What happened on 08/05/1858? You likely don’t know.
In a lecture by Dr. Stephen Davies, he gives two lists of dates. The first list has the big dates that many know about, along with what happened on those dates. Things having to do with wars, assassinations, etc. The dates you were probably taught in school. For the second list, he lists only the dates asking if anyone knows what happened on those dates. No one can answer. He then starts revealing what these dates are. The invention of the Model T, the telegraph, containership, jumbo jet, etc.
Throughout the rest of the lecture, he explains why he believes that even though the first list of dates is more well known and taught more, the second list of dates has actually had a bigger impact on where we are today.
The first dates represent more of the political or government side of things, the second list focuses more on entrepreneurs and inventors.
By being taught the first dates, people are taught to believe that power and politics is where the most change comes from, but in reality, those have a much smaller sphere of influence than the things on the second list do. While power and control have constantly been changing and shifting, inventions and entrepreneurship have been a constant progression. A continuum of ideas working off the last.
These inventions and ideas have had an indescribable impact on how people live. Whether graphically or socially, life has been completely changed by the things in the second list.
I agree 100% with Dr. Davies that these dates are, in many ways, more important than the first dates. People think that politics will give you control over change in the world, but in reality, the most change comes from ideas and inventions. However, one thing that Dr. Davies says, I disagree with. Or at least, to some degree disagree with.
He says in the lecture that people often point to the first list to show how the world is getting worse and coming to ruin, but if we look at the second list, we can see that the world is actually constantly getting better. My question would be: what measure are we using to determine “getting better?”
While I whole-heartedly agree that technology and inventions are constantly allowing us to live more comfortably and improve our living conditions, it seems this is only outward signs of “getting better.”
Outside circumstances don’t necessarily dictate personal joy or contentedness in life. If you disagree, look at any Hollywood News article and see how these people who “have it all” are living in depression and sadness.
There may be a person with all the new technology and accommodations known to man, yet they are one of the most unhappy people in the world. On the other side of the world, there may be a village who hasn’t seen a phone, let alone the internet, yet they are content and joyful almost constantly. You may say, “well, if they knew what they were missing they wouldn’t be happy.” But I say, why does it matter? If someone is happy, why does it matter what they do or don’t have?
What is your determination of getting better? Because even though everything around you might be the latest greatest invention, that doesn’t mean your own personal life gets any better.
While these inventions and entrepreneurial changes of the past have had an incredible impact on the world as we know it, I think even these have had less of an impact on humans personal lives than we imagine.