Posted by 5GJW on March 19, 1999 at 13:29:45 {MWZNJSg.uPfFk}:
1914 has been presented by the WBTS as a turning point, a key date in history, due to the fact that WWI started then. I suggest that even now, WWI is viewed as just another war in a long series of wars.
What I would like to ask is, what do you think is the most significant event of this century? If you are feeling like really going out on a limb, what do you think is the most significant event of the millennium?
Here are my thoughts on this. The Wright brothers powered flight in 1903 is the most significant event of the millennium, both for what it was, and for what was required to achieve it.
What it was.
Whenever mankind wanted to represent something magical, either god, demon, or some other
supernatural being, you could almost always count on this being having the ability to fly. Flight has been the dream of man since the beginning of recorded history(Icarus and Daedalus), and undoubtedly long before that. Realizing this
dream has changed the world as it has never been changed before. Note: I view the Apollo program as a derivative of the Wright brothers achievement, the astronauts just went a little higher.
What was required to achieve it .
The
Wright brothers did not simply build a device that looked like a bird. That approach had been tried, and it always failed. What the Wright brothers did was to scientifically approach the problem, studying different designs for wings,
propellers, and control systems, and then testing them in their shop. Rather than saying, "This wing is shaped like a bird's wing, and God made the birds, so it must be correct", the Wright brothers built a wind tunnel, and tested wings
for themselves. This way of thinking was a reflection of the scientific method of approaching a problem, and the resulting industrial revolution that was taking place at that time.
This is oversimplified, but I did not wish to write a novel about my opinion. What I would be interested in is what other events of this century you might think might qualify as the most significant of the century. Or, if you do think that 1914 is the correct answer, tell me why.
5GJW,
wishing he was slipping the surly bonds of earth