... the invention of the mechanical clock in medieval Europe. This was one of the great inventions in this history of mankind -- not in a class with fire and the wheel, but comparable to movable type in its revolutionary implications for cultural values, technological change, social and political organization, and personality.
David S. Landes, Revolution in Time: Clocks and the Making of the Modern World
culture, david-s-landes, inventions, mechanical-clock, technology