[exDemMom]

Productivity statistics or information on inflation-adjusted incomes is helpful, but can’t really tell you whether the advent of air-conditioning or the Internet did more to improve humanity’s quality of life.

That one is easy to answer. You can survive a summer without the internet far better than you can survive a summer without air conditioning.

For the most part, the internet is about entertainment available at our convenience. We did fine without it. However, people die without air conditioning.

[SunkenCiv]

Just to second something you said, people have to go without beer unless there is refrigeration.

[snoringbear]

“That one is easy to answer.”

Yep, sure is. The most important invention of modern times is the integrated circuit or what some refer to as solid state technology. Just about everything or anything depends on it.