The End of the World

Well 6pm came and went last night without a rapture or an earthquake.  Harold Camping has now fooled his followers twice.  My question is will they listen to him again? 

Here is the full story:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13489641

Now the Rest of the List!!

In my last post I shared my #1 person from the Second Millennium now I will share the rest of the top ten.

2.  Martin Luther:  His 95 Theses and his promotion of church reform launched the Protestant Reformation and helped lead to separation of Church and State, Nationalism, the Rise of Absolute Monarchy, and the End of Western Christian Unity.

3.  Galileo Galilei:   He invented the astronomical telescope, and made valuable contributions to mathematics and physics.  But, his true significance is his insistence that truth that can be proven experimentally should trump dogma.  His views helped usher in the Modern Scientific Age.

4.  William Shakepeare:  His plays are more than "High Culture."  His plays were originally entertainment for the common guy.  His Globe Theatre was the Sports Bar of his day.  Today his works are quoted more than any other English works other than the King James Bible.

5.  Sir Isaac Newton:  Gravity, Calculus, Motion, and Optics.  Need I say more?

6.  Charles Darwin:  Regardless of your personal beliefs concerning his Theory of Evolution, you have to admit it has changed the world we live in forever.

7.  Leonardo Da Vinci:  Artist and truly original Renaissance Man.

8.  Ludwig Van Beethoven:  He changed music as much in his time as Elvis did and his music still has an important place in our culture today.

9.  Napoleon Bonaparte:  The greatest general in the Second Millennium.

10.  Albert Einstein: E=mc2 

Well now its your turn to tell me if you agree of disagree.

The Most Significant People of the Second Millenium, Part 2

In my last post I told you about the assignment I gave my students to list the 10 most significant people of the Second Millennium. 

I promised I would share my list and the justification for all of those included.  So here goes with my number one pick:  Christopher Columbus!

The tricky part is the justification.  How did this Italian Navigator working for the King and Queen of Spain get chosen as the number 1 person of the Second Millennium?

Well, I did not choose Columbus because he believed the world was round.  [Most educated people of 1492 Europe believed that.]  This myth, along with a few others you heard in elementary school, almost made me reject, rather than choose Columbus. 

It all comes down to that key word of “significant.”  Columbus was looking for Asia and accidentally found continents that most of Europe did not know exist.  [The Vikings had made it to North America, but had kept their discovery to themselves.]  That is the real significance of 1492.  Not that Columbus “sailed the ocean blue” rather it is what he did about it. 

Columbus was a vain and greedy man who lived in a culture that was vain and greedy as he was.  This is exactly why he is so significant.  He wanted the fame, the glory, and the money.  Because of this he actively promoted his find.  [Although he still thought it was Asia.]  He convinced one of the Super Powers of 1492, Spain, to bankroll 4 expeditions that provided mainstream Europe with a taste of what was “out there.”  He started the largest migration of people in human history and the greatest exchange of plants, animals, and diseases.  This exchange that began with the gifts brought back to Ferdinand and Isabella from the first voyage still continues today.

The massive shift in human population triggered by Columbus is truly unique in human history.  It began with a large influx of Europeans and then grew even larger when those Europeans, looking for a source of labor, began to forcibly import Africans.  This wave of humans and the diseases they unwittingly brought with them decimated the native population.  The make up of all the modern countries of North and South America reflect this massive human migration.

At least as important as the movement of people is the exchange of animals, plants, and diseases between the “Old World” and the “New World.”  The domesticated cattle and horses of the Americas are Old World species and the tomatoes and potatoes that have become so much a part of modern European cuisine are New World plants.  Can you imagine Italian Food without tomato sauce? 

These “accidental” results of the voyage of 1492 are the real reason Columbus is so important.  He started a process that grew much bigger than himself. 

I know that eventually North and South America would have met, but would any other encounter at any other time have resulted in such a complete transformation of the entire planet?  We will never know.  What we do know is that the encounter was made by an Italian son of a weaver working for the King and Queen of Spain.

That is my justification.  What do you think?

The Most Significant People of the Second Millenium

My students have been working on a project to determine the 10 most significant people of the Second Millennium.  That is a lot harder to do than you might realize.  Any of us could sit down and name 30 or 40 people off the top of our head, but try to limit it to only 10.  It truly is almost impossible.

The first problem is the word significant.  You are not being asked to determine the "Greatest", or the most "Famous".  You are being asked to choose the most significant.  That includes the proverbial GOOD, BAD, and the UGLY.  Everyone from Hitler, Stalin, and Sherman on the Bad side. (Yes, I dared to put a Union General in with "those guys".  Its my blog I can do what I want to.)  And, Shakespeare, Beethoven, and Da Vinchi on the Good side.  We want even get into the Ugly debate!!!!

The other major issue with this assignment is perspective.  Everybody brings their own ideas about what and who are important to this discussion.  Which is more important Military Leadership or Art? Science or Literature?  Being Good or Being Bad?  It is a tough call.  For instance, is Hitler more significant because of the huge number of deaths (both Holocaust and WWII in general) or is Michelangelo more important because of the millions of people who were/are inspired by his art?  Think about it.

The last major difficulty I see is a reference of time.  People that were considered extremely important in their own time barely get a footnote today.  And, some of the people we revere today were not even on the radar in their own time.  Who knows, a thousand years from now the people we put on a top ten list may all be footnotes.

Over the next several days I will share my own list and my justification for each person.  You are free to disagree.  Everyone has the right to be wrong! :)

Day 29

I was so excited last night when I sat down at  Pizza Hut with my Kindle and noticed that the July issue of Asimov had downloaded to my reader.  How Cool!  The first novelette in the issue is "Day 29"  by Chris Beckett.

I do not want to be a spoiler so I will not discuss the plot or give away the ending, but the premise he uses has got me thinking.  If you were going to totally forget a portion of your life and would not have any one around you that you knew, what would you do.  No one will ever know, and you will never remember either.  Would you act like you normally do?  Would you try out some dark fantasy you never would in "real" life?  Would you commit some terrible atrocity that you normally would not be able to live with?

Interesting thought.  I know we would all like to believe we would "do the right thing", but would we?  The protagonist in the story has to face this very scenario, and he realizes that it is not as easy to be good when nobody, including yourself, will be none the wiser.  Check out the novelette and let me know what you think.