Most Important event in our History.

[xelasnave]

There is one single event that clearly is the most important event in our history :eyepop:... What do you think it may be?

I will keep it to myself and let you present your view on what that single event may be.

Good luck.:D

Alex

[AstralTraveller]

The most important event is that we evolved!

[Hans Tucker]

The dropping of the first Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima and Oppenheimer's recounted quote from Bhagavad Gita.

“Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”

Humans had harnessed the Atom and now had a capacity to destroy themselves in an instant.

[Stonius]

Developing agriculture. Everything changed after that.

[raymo]

Assuming that it actually happened, the Big Bang.
raymo

[raymo]

After further deliberation I have amended my contribution, and have decided
that it was the day of Alex's birth; where would we be without him, life
wouldn't be worth living.
raymo

[xelasnave]

Good and thoughtful answers but no one has come close although David is close needs to be more specific and although perhaps Raymos answer that it was the big bang lacks the single point...the question that is available if it happened, comes close and if nothing else demonstrates how even the most fair of judges can be swayed by other superb observations which although satisfyingly flattering unfortunately are not the correct answer as appealing as they may sound.

And although the Big Bang Theory Theory is our favoured cosmology I personally feel it's reliance upon the Theory of Inflation and that theory's inability to link to observational evidence relying solely on a math elegance certainly leaves open the question "did it really happen" particularly the assumption that the theory points to a creation event given the theory can only describe the universe as existing as a hot dense state without any inference that it came from nothing in the least which of couse would be necessary to call it "the start of time' or indeed everything. That it even hints at a point of creation derives clearly from the owner of that opinion holding some pre held but unestablished notion that the Universe was somehow created and is not, as is most likely, external therefore needing no creation point.

However the part of history that is indeed the most important does involve the creation of something, a one off single aspect.

I will let some time pass as I feel someone must be close to the answer...think of our evolution..what was the most important aspect of that story.
Alex

[billdan]

Given the clues that Alex mentioned I would say the answer is when Homo Sapiens evolved from Apes in Africa.
They then walked into Europe/Asia and mixed with the Neanderthals giving us the modern day Humans (all of us have a small percentage of Neanderthal DNA in our bodies).

Unless Alex means, we go back further in time when fish started to crawl onto land and all animals then evolved from fish.

EDIT: Just thought of another possible answer - when the comet striking the earth killed off the dinosaurs and other mega fauna, allowing smaller species to evolve.

[xelasnave]

Bill all very important and you are going in the right direction and my focus is upon an aspect of evolution.
There was life and it's appearance is very significant and yet the most important event in our history comes after that and before even the first back bone ... dont worry folks this one had every doctor and surgeon stumped.

Alex

[mura_gadi]

Hello,

Ok, my guess is right back to basics...

Sexual reproduction the production of offspring organisms whose genetic characteristics are derived from those of the two parental organisms.



Steve

[leon]

The ability to love one an other and to be loved, and respect each other is an evolved emotion that makes us Human.

Leon

[Hans Tucker]

The point in time when Molecules began to replicate ... a precursor to the formation of life.

[xelasnave]

I suppose "penetration" is very much part of the event.
A big clue is to think of lifes first form and how it got past the very early stage....
Cant be more helpful without coming clean.
But I am so happy folk are thinking so hard and digging so deep...
Alex

[Hans Tucker]

https://youtu.be/eJEU8UKMXTs

[xelasnave]

Once there was only bacterias and if not for this event that is all we would have today..no plants or animals...
It begins with "M'
Alex

[glend]

Mitosis, but there is also Meiosis (which results in four daughter cells).

Since you are so interested in the cellular world, that would be my guess.

Bacteria reproduce via Binary Fission.

[xelasnave]

Mitacondria is what I feel is the answer.
Alex

[doug mc]

The invention and deployment of readily available toilet paper.

[xelasnave]

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Folk will laugh but when I was a kid toilet paper was an absolute luxury ( well everything was really) and news paper was the norm for all households...mmm and I am thinking that going to the trouble of cutting out pictures of some of ones not so favourite politicians and celebrities and keeping a few in the loo could be rather satisfying...as a change of course;) although using even some printed toilet paper is not good for you..or so I was told.

Alex

[Zuts]

if you are a humanitarian it's the 'big bang', if you are a narcissist it's your own birth.

[Stonius]

Eukaryotic organisms?

[xelasnave]

Yes but the Big Bang is only a theory :lol::lol::lol: ...sorry I could not help it...and of course... Evolution of species ..it is only a theory;) ... Mmmm so these "only a theory" people what is their authority that overules scientific theory...has it been peer reviewed are their predictions testable?

OK the Big Bang..it "only" deals with the evolution of the universe from a hot dense state ..no big deal..its not as though it suggests that the universe came from nothing or something that could be seized upon to suggest any creation event...if you look at it there is nothing to suggest a beginning at all..such is speculative and unsupported...did not do much at all really.

I suppose the other big event must be the appearance of life...the appearance of RNA or some protein or acid etc...probably the motor protein with its little molecular feet walking along as if it were a little person dragging a bag of energy...they are so neat.

https://youtu.be/tMKlPDBRJ1E
Only five minutes but what an information packed five minutes...I just love their little feet.

I dont know when they walked in...some of the videos for them are fascinating.
Alex

[Robair]

Maybe the event is yet to happen? When the Sun eventually has had enough and cooks us all as it heads into Red Giant Phase.

[xelasnave]

I do apologise missed seeing your post, I expect it went up while I was typing a reply and comments to Zuts.
Alex

[Stonius]

Oh, it starts with 'M'?


Then I guess the answer of course is 'Me' :-D


If you want to get philosophical for a second, the only thing I *can know for sure exists, is my own mind. There is even a theory going round the traps that reality is almost certainly a simulation (I know, right? But it comes from reputable sources, not crackpots, even though it *sounds bonkers). https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/confirmed-we-live-in-a-simulation/



So in order to perceive the universe at all, *I need to exist, and the rest of the universe may or may not. Y'all might be simulations for all I know. I'm sure you'd argue the same about me, but I'm sure you're just programmed to say that.


<tongue firmly in cheek>


Markus

[Stonius]

Or I didn't read properly before replying. That has been known to happen from time to time too :-)

[xelasnave]

Well maybe it is yet to come and certainly indulging speculation as to what the future may hold is rather enjoyable.

I speculate that unfortunately that humans will like so many other species be casualties of some mass extinction event. There have been say five mass extinctions of decent magnitude wherein some 90 % of species have been wiped out and maybe 20 other extinction events that have taken out species but left .any others.

Really there can be no question that is the most likely future we can expect and one wonders that being the only species to have existed that if informed can totally comprehend the inevitable then why we are not totally focused upon placing a few bets on at least the Moon and Mars...it is rather negligent in looking after humans of the future.

Lets face it if we were to direct attention away from wasting resourses on industries devoted to unestablished beliefs that promote superstition and stop the waste of playing games and were organised into a global unit to achieve a goal of creating environments on the Moon and Mars it would take no time at all.

Go to the Moon and Mars and create under ground environments...Cant be difficult really.

Then if the Earth goes into 100 years of volcanic eruption we have somewhere...or a space rock drops in...no one cares and so humans can only join the list of once most successful species that disappeared for ever.

I can see such a spread of humans and then there is the next solar system...too far away..well no the limitation is the lack of imagination to plan trips that may take more than one generation to reach another planet in another solar system. We have the resourses they just need reallocation.

Lets be serious about the life after death mentality, drop it and work on simply extending the life of a human to the mythical ages commonly referred to in some of our ancient stories. Cant be done..why not.. it is doable.

Lets make the next most important thing humans living happily under the surface of our Moon and neighbour Mars sending vessels to our next colony.

Alex

[Slawomir]

The most important event in our history... :question: ...an intriguing question asked on an astronomy forum... :astron: ...that would have to be the invention of a telescope! :einstein:

[Huey]

When our big toe enabled us to walk upright which led to the development of fine motor skills and ultimately our brain. Every thing we experience through our senses is created in our brain. The whole universe only exists in our brain, ie is the moon still there when we are not looking? The entire universe is (may be) just a collection of atoms with a lot of space in between and within atoms.
I would say biocentrism because of our big toe is the most important bit, without us and our brain the universe does not exist as we know it.

NB History by definition is anything recorded in writing. So it does exclude prehistory and therefore the question can only be considered since writing began.

Huey

[xelasnave]

Sir there can be no argument that can stand against your logical and ordered assessment of the matter such that I have taken time to attempt to rise to a new level of enquiry and having spent some time in deeper contemplation do find that the most important event in our history can only be the creation of Iceinspace and would respectfully assume that all will happily agree with my finding as there can be no other conclusion notwithstanding the immense importance of significant role played by the big toe or other suggested inputs covered herein.;)
:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
Alex

[Hemi]

When Mr Prokaryote met Mrs Eukaryote! ;)

[colour-coded]

If you are talking about a Human History, then, hard to beat that one (https://youtu.be/dFCbJmgeHmA). Divine intervention :lol:

[redbeard]

Water

[Startrek]

The invention of the “Wheel”
Without the wheel we wouldn’t be here today
It drives everything thing we do to exist as a modern human beings in the 21st century and beyond into the future
I’m certain in ancient times humans couldn’t have survived with fast growing populations without the humble “wheel”. The wheel brought Sustainability
It also allowed us to observe and image the Universe like never before from our backyards
I’m surprised no one hasn’t mentioned it yet ?

[Stonius]

I guess one could also make the case for the period of Baryogenesis after the Big Bang (which somehow managed to violate the conservation of baryon number), and lead to there being more matter than anti-matter in the universe. In turn, that enabled atoms and molecules to form.


Either that, or the invention of Sticky Date Pudding. They're hard to split.


Markus

[kon1966]

Im sure this is the most importand for most of us and worldwide.....The other day when I successfully polar aligned with no star trails.

Regards
Kon

[Renato1]

No1. I'd go for the Battle of Manzikert in 1071.
If the Byzantines hadn't foolishly lost that one, we'd still have the Roman Empire around today.

No. 2 Invention of transistors in 1950s.
Cheers,
Renato

[pmrid]

When the first caveman discovered that the haunch of dinosoar he accidentally dropped in the coals of a tree struck by lightning wasn’t too bad, despite the charcoal and burnt fingers.

[raymo]

I fail to see the connection between the battle of Manzikert and the Roman
Empire, as the Roman Empire ceased to exist almost 600yrs before that
battle.
raymo

[xelasnave]

Which ever date you decide the Romans disappeared one could say they live on even today because of the Roman Catholic Church...we tend to think of only the Western Empire falling when in fact the Eastern Empire continued for a very long time after the West was gone and forgotten.
Alec

[raymo]

The Eastern part [Byzantine Empire] might well have survived longer than it did, but I doubt that it would affect us Westerners much.
raymo

[Swartz]

If you take 'our history' as anytime after humans became humans in evolutionary terms, thus eliminating events such as the demise of the dinosaurs. There have been two significant events that have lead to every other significant event in our history.

Ability to harness fire: allowing us to cook and keep warm. The list goes on and on for the benefits for fire.

The written word. From cave paintings to hieroglyphics to the first words written down on parchment. The ability to pass on knowledge has been invaluable.

[xelasnave]

Humans domesticating dogs.
There is the proposition that by having the dogs , not only of value for hunting and gaurd duty..but as they did the sniffing releasing the room in our brains used for sniffing to give room for speech stuff... true
Alex

[xelasnave]

Cooking was a really big deal giving more energy and probably contributing to preservation of meat.
Alex

[2StarsInScorpio]

Not sure I agree with mitochondria, though of course they are very important to life. If we are talking origin of life I would say "membrane" which also begins with m. It's the cell membrane that allowed early life to separate itself from its environment and maintain homeostasis.

btw...mitochondria were originally free living organisms that became "captured" inside early cells through the process of endosymbiosis. And to make a connection back to astronomy... this theory was first proposed by Lynn Margulis the first wife of Carl Sagan!

Thanks for the challenge...the simplest questions are the most thought provoking.

[gb44]

Mutation.
Without mutations DNA would remain unchanged and the variations within living organisms wouldnt occur. We'd all be bacteria.

GlennB

[xelasnave]

Yes the ability to house off a special little place...I contend a mere drop of water will form a membrane ...the molecules on the surface line up just as you need and by charge can cause "stuff" to move to the middle ..véry egg like...I cant find the article unfortunately...most interesting.
Alex

[Stonius]

Oh, good one, Glenn. Nice choice. I won't protist that one. :-D

[Renato1]

Depends which historians you read.
Some refute the part about the Roman Empire falling in 476, because it had moved to Constantinople a century and a half earlier - taking with it nearly all the bureaucracy and administrators necessary to run an empire, and that what eventually became known as the Western Roman Empire was just a shell, an empire in name only.

Meanwhile, the Eastern Roman Empire just kept growing and was the wealthiest place on the planet for centuries. The historians suggest that the myth of a real, viable Western Roman empire collapsing, was pushed strongly by the British Empire in the 19th century as propaganda. The term "Byzantine" was given to the Eastern Roman Empire by historians centuries after it fell, but they called themselves Romans, and proudly traced themselves back to Rome.

After the Eastern Roman Empire lost at Mazikert, they lost Anatolia to the Muslims. They then regained it, only to find that the Muslims had destroyed it - and, whereas they could previously raise some 40 divisons from it (the bulk of their army), now they could barely raise two or three divisions. So they had to survive the next nearly four centuries relying on the superior military tactics and mercenaries, though it was the Venetians of the Fourth Crusade who effectively did them in.
Regards,
Renato

[xelasnave]

I think Renato is pretty much on the money..by the time Rome was being raided it was somewhat a back water really...
Alex

[gb44]

Mitosis and meiosis.
Cell division, mixing of chromosomes. Sometimes mutations arise during these processes, so they are up the chain from mutation.
Without this no life would continue, as we know it captain anyways.

GlennB

[Sunfish]

I don’t think the Romans disappeared. Seemed to be a lot of them when I was there and I have since met a few. Great food and clothes. Superb universities.

[Sunfish]

I am with Raymo as it led to sunshine and water as others have suggested and which we enjoy directly every day.