Westsiiide, And How We Got This Way.

[pyrrhiccomedy]

Hey guys--come play with me. What do you think are the most significant events in the history of Western civilization?

Comments

[pyrrhiccomedy]

Dude, I made the list and I sat staring at it for ten minutes before I could make my final pick. I mean, I grabbed Newton and Constantine, and then...The French Revolution? The printing press? The Industrial Revolution? World War 2? I must've moved my ticky at least six times. This is why I don't think what we pick is really the issue.

I mean, like, you bring up the "affected us in the modern era / affected us in the past" question. And I think that's a really interesting question. I am personally not inclined to think that the atom bomb belongs on a top 20 list, even though it was absolutely one of the most formative influences of the 20th century, because the threat of nuclear war seems to be growing more and more remote. But like...the microchip? Sure, that's very recent, but it ushered in the computing age, and that's not going anywhere. I think the microchip gets huge points because of its overwhelming significance now and in the future, even if it hasn't had as much time to affect us. Our lives would be unrecognizable to us today without it.

(I eventually went with WW2 as my third pick, but I might have made a different pick tomorrow.)

[wizzard890]

I think I'd have a different pick every time I look at this, honestly. The only things that stay constant when I make lists like this (for my...own edification XD) are the conversion of Constantine, and the invention of the printing press/movable type. Which are both...equally important, I think. Obviously, history isn't what I'm best at, but skipping out on movable type just seems impossible to me. I mean, this was something that had vast repercussions in pretty much every aspect of society: religion, art, politics, the whole shebang.

But now, nnnggh, I am wishing I had gone with physics instead of WWII as my third pick. Because, like. Math ==> microchip, you know? The same way movable type ==> Protestant Reformation. DO YOU PICK THE CAUSE OR THE EFFECT OH GOD.