[OT] [I mean totally OT] Re: What can you "new"

[Walter Bright]

Andrei Alexandrescu wrote:
> Sometimes I run these crazy calculations: how much modern firepower 
> would be just enough to turn the odds in a classic battle? At 
> Thermopilae, I think two Vickers with enough ammo would have been just 
> about enough. Also at the Lord of the Rings 2 night castle defense, one 
> machine gun would have sufficed (better protection and fewer assailants).

Sometimes I think what if I were dropped naked back in time 20,000 years 
ago? Assuming I didn't get promptly cooked for dinner, what technology 
could I deliver that would have the most impact?

I can't decide between iron, agriculture, or writing. I suspect writing. 
Every time humans got better at communicating, there was a huge increase 
in the rate of progress.

speech
writing
printing
telegraph
telephone
internet