I have no idea how to rank the 1,000 great innovations I am aware of! That in a sense is my response. The other point that needs to be made is that every artefact is only a node in a network of artefacts: paper clips, for example, only make sense against the background of the science and technology of metallurgy, and industrial production; and the need for paper. Every invention is simply a locus in a syncytium of innovations…