an extremely long post, and may not be considered inventions, but I believe that these are the worst human “inventions”
November 28th, 2008 at 12:19 am
@sheldon
“More than the crusades have been cause by religeon. Most wars have, WW2 for example, Hitler trained to be a catholic preist. and way too many for me to type about.”
Any evidence to back up those claims? If there are so many religious wars, “too many” for you to type about, surely, you can easily name at least a few more?
Hitler was NEVER a trained priest, and if you read up a bit, will find he was not a practicing Catholic after his childhood. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler%27s_religious_beliefs
You are a fool if you think WWII was started over religious reasons.
@Truth,
“A ridiculous amount of wars are “religious” wars”
Again, as I asked Sheldon, give me some religious wars other than the Crusades. For every 1 you can give me, i’ll find 5 that were not.
It’s simply a myth that religion causes a “ridiculous” amount of wars. You need to actually read some history.
November 28th, 2008 at 1:29 am
Come on people the worst invention is AIDS
November 28th, 2008 at 3:06 am
Self Righteous Violence. Not religion, for though I’m as against the god delusion as much as Dawkins, religion has helped mankind grow. But as far I’m concerned, nothing has been a worse invention then the Idea of Harming another person and having it be a good thing. If we are talking actual physical things however… Factory Trawlers. They are the commercial fishing boats that are sweeping the oceans clean of ALL life. These are the machines that are going to in time destroy us due to a lack of a food chain and no more oxygen. So between the two, you have what i would consider the worst inventions of mankind. Good luck to us all.
November 28th, 2008 at 8:34 am
Since the abstract won’t go away,
Greed, anybody?
I think one might lump together large numbers of other suggestion here under that heading, even 241’s Factory Trawlers, and everything else that’s wrecking the planet.
November 28th, 2008 at 8:39 am
238. truth :…I also find people who deal out justice on this earth or feel the need to determine what happens to any person AND who also believe in God/afterlife/judgement after death/divine justice, completely retarded and complete fcking idiots (excuse my language). They are being complete hypocrites because they’re saying “Oh we have to judge you and tell you whats going to happen to you and what you deserve even though after you die you’re going to get judged by God again.”…
****
So you’re opposed to the criminal justice system?
We should just let all the murders, rapists, child molesters, bombers, anarchists, batterers, what-have-yous roam free in society because “God” will judge them later on?
November 28th, 2008 at 9:51 am
The concept of Social Darwinism.
Not only is it largely responsible for the American rejection of biological evolution, but the actions that it hoped to justify were and are an abomination and still remain as an undercurrent in modern western society largely because of its effective use as a legitimizing force.
Sure, Herbert Spencer was correct to draw attention that social forces are subject to a kind of natural selection, but not in stating that social humogeny was the best form of society. And to be sure Thomas Malthus was correct is stating that the individual should be the basic unit of study in social dynamics and national studies, but not in deciding that he should never move to help his fellow man unless he also benefited. And Francis Galton had every right to said that welfare and social services like charity hospitals and insane asylums were contrary to the overall wellbeing of society because they allowed undesirables to survive and were thus morally reprehensible(really, that’s the argument, no exaggeration) but it doesn’t mean that it wasn’t all but demoniacally inspired verse. No wonder Nietzsche had choice words for the three. Yes, that Nietzsche, the man obsessed with fighting Nihilist philosophy and social stagnation (irony). That Nietzsche.
And thus the stage was set for newfound interest in eugenics and racial hygine. Ah yes, why, its our duty to keep society and humanity bright and clean through the forced sterilization of individuals with less than desirable ancestral traits, such as having an alcoholic father, a gay cousin, or being from rural west Virginia*. Really none of the last sentence was an exaggeration either. So we have every right to marginalize minorities and immigrants, whether they be black, Irish, polish, Scottish, German, Italian, Czech, Spanish, Mexican, Chinese, east Asian, central Asian, Filipino, Caribbean, native American, native African, or basically funny looking, sounding, believing, or acting people, as well as the poor, infirm, abused, homeless, alcoholic, or destitute, not because we want to, but because its right and proper and moral don’t-you-know. Its the will of nature. And if those people can’t survive on their own and can’t make their own way, then they don’t deserve to live. They had as much innate chance as everyone else, including us normal, superior, un-marginalized folk (irony). And because it was our society that gave us warships, guns, and horses, then were justified in taking land and enslaving native populations. We can’t exactly do the something immoral so long as we’re working for the betterment of our society. Its what’s intended. (see Belgian Congo after Leopold II, Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty and Panamanian independence, and African colonization in general)
Now we move to Tennessee and forward by perhaps twenty years, not long at all by the standards of social change and argument. What a moderately educated, not entirely worldly state government and local clergy saw in Mr. Scopes evolution is a blend of biological evolution and social Darwinism in all its current (reread the above paragraph if you like) glory. Saying we humans evolved from chimps is one thing, but the advocation of everything short of genocide? (which would have been a scandalous waste of resources to a true gung-ho social Darwinist). I mean, its actually advocating the removal of god from morality and morality from duty and society. That’s something else entirely. What was feared was that children would be brought up with the inkling that no action or inaction, however horrible, could be truly immoral if it benefited either their person or society (which really is a scary thought). No thank you Mr. Scopes. We really don’t need your theory today.
Thank god that most of the truly insane social nonsense is currently recognizable today as…truly insane social nonsense, but the same moral justification is still kicking, although detached from the more obvious lets-go-stomp-on-the-mud-huts-for-social-progress doctrine. Note that I said obvious doctrine. The subtle stuff is still all there. No action is within reproach so long as it is done for the wellbeing of my society. I could just be lazy and cite American foreign policy as a whole, but I’ll be clever (and lazy) instead and say, US foreign policy concerning South America, notably the 1983 Chilean and the 1998 Venezuelan coup attempts.
* There were a series of faked scientific studies just around the turn of the century that sought to prove that crime was hereditary and followed a direct and literal genetic ancestry stemming from a single west Virginian Irish immigrant woman. Now given that your average person would only be alive for fifty years, that would mean that mass crime first came to American around perhaps 1860 at the earliest? I know it doesn’t make sense, but people believed it for long enough to act upon it.
November 28th, 2008 at 10:31 am
Religion
November 28th, 2008 at 11:17 am
I’m thinking that “Language” is the worst human invention of all time. What ever happened to a good old grunt? Maybe a wave and a smile, followed up by a tossed stone or sharp pointy stick? Them’s was the good old days, lemme tell you! Ungkk snort, hrrmff!
November 28th, 2008 at 11:58 am
Leaf Blower
Speed Bumps
November 28th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
OldManJack, (244),
“US foreign policy concerning South America, notably the 1983 Chilean and the 1998 Venezuelan coup attempts.”
Excuse me, this is not challenging or referring to the rest of your interesting post, but my wife happens to be Chilean and we live Chile. I’ve known the country and followed its affairs since 1971, and have lived here permanently since 1997. I’m therefore more than a bit perplexed by your comment (Venezuela is none of my business). What significant happened in 1983?
What I do know is that Eduardo Frei Montalva was conducting one of the world’s most successful model agrarian reforms during the late 60s. Salvador Allende was (just) voted in on the ticket of accelerating that process at maximum pace and adding a number of other social reforms, including nationalisation and forcible worker take-overs. This precipated social division approaching undeclared civil war, economic chaos with extreme shortages, much injustice, including political corruption, and lack of order. Allende was unable to control the situation but refused to stand down. As a result there was a SUCCESSFUL military coup in 1973, which led to a totalitarian goverment soon to be headed by the murderously brutal Pinochet. However, he made a great success of reviving the economy, and only just missed being re-elected by free vote when Chile returned to democracy in the late 80s.
As for the part played by the U.S., I would identify two main elements. Firstly the destabilisation of the Allende government. Whatever is claimed, I suspect this was marginal, and had no affect on the real outcome. That is a personal opinion, but backed by my own observations and is agreed by many of our Chilean friends. Secondly the later arms embargo against Pinochet. This almost cost Chile a probable lost war against Argentina over uninhabited islands in the Beagle Channel, and could easily have resulted in the deaths of my wife’s brothers. However, I also suspect that embarrassment over Pinochet’s shameless brutality may have caused the U.S. to threaten him secretly with *free world* economic isolation if he didn’t call the plebiscite for free democratic elections. By that time *bulwarks against communism* had become redundant. Again, I have no direct evidence, but cannot find a single reason why he should have taken that initiative without pressure.
Political affairs tend to be highly complex when one looks inside them, and seldom make good, clean illustrations.
November 28th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
I just wanted to point out that the topic of religion is making “wars” on this message board now. It’s not responsible for all of them, sure, but enough of them.
November 28th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
Ranger (235) – It´s not becuase the big bad government tells me… Those drugs you mentioned, coke, crack, meth, etc, have a whole list of horrible side effects: brain damage, coma and death being only some of them. All of which probably makes a good argument for their “WORST INVENTION EVER” status (not to mention their illegality).
Segue: I should have tried to be clearer in my post… These are the drugs I was talking about. And I´m so sorry to hear about your health issues! Be careful with those meds!!
November 28th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
Nukes. ‘nuf said
November 28th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
jadester,
What constitutes ‘enough?’
Religion is RARELY a reason to fight, and has nearly zero to do with tactics, strategy, training, ect.
You’d do rather better to look at economics, geography and individual ambition.
The common held belief that religion is a major cause of war is simply a myth. I know it’s really cool/easy to bash religion, but one of the great things about LV is it is not just an echo chamber…stand and deliver my friend.
I think you will find that history simply does not show that religion is a prime force behind war making.
November 28th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
Anon 248.
Now with a response like that, I don’t mind being wrong. Perhaps it was overly ambitious of me to try and find clear political examples of what I’ve previously said was an undercurrent (i.e. subtle factor) in modern social decision making.
Caracas, Venezuela, 1998. Very complicated so I’ll just cut and paste from a STRATFOR doc summary I ran across. I might also add that it has been an often used tactic of the US to foster crisis situations in foreign countries in order to bring about regime change, Iran for one. I would be very, very surprised if our involvement in the situation only involved intimate knowledge.
Venezuela: Rumored U.S. Involvement Could Hurt Bush Administration
14 April 2002
Summary
Human intelligence sources in Venezuela and Washington told
STRATFOR April 14 that the Central Intelligence Agency and the U.S. State Department may have been involved separately in the events that took place in Caracas between April 5 and April 13. If the information is correct, the reinstatement of President Hugo Chavez less than 48 hours after he was toppled by a civilian-military coup could have disastrous implications for the Bush administration’s policy in Latin America.
Analysis
Several human sources told STRATFOR on April 14 that the U.S.
State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency may have had a hand in the tumultuous events that occurred between April 5 and April 13 in Caracas, culminating in President Hugo Chavez’s brief ouster and his return to power.
Although these sources may have had their own motivations for
making the allegation, it is possible — if the Chavez regime
produces convincing evidence of U.S. government involvement in the failed coup — that it could poison Washington’s relations with governments throughout Latin America. Efforts to win regional support for increased U.S. military support to Colombia, and to other Andean ridge countries battling the twin threats of international drug trafficking and nominally Marxist insurgencies, would be set back significantly in Latin America and Washington. The Bush administration’s efforts to pursue more free trade agreements in the region also would be undermined.
Chavez could strengthen his own political base in Venezuela if he can quickly prove U.S. involvement in attempts to topple his 3-year-old regime. This also would give a tremendous boost to Chavez’s leadership status and credibility with populist and nationalist groups across Latin America that view the United States as a threat and that oppose U.S.-style capitalist democracy.
The U.S. government has a long history of interfering with Latin American regimes viewed as unfriendly or dangerous to U.S. national security interests in the region. Although the Bush administration tried very hard in the past week to distance itself from the chaos in Venezuela, many governments in Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia viewed Washington’s cautious silence on Venezuela with considerable skepticism.
However, if STRATFOR’s sources are correct, the skepticism may have been justified.
Our sources in Venezuela and the United States report that the CIA had knowledge of, and possibly even supported, the
ultra-conservative civilians and military officials who tried
unsuccessfully to hijack interim President Pedro Carmona
Estanga’s administration. Sources in Venezuela identified this group as including members of the extremely conservative Catholic Opus Dei society and military officers loyal to retired Gen. Ruben Rojas, who also is a son-in-law of former President Rafael Caldera. Caldera, who governed from 1969 to 1973 and from 1994 to 1998, founded the Christian Democratic Copei party.
STRATFOR’s sources say this ultra-conservative group planned to launch a coup against the Chavez regime on Feb. 27, but the action was aborted at the last minute as a result of strong pressure from the Bush administration, which warned publicly that it would not support or recognize any undemocratic efforts to oust Chavez.
Separately, STRATFOR’s sources report, the State Department was quietly supporting the moderate center-right civilian-military coalition that sought Chavez’s resignation by confronting his increasingly authoritarian regime with unarmed, peaceful people power. The April 11 protest by nearly 350,000 Venezuelans was the largest march against any government in Venezuela’s history, and even without violence the momentum likely would have continued building in subsequent days. U.S. policymakers who supported the civic groups seeking Chavez’s departure believed their numbers eventually would reach a sufficiently large critical mass to force a change in Chavez’s policies or even trigger a regime
change.
However, the violence that killed 15 people and injured 350 — including 157 who suffered gunshot wounds inflicted by pro-Chavez government security forces and civilian militia members — united the previously leaderless and disarticulated center-right opposition and gave moderates in the armed forces (FAN) what they perceived as a legitimate reason to oust Chavez immediately. Sources in this center-right group tell STRATFOR that the videotapes of pro-Chavez gunmen firing indiscriminately into the front ranks of marching protesters were “more than enough” to legally justify a regime change.
The conservative civilian-military group timed its coup-within-a -coup perfectly, using Carmona’s swearing-in
ceremony as the platform from which to hijack what was supposed to be a moderate center-right transition government — a government that would reach out to the moderate left that is led by former Interior and Justice Minister Luis Miquilena.
STRATFOR’s sources inside this group report that 23 members of the president’s Fifth Republic Movement (MVR) block in the
National Assembly had committed late April 11, after the
violence, to vote for Chavez’s removal from power.
Additionally, given that Vice President Diosdado Cabello was
responsible for organizing and coordinating the Bolivarian
Circles from Miraflores presidential palace, it was felt that he and other senior Chavez regime officials could have been removed legally from the government with the help of Miquilena’s votes in the National Assembly and his strong influence over the Supreme Court.
However, Carmona Estanga destroyed that possibility and
irreparably fractured the center-right coalition that named him to the presidency when he announced the dissolution of the National Assembly, fired the entire Supreme Court and sacked the attorney general, comptroller general and the public defender, who were appointed by Chavez.
The dissolution of the National Assembly was repudiated
unanimously by every political and civic organization in the
country. The powerful Venezuelan Workers Confederation (CTV)
promptly withdrew its support from Carmona without making any
announcements in that regard, STRATFOR sources said, and the
tenuous anti-Chavez coalition within the FAN collapsed almost
immediately.
Moreover, tensions between the moderate and mainly army faction led by Gen. Efrain Vasquez Velasco and the ultra-conservatives flared rapidly as the right-wingers, through the new interim defense minister, sought to break up Vasquez Velasco’s base of support within the army by transferring some his key associates to other commands.
The picture painted by STRATFOR’s sources in Venezuela and the United States is of two parallel U.S. operations that were executed separately by the State Department and CIA. While the State Department sought discreetly and quasi-officially to support the anti-Chavez moderates in an effort to build a viable political center, the CIA was at least aware of the ultra-conservative plot to hijack Carmona’s short-lived presidency.
If the sources are correct, the Bush administration’s carefully laid plans soon may backfire. [End]
Apologies for the bad formating on the excerpt. Not sure if I got all the returns out.
November 28th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
Hi Mr. Plow, as far as I am concerned, the crusades were enough to make religion not worth it. One really bad one is enough. (and there are plenty more… not to mention murder and prosecution based on ones religion and for what?) No one is saying its cool to bash religion, but yes it is easy because theres plenty wrong with it.
I believe what I believe, not trying to be cool.(wtf?) Just trying include my opinion with the two hundred odd others on here. And look, now we’re fighting over it. And if I was another religion, we would probably fight over that. It’s pointless.
I would check out the recent list on here regarding inequalities concerning women that are almost all tied in with religion and try to tell me that religion should not be questioned or in your words bashed?
November 28th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
250. GTT:…And I´m so sorry to hear about your health issues! Be careful with those meds!!
****
Thank you. I’ve been dealing with this for so many years now that caution is second nature.
I’m sorry I misunderstood your post, but as even you admit, it wasn’t as clear as it could have been. I tend to over-react on the subject; I think you can understand why.
November 28th, 2008 at 7:55 pm
OldManJack,
Thanks for the appreciation, and also the run-down on Venezuela. Needless to say, everyone here in Chile is glued to his progress, and we were the theatre for the King of Spain’s famous “Shut your face” outburst (why didn’t our president, the chairperson, take control?). No one is too worried. Brazil and Argentina are not going to let Venezuela take control of the subcontinent, any more than Germany and France would let Holland do likewise in Europe! Bolivia is his main ally. Bolivia is land-locked, so unless he gets totally supportive regimes in Columbia, Ecuador and Peru, he has no land corridor there. The minimal access by sea transport or air corridor would require total logistic co-operation by Peru or Chile. No hope. His main weapon is the crude. But the US has been backing out of its dependence on Venezuelan crude, and could now, admittedly with some inconvenience, manage without. Chavez, on the other hand, has no immediate alternative commercial outlet (I doubt China would risk alienating its vital US and western customer base). His home economy is already deeply troubled. Leaving him to stew in his own juice seems to be the intelligent course. He looks more like Mussolini that Hitler. He acts more like Mussolini than Hitler. He is more like Mussolini that Hitler! What was Mussolini without Hitler?
By the way, my comment did not deny US interference in the overthrow of Allende. I only questioned its effectiveness. That action certainly helped to fuel anti-Americanism as well, which is very strong here right now, including in some expatriate Americans (anti-policy, that is). However, I think US involvement in the weakening and replacement of Pinochet was interesting. Should that be condemned as unwarrantable interference in another country’s internal affairs as well? Is the removal of a right-wing villain permissable in the name of democracy, but that of a left-wing despot no more than US imperialism? Hmmmm.
November 28th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
jadester,
You are really getting off point here aren’t you? I asked you for a list of ‘religious’ wars, you give me that the crusades were enough. You then went on to address points I did not bring up.
When did the debate urn to gender inequalities? Nice little straw man you got going there, unfortunately it has nothing to do with what I was asking you about.
Look, I simply asked you to back up your claim. You did not or could not and responded “there are plenty more…” Then go on to bring up murder and persecution which we were not talking about…again, your little straw man thing going.
Once again, show me that religion is a prime motivator in sending countries to war.
I think your “plenty wrong with it” take on religion is not allowing you to read history for what it is.
It’s funny how you “include my opinion with the two hundred odd others on here” and perceive my question as a “fight.” I am not fighting, are you? Take a deep breath there sport.
If you post an opinion online, then expect disagreement. No one is fighting here.
November 28th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
a video tape
November 28th, 2008 at 11:41 pm
Motorized toothbrush is pointless to me.
November 28th, 2008 at 11:57 pm
viagra. people with erectile dysfunction shouldn’t be given a chance to mate. i don’t know much about genetics, but in order to progress homo sapiens on an evolutionary timescale then inferior DNA should be removed from the gene pool
November 29th, 2008 at 12:17 am
thrasher: that sounds like something hitler would say.
November 29th, 2008 at 2:24 am
GTT- there’s plenty of illegal drugs that have benefits. Marijuana has plenty of accepted medical benefits. Even when you get to the nasty, hardcore ones, like cocaine, meth, heroin, etc., all were used at one time or another for their benefits- alertness aid, analgesia, etc. I would also argue that any person diagnosed with a terminal illness and little time left to live should be legally allowed to use any drug they want. In this way, they improve quality of life.
Finally, my life completely turned around (for the better) after a series of LSD experiences. They got me to go back to college, get a job, be a better father, etc.
I’m guessing (I may be wrong) that you haven’t used too many illegal drugs. Most people who make such statements are just regurgitating what has been fed to them.
November 29th, 2008 at 3:48 am
Emar- the point of a motorized toothbrush is to clean teeth. Sorry, thought you knew.
November 29th, 2008 at 3:55 am
I could say money… but the free trade is the opposite of war.
Religion…but early man needed it more than we do,
Nuclear Weapons…ended WWII…Also Nuclear Power
I’d have to say…
Colleges.
Think about it…
You have to go to college; surrounded by sex, drugs, booze, crappy food; and stay focused on mathematics and science?
Invest tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of dollars into a little piece of paper that assigns you the only position you will be capable of unless you want to go back and spend hundreds of thousands more:
Learn things completely unnecessary to your future. (History of Music for a Biology Degree?)
Entrance/tuition is completely biased and unfair… if you are on welfare/low income/minority/a flippin illegal immigrant/ the government pays for your college…
It’s the one thing that the white middle class absolutely needs for “success” and absolutely can barely afford.
And after college you get to go into a profession and eject from your brain all of the useless but very expensive knowledge you are forced to pay for and learn.
But the positive things about college ARE the negative things…
Sex, booze, drugs, the degree in the end…and *eventual* the money in the end IF the economy doesn’t collapse rendering your little piece of paper meaningless.
talk about a double edged sword.
November 29th, 2008 at 6:00 am
I wish no one had invented porn. Then I wouldn’t be so addicted…
November 29th, 2008 at 10:29 am
#251
Nukes are probably the biggest reason that the world hasn’t entered WWIII yet.
I think the worst invention is that thing that finds out the calorie amount of fast food items. It doesn’t stop anyone from eating it, but just makes them feel worse about it afterwards.
More stress=Comfort in food=FAT
November 29th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
JASONTIMMER (262): You´re absolutely right, I´ve never used illegal drugs nor have I ever felt the need to. As for your comment about the past uses of these drugs, I would have to argue that the fact that they are no longer in use means that the negative side effects far outweigh any possible benefits they might have.
And as for your positive LSD usage, I think even you have to admit that that is an extremely rare case. The vast majority of drug users do not en up having such life-affirming epiphanies.
November 29th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
I would have to go with the nuke it is the only thing humans have made that could totally destroy us. TV isn’t that bad it can contribute to society, not MTV and stuff but like the history channel and national geographic are educational most of the time
November 29th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Beer.But I do my part trying to eradicate it from the face of the earth.
November 29th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
bigski, (269),
You don’t seem to be having much effect. Try harder. You and Homer Simpson.
November 29th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
Well, it doesn’t have a patent, but someone I know came up with the two-way staircase. I mean, what’s the difference?
November 29th, 2008 at 10:54 pm
GTT # 267-
You just contradicted yourself, now you’re saying there are possible benefits to them. With modern, legal drugs, usually the pros outweigh the cons, but really, it’s just a continuum for both legal and illegal drugs. What about those that have application in the medical field but are also abused, like morphine?
I’ll admit my LSD experiences were not typical, but I also know of lots of people who have benefitted greatly from it. At the same time, I know some people who have lost their mind from it.
No offense, but I never give much credit to an argument regarding drugs when made by a person who has never used them. It’s kinda like when I bring sushi to work for my dinner, and some people say, “oh! that’s disgusting.” I ask them if they ever tried it, and it’s always, “no way, I’d never eat that.” So how can they know what they’re talking about?
My point is, illegal drugs do sometimes have benefits, but they need to be used in very specific ways, and for very specific reasons. Legal and illegal drugs both have the potential for misuse. If you’d ever like to learn more about that, I would highly check out erowid.org
November 29th, 2008 at 10:58 pm
Morals and temptation
November 29th, 2008 at 11:25 pm
Would it be too even-handed simply to observe that religious belief has never impeded people from murderous actions, and secular, atheistic concepts per se have never been incompatible with civilised humanitarian behaviour? And most decidedly vice versa?
Those who butcher are all tarred with the same brush. I doubt the victims could care less which, or which lot is *worse*.
November 30th, 2008 at 1:58 am
I seriously feel the atomic bomb is the worst invention of all time. I mean what good has come from it.
November 30th, 2008 at 4:17 am
275. lily
good is clearly biased. inventions aren’t made to do “good”. they’re made to accomplish something or ease living. the atom bomb was created to do a massive amount of destruction. and it met up to its expectations. it is arguably the greatest invention ever.
November 30th, 2008 at 7:19 am
Rabbit ear antennae for the TV. They break, they fall off, they get caught in stuff, they only adjust in two of the three spatial dimensions. When they break off, coat hangers do just as well.
November 30th, 2008 at 10:30 am
That pillow they put in the casket….why?
November 30th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
I may have missed it, but I don’t think anyone hit on the invention that MAKES television and the telephone the wretched shitmire each represents, and is the real source of cultural imbecility, certianly in the US:
Advertising.
Advertising is true cultural pollution in every medium. It steadily, relentlessly brainwashes young and old into being halfwitted, message-driven consumers of mass-produced garbage, deplorable food items, ugly clothing, huge resource-wasting vehicles, and cynical, destructive political parties. People pretend advetising is an art form, an industry, a scvience. Fuck that. It’s a cancer. And I say that as someone who worked as an art director and editor for two small newspapers, hence someone whose paycheck came from advertising revenue. Newspapers, magazines, television and radio shows, often even movies, are nothing but vehicles for advertising. Notice how much less program content you’re seeing every season with every TV show you watch? That’s because the sponsor(s) and the network executives continually exert pressure to cram more commercials into the timeslot. Pretty soon you’ll get fifty-five minutes of commercials and five minutes of the latest episode of CSI. Sometime ask someone in the advertising biz to prove that his chosen craft has value; you will not for one second hear anything that isn’t bullshit divorced from all reality.
Advertising. Nuke that shit. Thanks for listening.
(TODAY’S MARTINL WAS BROUGHT TO YOU BY …)
Stop it! STOP IT!!!!
November 30th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
as much as i hate nuclear weapons, they’ve probably saved more lives through deterrence than they’ve killed….. so far, anyway
i’d say racism
that or 1p/2p coins. i’ve got fucking tons of them! i can’t rid of them!
November 30th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Abortion.
Guns.
Television. (I can’t barely stand any of it… very little good on.)
Cars. (No. I’m all for transportation, but they have ruined the environment.)
November 30th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
lying
November 30th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
Lying because I can’t trust people as much.
November 30th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
I have to agree with post 20. Money is responsible for more horrors than almost anything else. It is quickly catching up to religion as the number one cause of death and war. Money has become the fixation about which our entire world resolves. I doubt the people who created it could ever imagine what it would do to us.
Money is the root of all evil. That makes it the worst human invention.
November 30th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Money is why people advertise, extort, kill, swindle, scam, cheat, lie, and steal. It only brings out the worst in all of us.
November 30th, 2008 at 7:52 pm
Television is crappy because people make it for money and not for good television. Money is the root of all these problems. It is the initial cause and therefore the most responsible and therefore the worst.
November 30th, 2008 at 7:57 pm
pride – my gf dont let me paint her face white anymore, ahhh thank you
November 30th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
Mr. Crow- money started with bartering, which started with something earlier, and so on and so forth. What is the real root of the problem? Isn’t it greed? Greed wasn’t really invented, it’s just a trait. I think most (or all) of the inventions mentioned here are just an expression of human traits we loathe.
November 30th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
more humans!!
December 1st, 2008 at 4:29 am
you all seem to be forgetting doggles (goggles for your dog. for when he pokes his head out the car window)
December 1st, 2008 at 4:30 am
244. OldManJack oh my god!!! u wrote an essay!!!!
December 1st, 2008 at 7:26 am
Government. Ever since Plato’s Republic and Laws committed themselves to its defense, government has proved itself to be the great divider of a gregarious society. It created a necessity of money, and then processed it through aristocratic means so that there would always be a people below the working class rather than a complete Society. Hence, the upper classes have become lethargic and crude, providing only a great refutation of the masses with their master strokes. Government funds our protection? From what? From itself. Guns, money, tyranny, economy, commercialism…this is where humanity went wrong.
But hey, that’s just my two cents.
December 1st, 2008 at 9:52 am
Restaurant Drive-Thru’s
The epitome of laziness
December 1st, 2008 at 11:00 am
The Devil/Evil.
A lazy human invention to stop us from ever having to look at the real problems with society.
Eg. If Hitler was just evil. Then we never have to take a long hard look at humanity and say “How did that happen?”
What Do WE have to do to stop it from happening again.
Well if it’s just the devil then we don’t have to do anything except say a few prayers do we?
Evil is a very dangerous concept as it prevents Evolution.
December 1st, 2008 at 11:16 am
I think these opinion polls are getting sadder and sadder, with the few of you who seem to think that YOUR opinion is the ONLY opinion (oh, you KNOW who you are), and then taking 20+ comments up to prove your point….GET A LIFE !!!!
and the worst invention is the Chia Pet. Everyone knows that.
December 1st, 2008 at 11:17 am
Fire. Everything after that was downhill. Also, guns don’t kill people. People with guns, knives, sticks, stones or their bare hands kill people.
December 1st, 2008 at 11:28 am
Well said Joebecca!
December 1st, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Smily(271) Actually, there is good use for the two-way stair cases. It really helps keep the foot traffic moving – we effectively had one in our middle school when I was a kid… the rail in the middle split traffic to up and down lanes – kids caught going up the down (or down the up) lane got detention. Needless to say, kids made it to class much quicker (at least those who cared to be on time) when traffic jams were reduced.
December 1st, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Plastic Dracula Teeth
December 1st, 2008 at 1:48 pm
golf
December 1st, 2008 at 1:49 pm
or that new movie twilight
December 1st, 2008 at 2:16 pm
SoCalJeff: That is the best answer I have ever heard.
Internet forums are the worst invention. Some people use them solely to piss off others anonymously.
December 1st, 2008 at 6:57 pm
The television? Really?
The WORST thing invented by humans in this world is the television?
Wow.
December 1st, 2008 at 7:17 pm
This is a very tuff one. Maybe the nuke but I would say there is a lot because as a race we havent had to great of charecter. Nuke, gun, gas chamber, anything causing harm to our brethren in this race is a bad invention to me. but if you could count war as an invention then I would say it’s the worst invention in the world.
December 1st, 2008 at 7:18 pm
If any one would reply i would love to debate this topic.
December 1st, 2008 at 7:19 pm
Money. Causes greed and is the root of all evil.
December 1st, 2008 at 7:22 pm
Money you have a good one there because it causes war and murder but without currency we could not function as a society.
December 1st, 2008 at 7:25 pm
Any one else want to debate this topic any answer is welcome.
December 1st, 2008 at 8:39 pm
firestar: all of the things you suggest definately serve a purpose and many times that purpose is the greater good. therefore, they wouldn’t qualify for this particular topic.
December 1st, 2008 at 11:01 pm
The Invention series with the worst inventions is here
December 2nd, 2008 at 12:22 am
Wow, it’s funny how a lot of you are naming the most important inventions and discoveries as the worst. I disagree.
Religion: Imagine no pyramids, cathedrals, art, phylosophy, and literature.
Money: trade, economy, ambition, there has to be a reward, or we would still be rubbing two sticks together to eat!!!
Television: without it we wouldn’t have the internet, the space program, global conscience, and education. Seriously who didn’t learn their abc’s watching sesame street.
Nukes: Horrible, but really how many wars have been avoided through the threat. As far as i know, since they were invented only two have been used.
I guess my point is that invention means human progress and that’s worth all the trouble.
December 2nd, 2008 at 7:48 am
This is an easy one:
Christmas Carols
December 2nd, 2008 at 9:40 am
Religion.
Nothing has killed or corrupted more than religion.
December 2nd, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Mcdonalds. I know it’s not exactly an invention, but I can not think of one way that this fast food giant has helped society.
December 2nd, 2008 at 4:15 pm
Most inventions have their pros and cons. They all serve their purpose of use. Interesting discussion, tho somewhat senseless. This thread seems to have mostly just enabled smartasses to vent off about certain topics that bother them.
I guess I would say the Nuclear bomb.. seeing as how my hypothetical life would not really be effected in any way (which id say is the most accurate standard for measuring an appliance’s utility) had it never been implemented during any historical conflicts.
December 2nd, 2008 at 4:59 pm
Although you could find a pro or con argument on any of these items, I think the ones that have hurt us the most are Religion and Weapons, they seem to be the frequent reason of our demise.
December 2nd, 2008 at 5:03 pm
Disc Hunter how does a Nuke, a gun, or gas chamber do anything for the greater good of humanity.
December 2nd, 2008 at 5:05 pm
TheRaven great one! I agree. lol!!!
December 2nd, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Humbleslave I also agree because know that I think about it religion can be counted as an invention.
December 2nd, 2008 at 6:07 pm
firestar: let’s see…
nuke – stopped a nation that was going to continue a world wide campaign
gun – stops bad guys all the time
gas chamber – used for capital punishment for the state to get rid of those it deems to violent to live
let’s see, ended a world war, ends temporary crime, ends the live of dangerous people. i’d say those are up sides.
December 2nd, 2008 at 6:10 pm
316 Jim
295 Joebecca
Well, the list is titles “Your View” and you are posting in a comment thread…
Are either of you surprised that there is debate going on or disagreement? If you don’t want read about people expressing their opinions, perhaps there is another website you could visit.
The best thing about LV is it one truly one of the few public forums where there are discussions happening without devolving into a bunch of trolling.
Why disparage a bunch of people who are having a discussion? The discussions and the LV posters are what makes this forum so special, and interesting.
If you see a comment about a topic you are not interested in, it’s easy enough to scroll down.
December 2nd, 2008 at 6:11 pm
vaccines, because they lead to stronger viruses, and also lead to human overpopulation which just ruins everything else.
December 2nd, 2008 at 6:32 pm
If I had to make a guess by your philosophy (myopia) and grammar, DiscHuker, I’d say you’re probably some troglodytic American living in one of the flyover states, who treats his weapons like children, children like weapons and would piss on a gay man’s grave given the chance.
Nuclear Weapons- There’s no evidence that the dropping of The Bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was the only way to end the war. Enough said on that.
Guns- Used to stop the bad guys? Are you serious? What do you think the bad guys are using?
Gas Chamber- Setting aside the fact that capital punishment is a pretty terrible invention by itself, the gas chamber was used to end the lives of a myriad number of innocent people during the holocaust. If anyone is still using them to execute the condemned, then
they’re likely using nerve gases or poison that are probably unpleasant AT THE LEAST. Inert gases are the only way to “ethically” kill someone, since they feel no pain and slip into unconsciousness quickly.
That said, your obviously a Christian Fundie. Atheism is not without morality. See the humanists, the naturalists, and any other atheist philosophies and take note that all have morality involved. Ironically, organized religion incites hatred and hypocrisy like no other. It is truly mind boggling.
And not to defend Islam, but your statement that a main philosophy of the Muslims is violence is a stupid, ignorant statement. I doubt you’ve even touched a Qur’an in your life though, so I’ll say that there are some parts that advocate the killing of someone for violations of code. But wait! Surprise! Your precious Bible and your beloved Yahweh advocate murder for working on Sabbath, improper worship, mutilation of women when they defend their husbands and plenty of other “Christian like” things. Not to mention the ridiculous misogyny shown, allowed and advocated in the Bible.
The above won’t change your mind.
I’m a prophet too.
December 2nd, 2008 at 6:34 pm
DiscHuker 321: “nuke – stopped a nation that was going to continue a world wide campaign”
I agree with “stopped a nation” (it did, clearly), but I respctfully disagree with the rest of your sentence. Japan never had a “world wide campaign” (if only because they would have run into the Germans at some point), so couldn’t have been “going to continue” it. Whatever campaign they (clearly) had was (equally clearly) going badly by the middle of 1945. They were losing at that point. The only questions were how badly they would lose and how long it would take.
December 2nd, 2008 at 6:39 pm
@Paul: can you please give an example of a vaccine that leads to a stronger virus? I’ll give you that antibiotics have contributed to the rise of superbugs, but I don’t know of a vaccine that has resulted in a more virulent virus. Your second point stands (even though I disagree that horrible diseases like smallpox are the best way to control human population levels).
December 2nd, 2008 at 6:46 pm
After pondering this topic a little while I have revised my earlier opinion (#8) based on Anon’s point (#21).
I now consider torture devices (specifically those that are medieval in origin) as being in my opinion the worst human inventions ever. I cannot think of any associated positive externality associated with their invention that is significant enough to justify the existence of such monstrosities.
I considered that such devices may have been employed as a last resort to gather information that may have lead to the saving of a great number of lives. However, I believe their most common use was as a method of inflicting incredible amounts of pain before death.
I also considered that the invention of torture devices may have lead to greater understanding of the human body and more humane methods of capital punishment, but in this case (assuming that this is true) I do not believe the end justifies the means.
So there you have it, that is “my view”. To help support my opinion I offer the following list:
http://listverse.com/history/top-10-gruesome-methods-of-execution/
“Gruesome” being the operative word.
December 2nd, 2008 at 6:55 pm
astraya: maybe “world wide” was a little dramatic but they definately were doing more than just defending their homeland. just ask the folks at pearl harbor.
December 2nd, 2008 at 8:03 pm
Diskhunter I was thinking in the case that the the hole world would be better of without them. Like without war we would not need guns or nukes to stop them. And I was thinking gas chambers as in Hitler-mass-death type gas chambers.
December 2nd, 2008 at 8:06 pm
Also I agree with astraya when you said “world wide” I was thinking you got the Nazi’s and Japanese mixed up.
December 2nd, 2008 at 8:11 pm
Also using a nuke to solve a war is cowardly and crule it’s more lile terrorism then a strait out fight. Think of not only all of the inocent lives that were taken (especially the ones who didn’t want the war who lived in japan)but of the also think of the damage the fallout does to the ecosytem/other countries around that one.
December 2nd, 2008 at 8:19 pm
firestar: you should look into one of the greatest inventions ever, a dictionary.
so, do you think that if there were no guns and nukes that wars would just stop? was there no war before gun powder and modern weaponry?
in the realm or war, which was declared by both countries, there is no such thing as an innocent life. i see what you are saying in that many people who were not direct combatants were killed. however, when the country you live in is at open war with another country, you have to expect violence is a possibility. if a person is not ready to accept this reality, then that person needs to leave that country and seek safer enviornments.
December 2nd, 2008 at 8:38 pm
Mr Plow (322)
Dude wat crawled up your ass? Why are u getting preachy and drastic? Go to another site.. really? Ive contributed to many of the DISCUSSION topics on this site.. so dont presume to think that just because I acknowledge that there is no correct answer that I dont appreciate the concept of a hypothetical discussion.
December 2nd, 2008 at 8:38 pm
It is ironic to think that the invention of a weapon may lead to the end of wars of the scale of WW1 and WW2. The concept of ‘Mutually Assured Destruction’ is really the main benefit from the existence of nuclear weapons. Of course, this is only a good thing if those in command of said nuclear weapons are of rational mind.
The nuclear weapons program also led to many breakthroughs in the field of nuclear physics, and lead to the development of nuclear power generation which may replace fossil fuel as the main source of energy on earth.
December 2nd, 2008 at 9:14 pm
DiscHuker 328: Full agreement that Japan had grand expansionary plans. No problem there.
I am currently sitting in South Korea, so I’ve got plenty of people to ask here. I haven’t been able to talk to someone of sufficient years to remember first-hand, but the younger generation is certainly maintaining the rage.
December 2nd, 2008 at 9:27 pm
astraya: yikes. sitting in south korea, i’m sure that you have all sorts of things to worry about. pretty unstable part of the world. keep your head on a swivel.
December 2nd, 2008 at 9:44 pm
“This thread seems to have mostly just enabled smartasses to vent off ”
Case in point Jim.
Again, I say why disparage a bunch of people who are having a discussion? If you see a comment about a topic you are not interested in, it’s easy enough to scroll down.
Settle down there champ.
December 2nd, 2008 at 11:40 pm
God!
December 3rd, 2008 at 1:41 am
1. Guns – They make killing so much easier.
2. Plastic – They make killing the earth so much easier
I suggest you put a chart or a survey type data above
December 3rd, 2008 at 9:51 am
nation states
December 3rd, 2008 at 9:53 am
McDonald’s
It has made us the fattest nation in the world.
I think there is a state where 1 in 3 are obese.
Sad, sad, sad
Cheap does not mean good quality, oh no.
December 3rd, 2008 at 10:34 am
After reading most of these comments, I have to say the internet.
December 3rd, 2008 at 1:17 pm
Angry Cow -
commentors here…least i think so.
now, now! angry cow.
granted the internet does have more than its fair share of idiots and LV does get some too…still i’d say more often than most sites that invite public commenting…LV does also tend to attract the ‘higher end’ range in IQ’s and hell, even writing skill.
we do have a rather fine community of regular (& registered)
but then i lubs this site and most of its folks too.
*group hug*
oh & ..
HAPPY HOLIDAZE!
December 3rd, 2008 at 1:51 pm
The Clock.
Think about it. We have done many great and terrible things since we have been able to measure time accurately. Think of the scientific breakthroughs, think of the productivity, think of the stress.
December 3rd, 2008 at 3:41 pm
listverse.com
December 3rd, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Money can’t be the root of all evil. Evil clearly existed before money. It might be truer to say that evil is the cause of money (it isn’t, though). Besides this, it can’t be said that money is the sole root of evil, as evil (like anything) has many roots. If you want an example of an alternative root for evil try human nature (yeah, that old chestnut). Also, money itself must have several roots, which if money is a/the root of evil, they must also be considered as causes of evil.
Basically, theres worse things in the world than simply money.
December 3rd, 2008 at 4:43 pm
@ comment – 345. me
your comment = FAIL!
LV is one of the better things humanity has invented.
December 3rd, 2008 at 4:48 pm
“Money is the root of all evil” is a (mis)quotation from St Paul, who said, in full, “The love of money is the root of all evil”.
December 3rd, 2008 at 6:02 pm
It seems that most of these suggestions are made without thinking too hard. Do beliefs words, or actions count as inventions? An idea invented by the human mind? In that case racism, genocide, bigotry, scapegoating, greed, organized religion, totalitarianism, emperialism, etc. However many of these are involuntary, and created by a presented situation, or maybe the human necessities of feeling superior or content. Or are those just evil inventions of the human mind as well.
I would have to say, any machine made with malicious intent is bad. Anything that was made specifically to purposfully cause harm. Torture machines, nuclear weapons, toxin, mustard gas, etc.
Things like guns can be helpful, and although I personally disagree, fun. Money, although nowadays rendered a more evil necessity, was once a useful invention for keeping things in check, and recognizing ability. Capitalism is not necessarily evil, it can be said that no matter what the circumstances, communism included, that there will always be those who are unsucessful in any society. It is true however that because the amount of advertising in the capitalist market, it has been less and less a good thing. Television, is certainly not the worst invention, however there is an extensive load of crap piled onto each network, there are often quality programs worthy of spending some time watching: Frasier, The Colbert Report, The Simpsons, South Park, Saturday Night Live, Seinfeld, NOVA, Public Programming isn’t even all that bad. Although the news may be biased on some occasions, it is best to watch those programs on both sides of the spectrum.
Basically, I personally believe that torture weapons, nuclear weapons, and toxins are the worst inventions.
December 3rd, 2008 at 7:29 pm
DiscHunter when we were at war with Germany, Japan, Vietnam, Korea, etc never did a majority of our country leave to feel more protected some where else. So take this and put in the Japanese point of view they feel safer in there on homeland just like we do. They never left because they never thought that a country would drop a nuke on them. and besides they wouldn’t know what city itwould hit. Basicly people feel safer in there on homland with their own family in there own house.Also when i said gun i ment weopens in general.
December 3rd, 2008 at 7:51 pm
The Global Warming Myth.
In the Words of Penn and Teller “Global Warming is complete Bullsh*t!” look it up on youtube.
Utube User jal337 videos “P&T Bullsh*t Environmental Hysteria”
Humans are only responsible for 2-3% of the earths carbon emissions.
We are in a interglacial period. The dinosaurs existed in a “Greenhouse earth” Look at earth history… it has shifted between snowball earth, glaciers, and greenhouse earth climates. Long Before man existed.
But Global Warming was INVENTED to keep the American public focused on retarded things, and not focusing on the what the government is really up to…
They worst case/apocalyptic scenario proposed from “global warming” has been the melting of the glaciers and subsequent desalination of the oceans and the stopping of the oceanic current.
IF WORST CASE SCENARIO:
The desalination could be reprimanded by connecting the saltiest bodies of water to the ocean via a canal (panama canal?) and by dumping millions of tons of natural salt into the into the oceans.
But no, even that won’t happen. Carbon Emissions are a crock. If the planet is getting warmer, it isn’t from the greenhouse gas emissions; which actually PROTECT us from the full heat of the sun killing us. It would be the intensity of volcanic activity, a minute rise in the temperatures of the sun would raise temperatures on earth, oh and that thing called fricking El Nino.
December 3rd, 2008 at 7:55 pm
Firewindweaver good one! I used to believe in global warming but then I stopped in thought for a moment.
December 3rd, 2008 at 8:48 pm
jfrater: It is kind of ironic that you think TV is the worst invention, but the last “your view” was on the best TV show.
I think the worst invention is any weapon that does not have a purpose other than killing people.
December 3rd, 2008 at 11:22 pm
SpellCheck is the wosrt invention.
December 3rd, 2008 at 11:54 pm
The spear, because its killed a hell of a lot more people in history than the gun has. And thats why all you anti gun people said gun right? Because its so deadly and has killed so many people? A gun is just the lazy mans spear. To everyone who said,”mmmm guns. Guns are bad.mmmk”, you are a moron by your own logic.
December 4th, 2008 at 7:14 am
351,
“Humans are only responsible for 2-3% of the earths carbon emissions.”
Regardless of the accuracy of your statistic, you want play percentages? 2-3% isn’t much on a global scale? O.K. just start thinking of an extra 2-3% being added to the planet’s sea water mass. Ever heard that common little phrase, The straw that broke the camel’s back?
As well as the vast majority of the planet’s major and most respected scientists, even Republican politician Arnie Schwarzenegger doesn’t share your point of view on climate change (Global Warming is now an outmoded term like Flat Earth, by the way). So let’s hope for all our sakes your aggressively arrogant and assured knowledge without a shadow of doubt proves correct. And that those deeply worried experts who have spent a lifetime studying the disciplines involved are wrong.
December 4th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
The Spice Girls
December 4th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
288- The switch from bartering to money was a huge one. With the barter system, you had to give something up to get in return. Things worked pretty well. Money allowed people to hoard wealth, they now had one thing that could get them everything so they just got as much as they could however they could. Obviously greed is the problem but isn’t that the problem with any invention that is destroyed by human tendencies. The TV is not itself bad,but because it has crap shows, lying news, and greedy adverts it sucks. I’m saying the the invention brings out the worst in us. Nothing is bad in and of itself, it is how badly we use it that determines its evil. We use money in extremely evil ways and do extremely evil things to get it.
December 4th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
Christianity.
December 4th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
ping pong balls that break to easy => i hate when that happens
December 4th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Nice Justme! Good one. Lol!!
December 4th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
How about hate? If that doesn’t qualify, religion. Same thing if you ask me.
December 4th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
# 324 is in serious need of an antidepressent or something. # 332 very clever opening comment. #353 that`s what`s known as irony.Worst human invention is impossible to pick,eveyone will disagree on every possible pick. The telly is an honorable pick ,one I don`t agree with but it does waste a lot of my time. Deadly weapons – anything made by man to kill man maybe that`s it.
December 4th, 2008 at 11:46 pm
The implant chip for humans. The potential for abuse of this is enormous.
December 5th, 2008 at 5:33 am
Religion!!!!!
December 5th, 2008 at 11:04 am
322- Mr. Plow
Exactly, its about people’s VIEWS (i.e. opinions) and there is nothing wrong with that at all. What i think is stupid is the people who only think they’re opinion is the right one, and saying other peoples are “wrong”. in the court of opinion there is no right or wrong. I’m not trying to debate anyone. i have my opinion of what i think is the worst invention and if other people don’t like it, frankly i don’t give a rats ass… And for you to come on here and tell people what they should read and not read because YOU don’t like what they said, well you’re one of those people anyway. you have what? 50 comments on this thread. Good luck proving your point to the world via this little thread. i’m sure it makes you feel powerful and RIGHT to debate debate debate. Maybe you should read my original comment again.
December 5th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
True. An opinion indeed cannot be *right* or *wrong*. It can be lots of other things though. Intelligent. Stupid. Thoughtful. Idiotic. Pointless. Irrelevant. Inventive. Repulsive. Stimulating. Insulting … Damn, my Thesaurus is missing the rest of the pages …
December 5th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
@ comment 337:
I wouldn’t insult a group of people collectively knowing that I would continue to consort with them.
The smart asses are the multitude of abusive comments I read i.e. “I hate gays. curse them all) -and various other remarks that arent really honoring the purpose of the your view segment – You misinterpreted my statement but I should have been more clear about who i was referring to.
December 6th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
joebecca,
Having an opinion that is different than others is basically saying ‘I think I am right and you are wrong.’ There is nothing wrong with two people that do not see eye-to-eye so long as there is mutual respect between the two.
What is childish, is for someone like you to make a comment like “get a life” (see #295). As if people in a comment thread having a back and forth are all stuck in our basements with nothing better to do.
So I have left a few comments in this thread (I rarely comment on anything on LV,) what is the big deal? Is that not what this forum is for? Have I been disrespectful?
If someone makes a point that is demonstrably false, then what is the problem with challenging them?
GOD FORBID people have a debate, right? What kind of a jerk challenges someone a different opinion. I mean what is next, people learning from other opinions?
You say “I’m not trying to debate anyone.” Fine. Then stay out of the discussion. You see a couple of posters going back and forth and are not interested in the topic, then skip it.
Don’t stand off to the side and make snide comments about those of us who are having a debate or a difference of opinion…why do you care what we are debating anyway?
We are all allowed to have an opinion and a chance to challenge the ideas of others…that, you know, is kinda the idea of a forum, especially one that is called “Your view.”
You want to debate, then jump in and expect to intellectually defend yourself. If not, then kindly butt out of the conversation and let the big kids talk.
FYI, again, worst invention, governments and philosophies that destroy liberty.
December 6th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
367 Jim,
Fair enough, my friend. See you around LV!
December 6th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
The nuclear bomb.
You never hear about it, but I just wish what really happened to the poor residents of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was just them dying in a second.
I think a list was just recently made about nuclear war movies on this website. Unfortunately, the one on the Japanese bombing is fairly accurate of what happened that day.
December 7th, 2008 at 12:22 am
you’re all morons, did any of you actually think before posting? you’re all freakin hippies
December 7th, 2008 at 2:03 am
Seriously, the worst invention is spray on hair. Your bald and you hate being bald but really is that the answer!!
December 7th, 2008 at 7:14 pm
I believe Religion to be the worst human invention. It has certainly been the most devastating.
December 7th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
371
I fail to be insulted.
Sex, drugs, and rock and roll…what more do you need?
December 7th, 2008 at 11:48 pm
374 – give me a break!
December 8th, 2008 at 10:10 am
RickRoll
December 8th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Religion, it starts wars and holds people back from creative ideas, such as space exploration ect. Why research something when the your religion tells you this is how it is, and if you question this you are going to hell.
December 8th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
377…you have absolutely nothing to prove your statement. Your simplistic view on religion assumes that no one has any free will.
Obviously there was a lot of research done regardless of what religions had to teach…after all, we DO have space exploration and art.
The church in Europe was one of the biggest backers of western music…monk’s chants that were notated formed some of the beginnings of the modern system of annotation and harmony.
Coltrane was a deeply religious/spiritual man who was raised christian, flirted with Islam, Hinduism, and studied many other spiritual faiths…and created some of the most beautiful, boundary breaking, and creative jazz ever recorded.
Copernicus and Kepler are two early scientists who believed in the divine…not to mention Einstein’s belief in a higher power (although, not a “personal God”.)
December 9th, 2008 at 4:11 am
#377. Religion is nothing but the ancient philosophy and Science.
Read Jainism in detail to learn @ universe , atoms and so many things
December 9th, 2008 at 4:24 am
its not about religion, its about what the believer think about his religion towards other religion.
December 9th, 2008 at 10:18 am
Sasha Fierce.
December 9th, 2008 at 10:30 am
a would say…electricity. what would u do with a tv, if u don’t have electricity?
December 9th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
380…
You are exactly right.
December 9th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
The List Universe
December 9th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Ric, you are an asshat.
December 9th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
385. Angelina:…asshat
****
LOL! LOL! LOL!
Thank you, Angelina, for the funniest mental image of the week.
December 9th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
I’m sorry but I saw his post and it pissed me off! I know we are not supposed to name-call but I feel it was warranted.
You are very welcome, segue.
December 10th, 2008 at 7:19 am
solar powered flashlight LOL
December 10th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
LOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!!
December 10th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
Children.
December 11th, 2008 at 5:33 am
cigarette and drugs. more harm than benefit.
Anyway, I totally disagree with the TV as worst invention. It’s the TV that inspired me to use my imagination for I am not fond of books.
December 11th, 2008 at 5:34 am
and dude, you must have placed the wrong title under the picture of the TV. This is about the worst invention, not the best TV show.
December 11th, 2008 at 5:37 am
bitchy girly-girls who do nuthin all day but flaunt their dumb pink objects.
December 11th, 2008 at 5:40 am
and by the bitchy girly-girl subculture as another worst invention, I’d also say fashion. People have the right to wear whatever they want without being judged. Do not follow stupid fads, like having to buy a dress worth thousands only for it to be out of style tomorrow.
December 11th, 2008 at 11:08 am
Man’s worst invention is politics and money..
money is just one of man’s creation but it seems to have overpowered everything, as if man is controlled by money instead of the other way around
December 11th, 2008 at 11:43 am
The atomic bomb.
Because of the bomb, we constantly have to live in fear of other countries that may or may not have them. It can start wars and it can end wars, with devastating consequences.
There was never a need to build one other than to say “look at us, we can destroy you with the push of a button.”
December 11th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
asshats?
December 11th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
LOL at Teddy!
December 11th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
Never heard of an asshat.As headwear maybe no so cool. Maybe that`s the worst invention.
December 11th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
399. bigski: Never heard of an asshat…
****
I think asshat just might join retart in the LV special lexicon.
Retart was a misspelling, I grant you, and asshat was a pejorative, though a made-up one, but both have the advantage of being unique to LV.
December 11th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
Text messaging, and its ensuing lingo.
December 12th, 2008 at 9:53 am
The worst invention is……
The comment section on a website. This one is doing ok but if you ever read some you will see the most hateful, ignorant things imaginable.
December 12th, 2008 at 11:13 am
World Of warcraft hands down,did you know over 30 people commited suicide to that game and for some reason alot of them were asian
December 12th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
401. Joe: Text messaging, and its ensuing lingo.
****
Joe, you are a gentleman and a scholar. I have been raving about this same thing for as long as it has been around, and it is becoming worse. Quite soon, with a certain segment of the population, we will be living in the world of Clockwork Orange, totally unable to decipher the speech of the younger generation.
Strange. First our schools fail in teaching them the basics, then texting comes along to make up an entirely new set of basics, based on nothing more than making words as short as they can possibly be. All rules go out the proverbial window.
Well, every generation has had it’s way of marking itself as different from the ones which went before. The good news is that, in almost all cases, this too shall pass.
December 12th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
People say that but I think that tv has brought people together in a way. How many people watched the moon landing? Hey sure there could have a radio recording but nobody would have really cared much. Think of the wonderful, and yea terrible, things we as just average people would never have gotten to see with the tv.
Personally I have to go with cars. Just automobiles in general. And the concept of marriage. Those are worse.
December 12th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
i feel that the most useless thing in the world are principal xD
December 12th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
transverse fwd. And all inline engines.
December 12th, 2008 at 11:57 pm
Vatican is the worst thing ever.
And the United States.
December 13th, 2008 at 3:20 am
French Canadians
December 13th, 2008 at 11:44 am
406. Xthye: i feel that the most useless thing in the world are principal xD
****
I have no idea what this means. It doesn’t make a coherent sentence; it changes tense in the middle of the sentence. I can’t tell if the poster means principals, or principles.
I could go on, pointing out the obvious nonsense of using “feel” when “think” is what is meant, but I won’t. I just want to know what the sentence means!
December 13th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
I’d say modern liberalism, because it’s ideals all lead to one world government, removing the freedoms and individuality of all citizens.
December 13th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
411. kking:…one world government…
****
pardon?
December 14th, 2008 at 12:37 am
Gamers
December 14th, 2008 at 1:45 am
my boyfriend.
December 14th, 2008 at 2:55 am
My penis… It’s so small…
December 14th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Anyone who says that the creation of the nuclear bomb was a bad thing does not completely understand the situation it was created for. Nuclear weapons should no longer exist yes but its creation saved millions of lives including my own. My grandfather fought in the pacific and if the bomb was not dropped, would have invaded japan where hundreds of thousands of Americans would have died and quite possibly millions of Japanese. so I agree they should not exist now but to say that their invention was the worst in human history is incorrect.
December 14th, 2008 at 11:23 pm
that is the same view I have on relegion, it used to be nessesary we didnt know anything about science, now we do and it needs to go away.
December 16th, 2008 at 12:45 am
ATTENTION: THIS IS AN EMERGENCY BROADCAST, [insert natural disaster] WILL STRIKE [insert geographic location]. ALL CITIZENS EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY!
The PSA’s and Emergency Broadcasting, one more way to alert millions to potential threats. I’d say that’s a pretty good reason for television to exist. I know many people that watch TV at home and only listen to the radio while in transit.
December 16th, 2008 at 8:23 am
REALITY TELEVISION.
December 16th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Guns, Nucleur Weapons, Chemical burning engines, Medicines, etc….No matter what the invention, it was meant to be discovered. Its how we use it that make it “Bad”.
December 16th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Now i think i changed my mind a bit. I’m thinking gas chambers… or reality television (with ya all the way c-bear)
December 16th, 2008 at 9:45 pm
Cans of beer that run out.
December 17th, 2008 at 12:43 am
410: 406. Xthye: i feel that the most useless thing in the world are principal xD
****
I have no idea what this means. It doesn’t make a coherent sentence; it changes tense in the middle of the sentence. I can’t tell if the poster means principals, or principles.
I could go on, pointing out the obvious nonsense of using “feel” when “think” is what is meant, but I won’t. I just want to know what the sentence means!
the one sitting in school office
December 17th, 2008 at 7:28 am
423. Xthye: the one sitting in school office
****
Okay. Got it.
Thanks for the explanation.
December 17th, 2008 at 10:07 am
Atheism.. A bunch of goobers standing around shouting that they don’t believe in a concept that by the stridency of their shouting proves that such a concept exists.
December 17th, 2008 at 11:00 am
School.. there now -.-
December 17th, 2008 at 11:35 am
1- Liberals
2- Alarm Clocks
3- Silicone BI’s
December 18th, 2008 at 12:12 am
the nation state
December 18th, 2008 at 9:52 am
Davey, (425),
“Atheism.. A bunch of goobers standing around shouting that they don’t believe in a concept that by the stridency of their shouting proves that such a concept exists.”
Religion. A bunch of goobers standing around shouting that they believe in a concept that by the stridency of their shouting proves they are trying to convince themselves desperately that such a concept exists.
Touché.
December 18th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
I would hope it isn’t necessary, but in case so, a rider to my comment 429. It was NOT intended as a cynical attack on the sincere beliefs of good friends here in LV, or indeed those of others and relatives elsewhere. The principle was merely to demonstrate how an utterly asinine statement is capable of being turned about-face and used against its author. Q.E.D.
December 18th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
431. Identified Person: It *was* utterly asinine. I could explain why, but the explanation would just swoosh right over your pointy little head, so why bother?
December 18th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Christina Marie Staber.
December 18th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
segue,
Thanks, but please don’t waste your precious time getting into a mature intellectual *woz – woznt – woz – woznt – woz – woznt* crunch on my behalf. The point is made in B & W and our valued section of the LV community understands well enough the concept of respecting sincere differing opinions.
Apropos, do trollz have pointy little heads to help them crawl out of holes in the woodwork? … And back under rocks?
I suppose I should ask Cyn, our resident expert on the natural history and ecology of trollz.
Apropos. I think the last time I wore jeans must have been at least a couple of decades ago. I’ve got great legs still (or so Anita tells me), but you wouldn’t catch me dead in a miniskirt either! Hahaha.
December 18th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
Anon -
in regards..trollz.
well, i’m no expert but i do know ‘em when i see ‘em. and i like to squish ‘em like the cockroaches that they’re related to.
December 18th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
shame, for reasons that are obvious
December 18th, 2008 at 10:31 pm
identified person has a little weiner
December 18th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Cyn,
Oh, dear!
Poor archy. Lonely mehitabel.
“o wotthehell wotthehell”
December 18th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
don’t make me get out the big roach stomping boots!
December 19th, 2008 at 12:10 am
segue and Cyn,
It occurs to me that in this text-numbing day and age, perhaps we ought to give the minutest scrap of credit to one who didn’t put:
assy9.
Yes?
Cyn, (439),
It ain’t quite that desperate … yet.
Hey, maybe we could publish a *joint ground-breaking paper on trollz. I do the morphological description bit, you record the field observations. We might try to get it in The Scientific American, but I guess The Nordic Journal of Natural History would be more appropriate.
*I realise that word is open to misinerpretation, as much on LV as elsewhere, and trust it won’t get me into moderation.
December 19th, 2008 at 3:15 am
I would say that guns are not the worst invention. If guns weren’t invented, we probably wouldn’t have progressed past the medieval ages. We just would have killed each other with swords and our bare hands. The outdoor treadmill is pretty bad though. In general though, I think the things with the least value are the worst. And not monetary value, I mean value as in there is no need for anyone to have it (art excluded).
December 19th, 2008 at 3:47 am
MSNBC crew – the most corrupt news shows ever – nightly news invented daily.
December 19th, 2008 at 9:27 am
440. Anon:…Hey, maybe we could publish a *joint ground-breaking paper on trollz…
****
Count me in!
December 19th, 2008 at 9:34 am
Anon -
sounds way too much like work.
much rather just stomp on trollz..er…roaches and hear that oh so satisfying crunch as they squish. then the fun part…the slide in the squishy smoosh left behind.
oh yeah!
December 19th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
*tidies up*
December 19th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
Cyn,
But do they stink though. (Holds nose and departs left on special slip-proof soles.)
segue,
We can count Cyn in on a purely consultorial basis, which involves no work but just as much prestige! Technical pest limitation info on trollz controllz maybe?
December 19th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Anon -
ain’t nothing technical about trollz or spammers…they’re just pests like roaches. to be eliminated as such.
~~
which i’ll do as soon as i can as part being an admin. for those of you who think you’re getting away w/ something. including you kids in class not doing your schoolwork!
December 19th, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Cyn,
Our LV luck to have you so professionally devoted to t & s extermination. More power to them big roach-stompin boots, gal!
December 19th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
Anon, I’m with you chum. I’ll even donate a pair of gardening boots, Wellies, to Cyn, for better t & s stompimg.
December 19th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
segue & Cyn,
Seems like we might have a t & s technical problem to sort out after all. The original 431 has been squidged, with the result that segue, the replacement 431, now appears to be squidging herself. Or so it looks to anyone not in the know! Hahaha.
Cyn,
Might it be possible to simply stomp out the post number along with the offending roach? Then people would be able to put two and two together? Or can’t that be done? If not, how about a standard indication under the relevant number?, such as:
431.
Comment officially stomped out (or more formal words to that effect)
December 19th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
Put their nickname there also. Like post 199 sent by SOME ASSHOLE was deleted cause he said something real stupid.
December 20th, 2008 at 8:09 am
bigski, (450),
That’s a great idea in principle, but it has one huge flaw in practice.
t & s often usurp the names of we legitimate posters. So sadly someone might come along also calling themselves *bigski* and post a load of obscene drivel which Cyn will *roach-crush*. Clearly you would not then relish the note, *199. bigski. Comment deleted because disgustingly repulsive*!
December 20th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
CAPITALISM..is by all means the WORST human invention/ creation ever concocted by egoistic beings.
The rise of capitalism and the nation-state have only managed to oppress the marginalized classes and use them as tools for their own benefit.
The proletariet are constantly working in order for the capitalists to make more profits, which in turns keeps the working class in a continuous struggle. The capitalists also feed the working class with a sense of false consciousness which leads them to believe that everything is okay in life, when its not. Unless, the masses rise up and over throw the capitalists we will continue to live in a state of hegemony.
December 20th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Also, just to make another quick comment. I’d like to mention that the majority of individuals post on here have been in one way or another created or perpetuated by the capitalists. Therefore, they are the forerunners of unruly inventions.
December 20th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
normative ethics, alkaloid derivatives, laugh tracks, the “what is the sense of life?” question, phthalates, noise inducing commodities, good vs evil, processed sugar, sales figures, opposite opinions, the deep fryer, teen culture… oh, but mainly cheese.
December 20th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
I didn’t read all the comments, so I apologize beforehand if the idea I contribute was already posted earlier. I can’t honestly think of a single invention that is truly evil in every sense…but the majority of our race has systematically ruined most intentionally good inventions out there, such as: TV, telephones (land and cell), nuclear power, firearms, tobacco, alcohol, even the most mundane, like clothing. Are there annual ’slut of the year’ contests being held in high schools across the country that I don’t know about? And into the future, the same will happen. Great inventions will hit the mainstream, where they’ll be ruined and exploited until we all hate it and curse it’s very existence.
December 21st, 2008 at 11:22 pm
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/entrepreneur/article3264420.ece
just something for your amusement
December 22nd, 2008 at 10:07 am
bubbles, (456),
The fourth entry in you recommendation:
“He believed that bereaved people would love nothing more than seeing their departed hermetically encased within a block of transparent glass, and thus “maintained for an indefinite period in a perfect and lifelike condition”. If an entire glass-encased relative might take up too much parlour-space, Karkowski suggested just having their head done.”
I believe something akin to the idea as per that last sentence has been extremely well followed-up in ‘Futurama’, notably for the likes of Richard Nixon!
December 22nd, 2008 at 6:24 pm
The lightbulb.
December 22nd, 2008 at 6:58 pm
I believe the worst human invention is hate.
Animals might be aggressive but usually only for survival. We, however, are aggressive just because we can be.
December 22nd, 2008 at 7:53 pm
458. prettyclouds33: The lightbulb.
****
Without the lightbulb, how are you going to see what’s in the back of the refrigerator?
December 23rd, 2008 at 5:54 am
President Bush…
and U2…
December 23rd, 2008 at 12:29 pm
I’m sorry, but the bad effects of the television pale in comparison to the effects of nuclear weaponry. If watched in moderation, TV can be a source of entertainment. Although some people have dumbed themselves down or suffered health problems from watching too much TV, there are appropriate ways to use a television. I, for instance, own a television which I use to watch movies. I doubt anyone would argue that watching the occasional movie is a bad thing. Even reality TV or “made for TV” movies are not nearly as bad as nuclear weaponry.
More people died in Hiroshima in a split second and in the aftermath from radiation poisoning than have ever died from TV-related health problems or accidents. Even the “dumbing down” of society is nothing in comparison to nuclear weaponry– being dumb is awful, but nuclear weaponry has not only the capability to kill millions but destroy our environment and our earth as well.
Furthermore, TV has some pleasant uses, as I’ve already said, while nuclear weaponry has absolutely NO good uses. TV can provide entertainment and news [however watered down]. Nuclear weaponry can only kill. It is an invention designed for destruction.
December 23rd, 2008 at 12:36 pm
P.S. I would like to hear someone explain to me how TV is a worse invention than the nuclear bomb.
December 23rd, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Raisa: easy – the nuclear bomb has been used twice and will most likely not be used again. On the otherhand, TV has contributed to an international dumbing down of society.
December 23rd, 2008 at 1:10 pm
We can’t predict that the nuclear bomb will never be used again. It may not be used in war again, but the number of nuclear bombs a country can produce has now become a symbol of its power. Countries with large amounts of nuclear bombs are greatly feared and have the capability of “bullying” smaller nations into complacency. This often replaces real diplomacy.
December 23rd, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Spam lol
December 23rd, 2008 at 9:52 pm
philips and slot screw drivers…Robertson is were its at…A Canadian invention.
December 24th, 2008 at 8:28 am
religion = route of all evil ment to bring peace but brings only war and hate
December 24th, 2008 at 9:02 am
Cheesy,
Prove it.
December 24th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
religion.
(it sometimes appears to be an excuse or reason for almost everything that happens wrong. it gave us this rigid society where some people find it hard to find a place for themselves. . . )
December 24th, 2008 at 11:01 pm
humans.. sorry if i should pessimist.. but sorry if you think so.
My point is, that humans created everything around us.. and there is not much good thing, or no good thing at all that we made to help the planet. Everything we made, or did, was for ourselves, our own ego, for laziness and so on..
December 25th, 2008 at 4:58 am
I’ve heard of asswipe, but asshat? Never. It made me laugh so hard I forgot what my worst invention comment was going to be! I feel like such a retart!
December 25th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
“homosexuality” and “gay marriage” are not inventions, r-tards. and can you tell me what exactly makes them the worst things in the world. i can’t believe your ignorance.
December 25th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
and here at LV it’s ‘retarts’. we have our own lingo now y