Dien Rice
August 21, 2017, 03:15 PM
The eclipse reminds me of something...
In Mark Twain's story, "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court," an engineer is transported in time to the 6th century, to the time of King Arthur. He's sentenced by the king to be burned at the stake, but he remembers that in the year 528, there's a solar eclipse, which happens to be on the same day he's due to be burned to death.
He threatens that he'll blot out the sun if he's executed...
When the solar eclipse happens, the people are terrified and he's released!
Modern science and engineering can look a lot like "magic!" I find it amazing that it wasn't that long ago that many people were afflicted with polio... Now, polio has largely been eradicated (thanks to the polio vaccine). Smallpox, which killed up to 500 million people in the 20th century, has been eradicated completely (thanks to the smallpox vaccine).
When you think about it, pretty much everyone reading this forum has a better life than a king did a couple hundred years ago. They had no electricity, no computers, no internet, no modern medicine, no fast food... the list seems endless! (You need the modern medicine to survive the fast food!)
I guess the point of this post (there does seem to be one) is that, when you look at it historically, we have a lot to be grateful for... :)
The chance I'll be eaten by a lion tomorrow I think is greatly diminished compared to my distant ancestors... :)
Best wishes,
Dien
In Mark Twain's story, "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court," an engineer is transported in time to the 6th century, to the time of King Arthur. He's sentenced by the king to be burned at the stake, but he remembers that in the year 528, there's a solar eclipse, which happens to be on the same day he's due to be burned to death.
He threatens that he'll blot out the sun if he's executed...
When the solar eclipse happens, the people are terrified and he's released!
Modern science and engineering can look a lot like "magic!" I find it amazing that it wasn't that long ago that many people were afflicted with polio... Now, polio has largely been eradicated (thanks to the polio vaccine). Smallpox, which killed up to 500 million people in the 20th century, has been eradicated completely (thanks to the smallpox vaccine).
When you think about it, pretty much everyone reading this forum has a better life than a king did a couple hundred years ago. They had no electricity, no computers, no internet, no modern medicine, no fast food... the list seems endless! (You need the modern medicine to survive the fast food!)
I guess the point of this post (there does seem to be one) is that, when you look at it historically, we have a lot to be grateful for... :)
The chance I'll be eaten by a lion tomorrow I think is greatly diminished compared to my distant ancestors... :)
Best wishes,
Dien
