String is far more important than the wheel in the pantheon of inventions

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modeltrains

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That's a pretty bold claim, "String is far more important than the wheel in the pantheon of inventions."

https://www.hakaimagazine.com/features/the-long-knotty-world-spanning-story-of-string/

In a fiberless world, the age of naval exploration would never have happened; early light bulbs would have lacked suitable filaments; the pendulum would never have inspired advances in physics and timekeeping; and there would be no Golden Gate Bridge, no tennis shoes, no Beethoven’s fifth symphony.

“Everybody knows about fire and the wheel, but string is one of the most powerful tools and really the most overlooked,” says Saskia Wolsak, an ethnobotanist at the University of British Columbia who recently began a PhD on the cultural history of string. “It’s relatively invisible until you start looking for it. Then you see it everywhere.”
 
Light bulbs could not have been developed without the invention of the wheel which is a vital part of every generator.
The pendulum on a clock must be connected to the clock mechanism using a rigid arm, not a string. The only place a string is typically used in a pendulum regulated clock to connect the counterweights and even there it could be done differently.



Steve Shannon
 
I think I have to agree with the OP. Cordage solves an awful lot of practical problems that are much more basic to survival.

Having said that, the (spinning) wheel made it possible to mass-produce cordage.
 
I wonder if string was used in early studies of pendulum motion before the pendulum clock was invented.
 
on the other hand I don't recall ever hearing about a 'stringlock' pistol :)
Rex
 
on the other hand I don't recall ever hearing about a 'stringlock' pistol :)
Rex

Matchlock sir, it came before the wheellock. And before that they used just the matches which is simply a slow burning chord which is made from string.
 
But, the wheel can be turned in either direction. If it's on a cart or some type of vehicle, the cart or vehicle can be pushed or pulled in either direction. You can pull a string, but try putting a piece on a table and try to push it around.

Phil L.
 
You can pull a string, but try putting a piece on a table and try to push it around.

Phil L.[/QUOTE]

My cat does that all the time.
 
I disagree. Name one species other than ours that uses rolling as a means of transport. On the other hand, lots of species in nature use various kinds of string and fibers.

True, but it could be argued that round logs were the first method of rolling anything. Other species may use fibers, but do any weave it into a rope or string longer or stronger than naturally found?

Sure there are types of wheel that have been invented, but the concept wasn't. Strings differ significantly from fibers
 
I disagree. Name one species other than ours that uses rolling as a means of transport. On the other hand, lots of species in nature use various kinds of string and fibers.

dung beetles.

dang.. second to the answer!
 
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I mean, he's technically correct, but as a method of transport.... it stinks.
 
I disagree. Name one species other than ours that uses rolling as a means of transport. On the other hand, lots of species in nature use various kinds of string and fibers.

Onto this line of argument, I seem to remember that several species use the ability to curl themselves into balls as a defensive means, which has the advantage of allowing them to roll away from danger if the terrain is suitable. This includes pillbugs and spiders.
 
Onto this line of argument, I seem to remember that several species use the ability to curl themselves into balls as a defensive means, which has the advantage of allowing them to roll away from danger if the terrain is suitable. This includes pillbugs and spiders.
Also frogs, which are definitely better than string in many categories.
 
String theory helps us to understand the multiverse. I haven't heard of wheel-theory yet. The multiverse is strings not wheels. String catches fish, wheels get the fish to market. Just sayin'.
 
Name one species other than ours that uses rolling as a means of transport.

Second answer: hoop snake or ouroboros. It grabs it's tail in its mouth and rolls downhill away from danger, or to chase prey.
 
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