Top 10 Inventions of the 21st Century

an embryo won’t be confined to humans either; by the year 2100 we might well have the ability to breed elephants no larger than a Golden Retriever or make a mouse the size of a house-cat. Who knows, we might even be able to merge DNA strands from two different kinds of animals and create a hybrid elephant/mouse mix. Ready to play God everyone?

8. Hypersonic Transportation

Just as the airplane revolutionized travel in the twentieth century, there is no reason to believe that evolution to ever faster speeds is going to end anytime soon. As such, it is likely that before the dawn of the next century people will be able to fly between London and Tokyo at Mach 10 speeds and arrive at their destination in just over two hours. It is said that by the end of the 19th century, the fastest a man could travel on a regular basis was 60 mph (by train). By the end of the 20th century, that speed had increased ten-fold, to 600 mph (by plane). By the end of this century, it is not inconceivable to predict that we’ll see another ten-fold increase, making it possible for the average man, woman, or child to regularly travel at speeds in excess of 6,000 mph! Imagine: a person could fly from Boston in mid-afternoon, grab lunch in Tokyo, and be home by evening. Consider the frequent flyer miles one could rack up doing that!

7. Free Energy

The holy grail of science has been the acquisition of energy that comes from non-polluting sources (i.e. oil, natural gas, coal, etc.). By the end of the century it is likely that dream will become a reality. However, it will come from several sources and in very different ways. Geo-thermal, wind, biomass, clean coal, nuclear and solar energy will be a part of the change, but other more exotic technologies may also emerge. Technologies such as fusion and zero-point energy generators, either of which would provide an inexhaustible source of non-polluting, non-radioactive energy. At this time, however, both energy sources are considered fantasy technologies- I imagine much the same might have been said about nuclear power a century ago.

6. Artificial Intelligence

It’s one thing to make a robot do daily chores around the house; it’s quite another to get it to think about how best to carry out its task. Welcome to the world of artificial intelligence, where machines will actually be capable of learning, planning, deciding, considering, comparing and even abstract thinking. They won’t be quite on par with the human brain

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Top 10 Inventions of the 20th Century

both positively and the negatively. And so, without further ado and in no particular order, here are my nominees for the ten greatest inventions/discoveries of the twentieth century:

10. Nuclear Power

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