re: Was WWII the most pivotal event of the 20th century?

Disco!

WW2 distant 3rd

Also behind Billy Cannon’s Halloween punt return for TD

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I think the invention of the computer/internet or of nuclear weapons or space travel will ultimately have a greater impact on the world.

Now that I think about it, at least two of those things, maybe all, were a direct result of WWII. So, yes WWII was pivotal indeed.

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Yep.

WW2- Nukes, which triggered the space race, which pushed modern computers, which brought the internet.

Hell, if you look at it, the Boxer Rebellion may actually be the key event.

The French had just invented smokeless powder, all the major military powers were gearing up with it, and this event provided "everyone" a chance to test it out. When you look at the Eight Nation Alliance, which formed in 1900 to quash the rebellion and rescue their legations, it's shocking to see who all was involved in the fighting:

The US
Great Britain
Germany
Russia
Austro-Hungarian Empire
France
Japan
Italy

All fighting together inside of China... these were the major combatants of WW1 and then WW2. And digging into it a bit, "working together" is a bit of a stretch, as there were tons of back-stabbing involved. They all got to scope each other out, and then we see what happens between those countries over the course of the century.

I’d say WW1 reshaped the world more than WW2

If Hitler had decided to overtake the Soviet Union instead of focusing abroad, we’d all be speaking German most likely.

The Kaiser also told Austria that it would have Austria’s back if Russia defended Serbia. The fact that the Kaiser was on his personal 300 ft yacht is irrelevant. He was unstable to begin with and highly reactionary. Of course war was inevitable, Europe was highly militaristic at the time and Germany especially was dominated by Prussian officers

Light always beats darkness so I like to think there’s no way Nazi Germany would’ve won and run the world. They were too evil for it to ever work.

WWI and the resulting draconian peace treaty was probably the most influential event of the century.

The polio vaccine was kind of pivotal, too...

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Germany that didn't defeat France would probably have never been his "rich uncle".

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They didn’t in WW1. One day I’ll do a dive into pre-ww1 European macroeconomics, but consider the brainpower that fled prior to WW2. Splitting atoms for boiling water to generate cheap electricity is far easier than a manhattan project. So does Germany invest in the bomb, after such a discovery or does Einstein, Oppenheimer et al convince the Kiaser to go to the moon by 1959.