Come on guys lay off the big bang era selections, the OPer qualified on post 3 :
“Ok, the context would be human history IE man discoverng fire.”
Which I assume means history since man discovered fire. Or are we going to argue which part of the bing bang chain reaction was the “important” part?
I agree with the agricultural revolution votes. I might lean towards animal domestication though that was much more sporadic I believe.
Re: Death of Christ. Umm, I have a hard time buying this or anyone’s death as that significant. I mean everyone dies right? If he were around today that would be interesting but someone born 2000 years ago being dead isn’t too earth shattering. OTOH, if the one true God sacrificed his only begotten son in order to wash away our sins, that I agree, would be significant. I’m just don’t think that happened, YMMV. If we are going to choose a religious themed most important event then maybe the establishment of Xianity as Rome’s state religion might be a good one.
I will go with the rise and fall of the empire of Alexander the Great as having the longest and widest impact of a single ‘event’.
(In this context I think the development of agriculture is too broad to be an event, but it is w/o doubt the most important development in human history)
BTW, Chumpsky, since E-Sabbath has presented historical evidence of Christ’s existence, we all expect you to lead us in singing “Onward Christian Soldiers” at 6 p.m. tonight.
How ‘bout the realization that babies are produce by sex? I cite Will and Ariel Durant’ s series History of Civilization, Vol. I, as my evidence for this having a MAJOR impact on humanity.
And the invention of fellatio runs a close second.
Nobody’s disputing the existence of Pontius Pilatus, here. It’s the “who passed the death sentence against Jesus” which is an issue.
And you’re not going to find any roman record about this sentence or about this death. If they existed, they would be widely known. The only things you’re going to find are late (like around 110-120 AD) mentions of the existence of christians, and a brief reference (sort of a footnote) explaining that they call themselves that way after the name of Chrestus, who was executed by Ponce-Pilate. Which is is a reference to their beliefs, not to an exitensive study the author did on 80 y.o. records in Judea.
And you’ll find also a reference to “chrestus” inciting the Jews into rioting in Rome around 60 (IIRC)…which would mean that either the gospels had everything wrong (Jesus was living in Rome in 60) or else that the author just didn’t really know what he was talking about, since he was refering to events which happened 2 or 3 generations ago.
There is speculative evidence based on genetic analysis, that the human species at some time in the last 300,000 years ago or so may have shrunk to no more than a few hundred surviving individuals. If this is true, than some unknown prehistoric individual’s actions may have literally decided whether the human species continued to exist or not.
I would disqualify things like “the invention of agriculture” on the grounds of being too broad; if one particular person had not had the idea that planting seeds yields more more seeds, some one else in approximately the same time and place would have. It almost certainly was independantly reinvented several times.
Ditto nuclear weapons. I would say that any industrialized civilization that’s advanced enough to invent radar would discover neutron-induced fission in uranium, regardless of the historical circumstances.
On the other hand, there is evidence that Gutenberg was enough of a genius to pull together several different techniques to invent the printing press. If he hadn’t, it might not have happened.
Assuming that there almost certainly was a certain Jewish rabbi named “Yeshua” around during the time Pilate was governer of Judea, and given that whatever really happened nonetheless inspired a radical new cult/religion, then his execution by the Roman authorities was indeed an enormously pivital event.
How about the first time some humanoid made up a story to explain some ‘unanswerable question’? The birth of religion would be pretty significant in human history.
Agricultural revolution allowed for the growth of the population the creation of a sedintary lifestyle eventually leading to civilization and all its wonders.
Gutenberg’s Printing Press made writings into a common thing as opposed to something owned by a select few Ideas and discovers were made available to all and could be easily spread.
The conquest of the New World and the rise in power of the Western World. Devestated many cultures and forever changed the way in which we live.
The Assasination of ArchDuke Ferdinand set the chain of events which shaped the 20th century, which was probably one of the most frenetic and changing times of Human History.
Events whos ramifications are yet to be truly felt
The moon landing. Though not capitalized on at present it is the pinnacle of acheivement and will shape the century to come. We know we can go out there we will go again!
Elimination of Small pox Science’s first true victory over nature.
First it was a concerted effort by a world organization to combat a human problem on a global scale. It shows that we can solve our global problems. Also with work in genetics we may attempt to eliminate all disease and prolong the life of man.
The introduction of personal home computers which is like Gutenberg Mark II. Comunication is changing and information is more accessable than ever.
Leslie Fish’s Filksong says it better than I ever could.
Hope Eyrie by Leslie Fish
Worlds grow old and suns grow cold
And death we never can doubt.
Time’s cold wind, wailing down the past,
Reminds us that all flesh is grass
And history’s lamps blow out.
But the Eagle has landed; tell your children when.
Time won’t drive us down to dust again.
Cycles turn while the far stars burn,
And people and planets age.
Life’s crown passes to younger lands,
Time brushes dust of hope from his hands
And turns another page.
But the Eagle has landed; tell your children when.
Time won’t drive us down to dust again.
But we who feel the weight of the wheel
When winter falls over our world
Can hope for tomorrow and raise our eyes
To a silver moon in the opened skies
And a single flag unfurled.
But the Eagle has landed; tell your children when.
Time won’t drive us down to dust again.
We know well what Life can tell:
If you would not perish, then grow.
And today our fragile flesh and steel
Have laid our hands on a vaster wheel
With all of the stars to know
That the Eagle has landed; tell your children when.
Time won’t drive us down to dust again.
From all who tried out of history’s tide,
Salute for the team that won.
And the old Earth smiles at her children’s reach,
The wave that carried us up the beach
To reach for the shining sun.
For the Eagle has landed; tell your children when.
Time won’t drive us down to dust again.
