What are the 5 MOST significant events in all human history?
What "significant" means is entirely up to you, be creative, post 1 or post 5 let's figure this out!
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$21 Answers
To me there's a bit a dilemma in the question, in that a couple of the "significant events" predate "history", if one is to define history as the beginning if that which was recorded and which we can read in order to know what happened in the past.
For example, in pre-history the key events would be:
- Discovery/Invention of a method for starting fire from scratch. They think that this might have happened around 70,000 years ago, even though humans and human-ancestors had been using it for at least 500,000 years by keeping going fires started naturally.
- Invention of pottery, thus enabling long-term storage of naturally occurring grains. That led to the discovery of fermentation, which led to bread and beer, which led to a decision to shift food-sourcing from hunter-gathering to planned-agriculture, which led to cities, which led to government regulated trade, which required cuneiform writing in order to record transactions of trade, which led to first symbolic and then phonetic writing, and *that's* where written "history" begins...
So, the first big event in "history" would be:
1) The development of symbolic and phonetic writing. That enabled the transmission of accumulated knowledge over generations so that each generation didn't have to start from scratch.
What was being written, in the beginning, was records of trade, which meant counting units of trade, which means a written numbering system, which led to arithmetic. So the second great event was:
2) The development of a written numbering scheme with which arithmetic could be performed. That would eventually lead to algebra, leading to calculus, enabling modern science.
Parallel to that - as in, around the same time - there was the issue of people wrestling with the problem of soil-depletion.
That was the Achilles-heal of New World agriculture, because they didn't have what the Old World had, which was rivers that would flood on an annual basis to deposit fresh silt (which is why New World societies always had to abandon cities and move somewhere else to start over).
Old World agriculturalists could keep going on the same land generation after generation as long as they'd back off during the flooding season, but that created a need for two things: Prediction of when the floods would happen, and surveying so that people would know they could move back to the land which was theirs.
The need to predict annual flooding led to people paying more attention to something they'd known since time immemorial, which was a relation between cyclical change of day-length and seasons.
That was easy enough to map relationally in temperate climates, but it was trickier in regions close to the equator, and so it led to experts who studied the skies, which led to Astronomy... a study which would eventually become the first great science to work... under Ptolemy.
The need for surveying led to the art of counting units of length and area with numbers.
Between early astronomy and surveying was created trigonometry and the Pythagorean theorem... still to this day among the most fundamentally important and useful mathematical theorems. It led directly to the art of Navigation, and was fundamentally key to all systems for blue-printing early large construction projects.
Therefore, I'd say that the third great event of significance was:
3) A formalization of the Pythagorean theorem and trigonometry.
Next we have:
4) The invention of steel.
Archeologists have found traces of steel-like iron going back to 2000 BC, but it's some time between 1800-1200 BC that steel-making as a deliberate process became commonly known, and it changed the way civilizations would evolve.
Prior to that the hardest metal was bronze, which there wasn't much of it, so only an elite could have armor and swords, but with steel, access to armor and swords was "democratized", and that changed everything about the forces and processes behind how culture and societies would evolve.
If you want to think of an example from history for comparison: In the age of bronze you had society like we read about in the stories of the Iliad and the Odyssey, where everything was all about the fighting between a handful of nobility, with virtually no mention of the grunts, and with all happenstance being excused as consequence of the whim of Gods. What you'll notice is that the stories were all about who had the bronze, and everyone else were nameless plebes who didn't matter one whit other than how useful they could be to the man with the bronze.
But subsequent to the age of steel, in that same part of the world society evolve to the classical age of Athens, spawning thinkers like Plato and Socrates, who did not feel such an obligation to mysticism and noble-hero worship as did ordinary people of the Homeric ages.
What it changed was the issue of *manners*, and in a funny way it brought things back to how it had been when everyone could have a club or a set of bows-and-arrows, but now on a scale of civilization proportions. Nobles couldn't be as petty-tyrannical as when they were the only ones with armor, and ordinary people had to be more cautious with each-other because that guy packing a sword might actually know how to use it.
That opened up license for free thought moderated with manners on a level and scale never before seen.
Finally:
5) The invention of steam-locomotion.
That changed everything about the efficiency and range of transportation, which changed everything about how national economies work... and it was the logical precursor to the internal combustion engine, and think we all know what an impact that had on civilization, society, and economics on a global scale.
I can think of a few more that I think should deserve mentioned, but you said 5 *most* significant, so those are my cherry-picks.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
1. The birth, ministry and crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
When Jesus came into history, God becoming a human flesh has greatest impact in the shape of human history. With His advent led to the setting up of one of the most dynamic church that withstood the tests of time for more than 2,000 years and will lasts for a lifetime. The Roman Catholic church has survived the challenges of history. As Jesus once said, our church is built on Rock, with St. Peter as the first Pope. His death has made Christianity the religion of the Roman Empire.
2. The Bubonic "Black" Plague.
This plague was one of the most virulent outbreak of disease that have almost wiped out 75% of the European population.
3. The Discovery of Columbus of the New World and the Circumnavigation by Ferdinand Magellan.
The discovery led to the massive colonization of new lands and the expansion of the Spanish, Portuguese, British and French Colonies. This led to the setting up of settlements in America. The circumnavigation by Magellan's fleet has proved to the world, that the earth is round.
4. The Industrial Revolution.
With the industrial revolution, new industries were created such as coal power, steam engines, factories. The revolution resulted in rapid population increase and massive pollution. It also built the foundation of Western economies.
5. World War I, World War II and Cold War.
The wars have significantly shape the current world order. The two wars preceding the Cold War was but a continuation of mans desire to dominate the world thus resulting in the development of the atomic bomb and the nuclear bomb.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
yeah agreed very euro-centric, if the question was "significant events in the western Christian world" than maybe...but I think the Egyptian god Osiris had more influence than jesus' birth seeing as most of the stories (virgin birth, crucifixion, resurrection, etc) were taken directly from the stories of osiris' and columbus never discovered America he landed in the Caribbean, how about the original discovery of america by the native Americans who crossed the land bridge over the bearing straight tens of thousands of years prior?
The origin of Christianity didn't mean anything to most of the world. Other religions would have taken its place, or in fact were already in place when it spread.
Three wars count as one event?
please see my response to omicron, thanks
The Chinese, Greeks, Egyptians, and Vikings all made it to the New World Prior to Columbus.
The transition from hunter gatherers to farmers.
Although the domestication of plants and animals took
thousands of years and the speed, reasons and hows which
it occurred varied from place to place, this
transitional event set the foundation for society and
civilization as we know it today and therefore I would
place it as the first and perhaps most important event
in human history.
There are many active theories as to the hows, whys and
wheres this transition took root but it is generally
believed to have begun some 10,000 to 12,000 years ago.
Once food sources could be concentrated and sustained
then the human populations could also concentrate and
begin to develop communities with a division of labor
that allowed for endeavors other then day to day
survival to blossom.
The building of permanent structures, the manipulation
of landscapes,weaving of cloth, the making of
bread,pottery and of course the fermentation process
which led to the making of beer are just a few examples
of what was born of this transitional event in human
history.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
#2: Metallurgy
No percise date can be attacted to when the science of
metallurgy began but the evidence points to the
Neolithic period where the appearance of metals in
everyday life appeared.
How man first became aware of metals would of been a
gradual process spurred on by the human imaginaion with
the discovery of native metals such as gold, copper and
meteoric iron.
The ability to smelt metals from ores most likely
developed from a series of accidental discovories which
progressed into trial and error endeavors to manipulate
these metals.
Regardless how it happened the discovery by Neolithic
man of how to smelt metals from ores must stand out as
one of the greatest achievements in human history.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
#3: The Renaissance
The period of time spanning the 14th through the 17th
century where humanity emerged from the middle ages into
a period of cultural 'rebirth'.This period saw a revival
of learning which influences affected literature,
philosophy, art, politics, science, religion, and other
aspects of intellectual inquiry.
A hotly debatable period but an event which is
generally concidered to be the transition from medieval
to modern times.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
#4: The Industrial Revolution
-quote-
The rapid industrial growth that began in England
during the middle of the eighteenth century and then
spread over the next 50 years to many other countries,
including the United States. The revolution depended on
devices such as the steam engine, which were invented at
a rapidly increasing rate during the period. The
Industrial Revolution brought on a rapid concentration
of people in cities and changed the nature of work for
many people. --end quote--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
#5: The Atomic age
Nuclear science exsisted prior to this event, but the
detonation of the first nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, Japan
in 1945 is typically concidered to be the point that
ushered in this age.This event was the first large-scale
pratical use of nuclear technology and brought profound
changes in socio-political thinking and the course of
technology development.
The importance of this event is still unfolding but I
believe we can agree that with the technology of nuclear
power that humanity now holds it has to rank as one if
not the top event in human history.
With it humanity holds the power to destroy life as we
know it, which if that were to take place then nothing
that humanity has achieved to date would matter to the
next lifeform to emerge.
On the other hand, with the possession of such power it
may possibly fuel us into the next yet unknown great
event in human evolution.
Time will tell...
This;
Or this;
http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-Long-Did-the-Transition-from-Hunter-and-...
http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ab63
http://www.sciencebyjones.com/metallurgy_notes.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance
http://www.answers.com/topic/renaissance
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Industrial+Revolution
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_Age
http://web.mit.edu/nuclearpower/
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
please see my response to omnicolon, thanks
As I stated in my answer the period of renaissance which I referenced is a hotly debatable period and I had no illusion that everyone would agree with my choice. However the question was asked with the caveat, and i quote, "What "significant" means is entirely up to you, be creative".
With that in mind I would say to you that what I designate as being 'significant' does not reflect upon what others who have chosen to answer this question postulate,( which I believe many have done quite well keeping the spirit of the question in mind) it is what my personal opinions are.The question was not meant to be a test of what were definitive events, which at best would only be an act of futility.
Your answer was good and well thought out but it is not a list of absolute difinitive answers to the question, however it appears that your answer is being respected as your opinion, nothing more and nothing less.
Your critic of other answers does not lend credibility to your answer.
The question was posed in a manner that allows for personal interpretation.
As for the period of renaissance which i pointed to in my answer, well volumns have been written in regard to it and the period can be debated ongoing as to its significance as it relates to human history.But that was not what the question asked.
Respectfully
ShadowBear
None of those sound like events. You are talking about periods of history instead.
1. The number one significant event was speech. Speech was the first major change in our cultural evolution, it enabled us to communicate, something we take for granted now but, imagine a time when humans could only convey information with grunts. This enabled us to form more complex societies, deeper bonds in our relationships with each other enabled us to hunt better, also for the first time we were able to pass on what we learned to our children so they didn't have to repeat the same mistakes, this led to number two.
2. Writing. the second most important event was the invention of writing, this enabled us to further convey important information to each other, enabling us to evolve consciously by learning from our mistakes and recording our histories, in the beginning this helped us keep track of the stars which in turn let us know when was the right time to plant, how long did it take for vegetables to grow, when was the best time to harvest. which leads to number three
3. agriculture the third most important event in human history was learning primitive botany, we learned that we could take the seeds from plants in the forest and put them closer to the village in little plots of land, saving huge and dangerous journeys to forage food in the untamed wilderness, agriculture also enabled villages to grow larger which made humans become the most interconnected and largest social species in the world, when there is enough food the population will grow.
4. metal working, something we take for granted today, but once upon a time we did not have strong metal objects that didn't break, everything was made from stone or wood. Learning to work strong metals like iron and bronze enabled us to build things. The invention of metalworking is what launched us out of a primitive era, we were now able to build parts to complex tools that would go to further agriculture navigation devices, weaponry, and eventually complex machines and tall sky scrapers thousands of years later. learning to manipulate metal is what has made us modern.
5. the engine....the invention of the water wheel which way down the line leads to various types of motors, which enable humans to do much more work, much more efficiently than ever before, in the beginning it allows us to irrigate our farms and eventually allows us to travel great distances with ease, whether it is by steamboat or by locomotive or jet airplane. the invention of the engine eventually launched us into the industrial revolution.
6. While it has yet to be seen I believe the computer age will be seen as one of the most significant events of human history. Things that launch humanity into other realms usually involve something that allows to further deeper social interconnectedness, which computers are doing in a way that rivals actual travel, also a significant event should somehow increase the survival of our species, this has yet to be seen but I believe computer technology is already on it's way to help further medicine and every area of science and technology, by exceeding the computing power of the brain by many times we should be able to use this to help extend our lives and carry on our species.
My Brain
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
I was reading all of the previous postings and contemplating whether to submit an answer of my own. I was just about to when I read yours and realized that it would just be redundant to post my thoughts as well due to similarities.
Also, I would just like to elaborate on your third point (agriculture):
When we changed from hunter-gatherers into farmers cities were born. As you say, people start living closer together and form closer communities. This did add some conveniences to living but it also developed other problems such as sanitation issues and crime.
Good points.
please see my response to omicron, thanks!
2.Last Moon landing — Apollo 17 (1972)
3.The movable-type printing press arose in the mid-15th century. Less than 50 years later, nine million books were in print.
4.1492 - Columbus discover America
5.Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin 12 April 1961, he became the first human in outer space and the first to orbit the Earth.
6.Cuneiform script the earliest known writing system in the world.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$Establishment of the principles of mathematics by Pythagoras and other ancient Greek philosophers. Without math, buildings cannot be built. Cities cannot be created. Science can never develop.
Scientific exposition of the physical sciences by Isaac Newton. All modern science and the wherewithal for modern industrial society required a firm grounding in the physical sciences.
The synthesis and exposition of modern biological science by Darwin. Without this understanding the biological sciences would have faltered and the industrial revolution would have failed and ended in waves of epidemics and fanatic religions opposed to civilization would have gained control.
First and not least, the invention of beer, possibly in ancient Mesopotamia. This led to settled communities, agriculture, and civilization itself.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_of_Hammurabi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagoras
http://www.newton.ac.uk/newtlife.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Darwin
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1030700/beer-was-responsible-for-t...
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=ales-well-with-the-world
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$- Pre-history. Control of fire.
- Pre-history. Agriculture.
- Pre-history. Metallurgy.
- 1519-1522. First circumnavigation of the Earth by the survivors of Ferdinand Magellan’s expedition.
- 24th November 1859. The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin published.
- 17th December 1903. Wright brothers first powered flight.
- 1940s. First operative digital computers invented.
- 1953. DNA’s role in hereditary confirmed and it’s internal structure modeled.
- 4th October 1957. Start of the space age when Sputnik 1 launched.
- 20th July 1969. Apollo 11. Niel Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin are the first humans to land on another heavenly body.
- 29th October 1969. ARPANET started for first time at UCLA. Internet born.
- Future (ca. 2015-2050). Technological Singularity attained. AI machines with greater intelligence than humans.
written history
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$2.9/11( brought the world together through this awful tragedy)
3. the cold war(made space travel happen)
4. The french revelution(redifined european physical boundaries)
5.Fall of the Roman empire( redifined the world at that point onward)
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
Weather you believe in evolution or devine creation.Either way We are here. That is THE BIGGEST one of all.
#2- The shooting of JFK.That ROCKED the world.
#3-Bombing of the World Trade Centers. Both times. My father worked there right around the time of the first bombing.Very scary thought that all those people died such a horriffic death.
Those are my top 3.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
Confucius, Buddha, and Mahavira (the prophet of Jainism) all lived in the 6th century, though their works were compiled later (in the case of Buddha, much later). Important books of the Old Testament were written or assembled at roughly the same time. Greek culture was climbing toward its classical peak, thanks to natural philosophers (Thales, Parmenides), early political leaders (Solon), engineers (Chersiphron), and poets (Sappho, Pindar). No century is more significant for both Western and Eastern intellectual traditions.
2. Mediterranean Culture5Th-4Th Century BC
The first great dramatists (Aeschylus, Sophocles, Aristophanes), the greatest sculptors in history(Phidias), and Socrates all lived in Athens in the 5th century BC. No other place in history produced more genius. The Greeks’ run continued in the 4th century with Plato (one of the most influential thinkers of all time) and Aristotle (the founder of ethics, political theory, natural history and logic), and mathematicians Eudoxus and Euclid. At the other end of Eurasia, Lao-tzu, Chuang-tzu and the followers of Confucius elaborated Chinese thought; the abacus and blast furnace were invented; and the Grand Canal was begun. India produced epic literature
3. Eastern Empires11th-12th Century AD
Chinese civilization has had several peaks but the Song Dynasty was perhaps the greatest: Zhu Xi (pictured above) established Neo-Confucianism; printing, the compass and canal locks were developed; and Chinese painting reached its apex. Meanwhile, Islamic, Indian and Southeast Asian cultures produced great achievements, from Persian poetry and math to Angkor Wat and Jain temples. Meanwhile, Europe started climbing out of the Dark Ages with the first industry and monuments such as the great medieval cathedrals and castles.
4. Industrial Revolution1764-1790
Following James Watt’s improvement of the steam engine in 1764, almost every year in the late 18th century brought a new revolution. The science of chemistry was founded by Lavoisier; Hutton introduced the principles of geology; Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations founded economics; Mozart developed the forms of classical music; Burke and Hamilton/Madison defined British-American political theory; Blackstone’s Commentaries did the same for law; photosynthesis was discovered. Technical advances included electrolysis, the ship’s chronometer, chemical processing, tool-making machines, and the water frame.
5. Age of Newton1660-1687
Important discoveries happened throughout the 17th century, but the most influential scientific advance was Newton’s theory of gravity. Newton got around to publishing the Principia in 1687, but the crucial ideas came to him in the 1660s. Newton and Leibniz invented calculus about the same time. Boyle’s Law, which led to the development of chemistry, was discovered in 1662; Leeuwenhoek and others began microscopic observations at the same time. It was a fertile time for art (Rembrandt, Vermeer) and literature (Racine, Moliere, Milton, Pascal) and unfortunately, bad philosophy (Hobbes, Locke).
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$2. Start of fundamental religious beliefs in God as a supreme being
3. Spoken word transcribed to paper, over radio frequencies to broadcast to the world wide web.
4. Exploration and conquest of countries and continents by men and women of all ages.
5. From Slavery to freedom of all races
6. Fight for independence on all corners of the world and at home.
7. Medical breakthroughs against plaques and disease world wide
8. Global understand and universal acceptance of all races
9. Planetary exploration and Universe discovery
10. Moon landing to galaxy jumping
None of these require dates because as we continue to live, to grow, as humans. A race of people brought together not by the color of our skin but the common desire to expand our understand of the things around us. To live in a world without boundaries of the gravity that holds us here.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
I listed 10 because quite frankly they all fit nicely into this question. As for telling history from prehistory that is all in each persons belief when history started. Human history started at some point in a time long before even the written word and according to some before the spoken word.
Can't count to five? Or tell history from prehistory or the future?
Discovery of fire - At the heart of mankinds development, there is no record of when fire was discovered, but there are many myths in many cultures, on being that fire was stolen from the Gods.
http://hearth.com/what/historyfire.html
Invention of the wheel - said to have been created initially as an industrial aid as the "potters wheel" in Mesopotamia as far back as 3500BC. One cant imagine life without that essential component today, it is incorporated in most everything we use in our daily lives.
http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/wheel.htm
Pretty much everything else that followed depended on one of these two massive events in mankinds history. (I cant corroborate this statement, its just my own thought.)
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$I would just like to add the Constitution of the US and contract law theory as contenders. (it is important to note that the idea of universal human rights comes from Christian Philosophy/Theology, so to me, Jesus was the single most important)
Also, This question has to be asked every so often because new events of great importance happen all the time.
Don't vote for me because I don't feel like going much in depth about the topic.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
Oh yeah, and read the last sentence in my answer. "Don't vote for me because I don't feel like going much in depth about the topic"
Did that indicate to you that I wanted to hear ANYTHING from you?
Honestly man, you SUCK at LIFE.
Omicron, you seem to know an awful lot about religion for having not mentioned any religion in your version of the most significant events in human history. Not to mention, several times in your rebuttals and comments of other people you criticize Jesus.
What’s your DEAL?!
Thanks for the ESSAY concerning my 4-5 SENTENCE OPINION of what an important event is.
By the way, JUSTIFY how the invention of Steel or the Steam Locomotive in anyway competes with impact of JESUS.
I know your type. You think I’m some religious nut preaching to the world, you have no time for religion, but look at YOU! How many HOURS did you spend on this question trying to TEACH people something about humans?
You are not a philosopher or a historian, you only think you are.
Learn some etiquette. Pull your head out of your ass, and move on to a different question.
To everyone else, please vote this bastard down if you’re annoyed by his over response to this question.
The BIG picture is that this is a brainstorming question with no correct answer where everyone can bring to the forefront important events so we can remember them, and think about them.
Not to actually "Figure this out".
You so overwhelmingly answered this question that I knew you do this all the time out of your condescending intellectual attitude, especially toward the rest of us Jesus loving Christians. It happens all the time, so don't be so naive to think it's just you.
That is why you blew up my first response, you know, the one were I asked people not to vote for me, because I didn't want to get into an open ended, no answer debate.
But overall Point being - you Miss the Point. Again and Again and Again.
I was talking about Etiquette.
You say you like learning?
How do you KNOW that many of us don't have better facts? You put too much information on the table, all at one time, so that you lose your audience and any potential opponents for debate.
Did you really think I was going to respond to you with FACTS??? I knew that would be impossible and I could never get your attention.
But I have hope now, I felt like there was a human being behind your last comment. I felt the emotion!
Anyway, I’m done with this, here is the reason I did what I did, and said what I said.
Christianity. There was no way in hell I was going to let you just say whatever you wanted to say about Jesus and then say that you weren’t criticizing Him. You really did try and diminish His impact on the world. I cannot figure out why because He ABSOLUTELY is in the TOP 5.
If you’re a believer, he is the TOP 1, but for the sake of argument, I’ll give up 4 degrees.
Lastly, on a side note,
Christians don't claim to be perfect, and it's one of the biggest most ignorant jokes that non-Christians have manifested. It is REALLY REALLY funny that non-believers CONSTANTLY try to quote the bible back to the Christians telling us about our own philosophies, but they are SOOOO Far off base that most Christians don't even know how to respond. Really, most of the time there are no words to describe the criticisms that Christians get. I’m trying to describe it right now and it’s nearly impossible.
The countless philosophical and logical flaws that are made by skeptics, non-believers and atheists is appalling.
Truly, if you know how to construct philosophical arguments and you understand the Laws of Logic (such as the law of non-contradiction), and if you have followed the best arguments from Christians VS. Non Christians, Then you would understand that the Burden of Evidence is with non-believers. For example, nearly all modern physics fits into the Christian world view nearly perfectly, it's beautiful. This includes the big bang, certain micro-evolution (because Macro-evolution doesn’t happen and has NO evidence to support it), and many more of the best arguments the world has ever seen for the existence of God.
But alas, there is way too much information to site where I get my opinion, so I will get the ball rolling with only one source.
Read the book, "I don't have enough FAITH to be an ATHEIST", not that ur an atheist, I don't know, but the book is for genius' only, not that ur a genius, but I don’t know. I think you'd like it because mostly it talks about science, world history, etc. And it summarizes one of the best, most modern arguments Christianity has to offer. If you are able to make the arguments in that book null and void, I will give up my faith and become an Atheist.
This is my last response, if you respond I will read it, But I will not respond.
Thanks
OMG you are so THICK !!!
I'm trying to tell you that you are ASININE for trying to dominate this question, and your response was to write 1500 MORE words about the topic??
You are truly unteachable.
Not to mention, No one is going to argue with you about all your "knowledge".
You con-volute WAAAAAAY to much information to be coherent.
The TRUTH is you don't want to be wrong on anything, so you HAVE to construct your arguments in such a way that if anyone cared to prove you wrong (which they don't), they would have to dedicate weeks of their life to your lousy article. I thought you understood that when I asked you to justify your reasoning that it was a rhetorical question.
(Re-read my third sentence, then re-read everything I've written until you understand 'THE MESSAGE')
I'M pointing to the stars, while YOU are stuck looking at my finger...
Don't listen to me for ME, Listen to me for YOUR OWN SAKE, and try not to be a lost cause.
Good luck with your EGO, i'm sure it has served you well up to this point.
1. Fire
2. Speech and written communication
3. Farming and live stock
4. Medicine/surgery
5. Metals/machines / locomotion
6. Electricity/ light bulb / telephone/ radio/ electronics/Computers/Internet
We can keep going...
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
1. Man learned to light fire.
2. Man learned to cultivate.
3. Man invents/discovers use of wheel.
4. Invention or discovery of numbers (more specifically, zero).
5. Man discovered that Earth is spherical in shape and it revolves round the Sun.
** Note: I know that there are plenty of other discoveries like discovery of Gravitation, power of steam etc. without which man could never be what he is today, but the five listed above seemed more important to me because without them the mankind would not have survived. I deliberately did not mention "Man learns to use tools" here because we cannot mention a particular tool here, neither did man discovered or invented it all of a sudden one day. Man is a born tool user and he learned it from his ancestor apes (if you believe this theory is true). Apes like chimpanzees and orangutans can still be seen using small sticks to pull out white ants to feed on them or stone pieces to crush things. Even some birds like Egyptian vultures and crows use tools. So, I don't think man gets the credit alone. But it only man who learned to ignite and control fire, use wheels, does agriculture, counts and discovers places other outside its own territories.
These things neither belong to a particular part of the world (Asia, Europe etc.), nor do they stick to a particular subject (wars, scientific inventions, mathematics, religion etc.) alone.
They are neutral as far as I know.
Hope the answer was up to the expectations. Thanks
Personal opinion
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
2. Language development. Following the Sapir-whorf hypothesis it makes sense that without the proper language basis we wouldn't be able to comprehend and discuss abstract concepts. These are required for invention, scientific thought, imagination, and pretty much everything we consider to make us "human".
3. Judaism. Hear me out on this one: Where does Christianity come from, and where did the majority of it's stuff get based? The old testament can easily be found to be responsible for an enormous number of modern developments. It started the Abrahamic religions, the noahide laws popularized the trend towards a codified system of laws and equality, they even had divorce settlements and the basis of our modern legal system (witnesses, innocent until proven guilty) built in already. Add on that they were and still are one of the only peoples on the earth to have had near universal literacy (reading, writing, and at least basic math skills) throughout nearly the entirety of recorded human history... the impact they've had on human history is too readily underestimated.
4. World War Two. The war, and the horrors it involved, redefined the way we think about everything from race to good and evil itself in an unspeakably profound way which wouldn't be rivalled until...
5. The World Wide Web. It doesn't matter who you are, where you are, how old you are, or what you look like. On the internet everyone is equal, all that matters is the quality of the words being spoken. The concept of racism is virtually impossible on the internet given that anyone can be anything. Combined with the ubiquity of instantaneous communication and information access human nature itself is slowly and subtly being redefined. It was once easy to convince a group that people even a couple hundred miles away were evil, charisma was more important than factual accuracy, and people who "knew too much" were looked down on. Now the opposite is true: when some of your best friends are on the other side of the world it's hard for someone to convince you that different is equal to wrong, when you can look up facts instantly it's hard for mere charisma to convince you that black is white, and with all of this at your fingertips at any given moment the people who do NOT have the capability or the desire to learn and grow for it's own sake are considered backwards.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistic_relativity
http://www.simpletoremember.com/articles/a/quotes/ (heavy bias alert, but the quotes are well cited)
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$1. The discovery of making Fire
2. The invention of tools (I think stone tools were the first)
3. The extinction of h**o neanthderalensis at 28,000 years ago
4. The advent of the written language (the first was Aramaic, which I believe was used to write the Old Testament)
5. The invention of the Wheel in Mesopotamia 3, 500 BC
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
Can you elaborate on your third point? I'm not sure I understand the significance.
Thanks Tboz for commenting and clarifying my point about neanderthals. If we had lost the fight with them and they became the dominant, that certainly would have changed the course of human history. They were as Tboz said stronger physically and had bigger brains. No one is to know how their brains were actually different though. You could say that homo sapiens may have had smaller brains but whatever system in that brain that was more equipped to deal with the environment allowed them to progress forward. Size isn't everything, ha!
oh yeah....forgot about that one..good point, had we had to compete much longer with neaderthals it could of been homo sapiens that went extinct just as easily. Seeing as their brains were actually larger than ours. they knew how to make tools just like our species and some argue were probably smarter since that usually comes with bigger brains, and also physically larger and stronger than us by an estimated 2 to 3 x that's pretty strong.
For every human on planet earth there are 5 major events that make a perminent mark in their memories forever……
1: Birth: their own, their child, their sibling.
2: Puberty: every one out there has gone through it and if given the choice would not go through it again.
3: Love: we all fall in love with some one or something be it animal mineral or vegetable.
4: Death of a loved one or close friend.
5: Death of themselves.
Those are indeed the most significant events in every humans history
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
2. the cracking of the Japanese naval code during WWII
3. the invention of the nuclear weapon
4. the death of Alexander the great
i also think...
1. Rome
2. The edict of Milan
3. Invention of writing by the Sumerians
4. First official series of laws by the Egyptians
5. First moon landing…I wonder if the astronaut cares anymore
please give me some $ for this...i dont have any...lol. please look out!
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$1. The gathering of people into cities with a form of government. Prior to this, people lived more as nomads, or in groups that were primarily family. Living in larger numbers necessitated some method of organization; the dilemma of one's own rights vs. others' rights; the birth of ethics as applied to large numbers of people; the idea of property rights; the need for specific occupations, especially traders and craftsmen; the need for defense
2. The spread of the Roman Empire and its inventions. Rome built roads and made trade, travel and conquest far easier than ever before and for a long time hence. The barrel arch; the structure of government; cement; military strategy; the spreading of grape vines throughout Europe; modern sanitation methods--all originally came from Rome.
And Rome introduced a method of governing far-flung people whose influence is still alive today. During the Roman revival, people revisited the idea of representatives speaking for large numbers of people. It became the basis for parts of the United States and French governments, and the House of Commons in England, and from there part of the government of many nations. Before it, and without it, people had to have a standing, money, or a title to have any hope of a voice, even a collective one.
3. The birth, life and death of Jesus Christ. Whether you're a believer or not, this one life triggered a major change for Europe which has since spread to most parts of the world, involving conflict along the way, and bringing an entire change of thought in the former Roman Empire from cause/effect to analogical thinking.
4. The invention of the concept of "zero", leading to a system of place-value. India takes the credit for this one, and it soon spread into the Arab world but didn't arrive in Europe until centuries later. Ever try multiplying Roman numerals? The presence of zero and place value allowed complex mathematics to be developed, and that affects every aspect of modern life, from compound interest to geometry, physics, chemistry, engineering and most especially computing!
5. The Black Death and the consequent destruction of fences, both figurative and literal. When the Bubonic Plague swept across Asia, Europe and Africa, it hit all classes. Desperate land owners could no longer depend on the feudal system and demand way too much labor for way too little rewards, as they had done in the past. Laborers could leave the land they were bound to and search for better positions, because there were too few people in authority to go after them to make them return. These wandering laborers-for-hire could name their prices, particularly at harvest, when delay could mean loss of the crop. Some used their money to buy the land of owners who'd died; more enterprising folks used their money to start a business and move up a few classes from serf to craftsman or tradesman. Thus, in the 1500s we suddenly find people with surnames of tradesmen like "Bacon" becoming famous as their owners did.
The figurative fencing between classes was destroyed, as above; but literal fences were also being built. This was because with fewer serfs and the destruction of high Medieval-style feudalism, fields moved from being ploughed in strips to being fenced in. Those people still on the land often fenced their land in, which kept many of the lowest classes from being able to have their animals wander freely. So some people were enriched by the changes, but for some less enterprising or less fortunate, the changes meant a slide in well-being.
Other secondary, extremely important events:
*The Viking explorations and invasions: helped the destruction of the Irish church; helped change the face of Russia; provided stories that encouraged later sea-based exploration towards the New World; gave Europe the idea of a more egalitarian society
*Mohammed's birth, life and death. Followers rapidly spread both west around the Mediterranean and east towards India. It was after the attempt on Vienna and the consolidation of power in Spain that Isabella and Ferdinand finally okayed Columbus' venture, because they hoped he'd find gold to fund further defense against the Muslim advance on Europe.
*The invention of the gear. It became integral from everything to Jacquard fabric to the printing press to the eventual invention of steam and gasoline engines. The lever was nearly as important, but earlier.
*The invention of gunpowder and its transport into Europe. Before gunpowder, if you could stay seated on your horse, there was a reasonable chance you'd survive a battle in plate mail, or behind the stone walls of your castle. After gunpowder, suddenly people wanted to be light and agile instead of heavy and cumbersome, and castle walls were easy to crumble--almost pointless, so the fashion went from dark, drafty, vertical castles with arrow slits to window-filled, horizontal manor houses--still drafty. No one really had thought about insulation or the benefits of good joinery yet...
This is opinion, based on my education in Medieval and Renaissance literature, which entails study of ancient and modern history.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
Religions are dime a dozen. It can scarcely matter how or why one of them began. Another would have taken its place.
Whether or not we would have ended up with a similar system of values with Mithraism or something else, we didn't. The actual events of history have been such that nearly every part of the globe has been affected in some way because of the life of Jesus. Interesting conjectures, though.
As far as the influence of the Chinese system on the British system, the British system began its development in the Middle Ages. The first modern-style cabinet was in 1688, fully a century before England was able to get its foot in the door of the Chinese court (first ambassador was 1792; second ambassador was an idiot and set back international relations years) so while there was sketchy and dangerous trade there for awhile, no one really knew much about how the Chinese did things *in their government* until then, and by then the Westminster system was well-established. There may have been some tweaking, but it wasn't merely borrowed from the Chinese, even if the Chinese had a parallel system. And I was more concerned with the representative aspect of government, which is something China lacks even today.
I know this is a Euro-heavy list; but not completely. There were developments in China in particular that, because of the traditionally insular nature of China, never had much influence beyond its borders until much later in history. An invention that stays in the basement doesn't make much of a difference in the world at large, no matter how marvelous it is. It's when the invention crosses borders and continents, like the idea of zero and the early Indic numeration system, which the Arabs borrowed and which finally made their way into Europe, that do. I should have included the Arabs' continued scientific inquiry that was eventually made its way into Europe after the Crusades as more of these contributions. There are certainly many contributions that have been made by non-Europeans that make a difference to the whole world; but I didn't include wonders that never made it across borders, or crossed the borders after those events/inventions had risen independently elsewhere.
Well, in order for the Battle of the Milvian Bridge to become important in the history of Christianity, there had to be a Christianity first. Maybe that's the reason it took off in Rome, but it was spreading in other areas for quite a while before that: many councils and synods; many Popes; several countries for which it was already the state religion.
And no matter how arguable it would be that a small-town carpenter would have known about religions from hundreds or thousands of miles away (in the case of Buddhism). Without his life, there would have been no Christianity; no Crusades or Inquisition or Pilgrims or Mother Theresa or Sam Childers--none of the good or the bad. No arguments over whose interpretation or versions of the Gospel. Something different would have happened, but not the particular things that have shaped the world.
please see my response to omi, thanks!
Good answer Omicron - I voted for it - but I would have replaced the invention of steel with either microprocessors or electricity.
Well summarized.
see response