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The Forum > General Discussion > The view from AD 2200

The view from AD 2200

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Bad advice that was. Not back advice.
Posted by Gibo, Friday, 21 September 2007 8:38:58 AM
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What about the mathematician, Paul Erdos, who founded the field of discrete mathematics, which is used in computer science. His work has enabled deeper research into many fields of enquiry.

I also agree that Charles Darwin is a particularly significant figure.

It never fails to amaze me that creationists cannot see that evolution is much grander and a more "divine" theory, than their "puppetry" beliefs.
Posted by Danielle, Friday, 21 September 2007 4:13:24 PM
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For/from the 19th Century -Karl Marx:
He had major input into the experiments in the Soviet Union , China , Kampuchea ( & all the results there from) but he had an even more long -lasting input into Western & Third World academic & political thinking . He probably did more than anyone else to repackage failure & envy as positive foibles. After Marx if some individual, class or nation had more than another, they could only have gained it by ‘exploitation‘. In the 20th –21st Century world, it became the norm when assessing those less-well-off to see them as victims, with no responsibility for their plight. Leading political, religious & academic figures who espoused causes far from Marxism, regularly used Marxist arguments & terminology.

For the 20th Century -Henry Ford:
Apart from making speedy & cheap transport accessible to the masses -and influencing their business & social activities/opportunities. Consider his influence indirectly, via the need to sustain reliable oil sources & how it has shaped world policies & developments.

Also for the 20th Century-Bill Gates :
He did for computers, what Henry Ford did for motor vehicles.

But my prize goes to the inventors of the internet -Vinton Cerf, Robert Khan & those who did most to popularise it Larry Page Sergey Brin etc etc.
They set in motion currents which I believe will see humanity ultimately redefining itself. Following on from their activities we will need to reassess what it means to be conscious -what it means to be human.
Posted by Horus, Saturday, 22 September 2007 7:47:52 AM
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Danielle,

I completely agree with you about creationists. The real story is so much more magnificent, awe-inspiring really, than the junk science they propagate.

Modern discrete mathematics actually traces its roots to Leopold Kronecker – 1823 - 1891. He made the famous remark:

God created the integers, all else is the work of man.

See:

http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Kronecker.html

However the ancient Greeks hated what they called "incommensurables" – numbers that could not be expressed as the ratio of two integers. The square root of 2 REALLY upset them.

Perhaps people will still remember Andrew Wiles who cracked Fermat's last theorem. See:

http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Wiles.html

Bugsy,

I fear that Norman Borlaug's achievements, great as they were, will be eclipsed by biotech. My guess is that before the middle of this century we shall be creating plants that are able to tolerate drought and poor soils, that can make use of the extra CO2* in the atmosphere and that require no pesticides and much less fertiliser.

*Most modern photosynthesising plants cannot make use of additional atmospheric CO2. But some, like certain strains of South African corn, can. Attempts are under way to genetically engineer other crops such as rice to take advantage of rising CO2 levels. This raises yields while slowing the rise of CO2.

Horus,

I agree that the internet is one of the 20th Century innovations people will still be talking about in AD 2200.

Marx?

Perhaps he will join the league of villains – like Muhammed and Guevarra – that foolish humans worship.

Personally I think that Nietzsche will outlast Marx. For what its worth I googled charles darwin, friedrich nietzsche and karl marx. Darwin and Nietzche were almost level pegging at about 3.2 million hits. Marx was below the 3 million mark.

Anybody else got any suggestions?

What about the invention of the transistor (Brattain, Bardeen & Shockley) that made cheap computing and the internet possible?

See:

http://www.pbs.org/transistor/background1/events/miraclemo.html

Who was the greatest thinker of the millennium that ended in AD 2000? My vote to Darwin but, perhaps, Galileo? It's tempting to vote for Newton but I think Galileo is ahead.
Posted by stevenlmeyer, Saturday, 22 September 2007 2:43:38 PM
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stevenlmeyer,

Thank you for correcting me regarding discrete mathematics - and especially for the link. I confess that science is not my field of expertise; however, I believe it extremely important that modern society be knowledgeable about science as it becomes increasingly pertinent to our future.

None could contest your “biotech”.

I again agree with you about Nietzsche outlasting Marx. Being so misrepresented and adopted by the Nazis, he has left many suspicious of his philosophy - yet he was so utterly opposed to National Socialism and all it stood for. It is indeniable that his philosophy influenced other great thinkers.

Unfortunately his work loses something from being translated from German into English; as in other languages, some subtleties are not easily translated into English. Unfortunately I do not read German.

Nietzsche’s philosophy obviously failed him during his disastrous love affair with Lou Andreas-Salome: “When thou goest to woman, take thy whip.” But certainly, he wasn’t the first great man where such has happened.

As you have introduced Ancient Greeks, perhaps we can go back to the Pre-Socratic period (7th - 5th century BCE). The Ionian school of natural philosophy founded by Thales of Miletus, considered to be the first school of science. Then there were the Pythagorean Brotherhood founded by Pythagoras of Samos and the Atomists school.

Democritus (470-380 B.C.) expanded the concept of atoms that was introduced by his teacher Leucippus and showed that atoms are the basis of all form of matter.

The Eleatic school produced, among many philosophers, Parmenides the father of pure ontology
Posted by Danielle, Saturday, 22 September 2007 5:09:50 PM
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