“One of the ultimate goals of science is mastery over nature, for the benefit of mankind.”

It’s obvious enough that the narrative we get from media, politicians, celebrities, and even a lot of scientists is that things are bad — and getting worse with little chance of improvement — that it’s hardly worth mentioning. Pirate Wires readers will also know that, in reality, when you zoom out to look at the big picture, most of this doom and gloom is unwarranted. True, we do have problems, but the struggles our recent ancestors faced were bigger, and we can use the same tools they did — science and technology — to continue improving our lives.

But when working to build a better future, it’s helpful to know how we got where we are today. In this post, we’re going to look at some of the scientists whose discoveries and inventions have helped humanity the most. Taken together, these geniuses saved billions of lives, and the existence of even more than that were made possible. And while there’s no way we can fit everyone who deserves to be here, we’ll look at a few of the most impactful and without whose work there’d be a good chance you wouldn’t even be alive to read this right now1.