What is the greatest achievement in human history?
My answer centers on how I view humanity. What separates humans from animals IMO is our self-control. In other words, our ability to suppress our emotions and apply logic. Animals can express a wide range of emotions. Animals can express joy, sadness, jealousy, greed, fear, hunger and many other emotions. But they are much more enslaved by their emotions compared to humans. What animals really struggle to do is move beyond their emotions and do something logical. It is our self-control that makes us special.
I'm torn between two achievements that have enhanced humanity's self-control.
1. The invention of writing.
2. The invention of the scientific method.
Writing enabled us to keep a log of human events. This is where history began. The study of history, learning our errors and successes, has greatly enhanced our self-control. It acts as a super long-term memory dating thousands of years. The scientific method is incredibly important because it codifies self-control in a clear process that enables us to make complex discoveries.
I think I have to go with the invention of writing.