Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Yes but it may have been “indefensible” only from a logistics standpoint. Obviously, being an island, it would normally be easier to contain and control the peoples living in that area. After all, there is a strategic advantage to having one's territory surrounded by water.But evidently the natives were a little too restless and - according to the Boudica program - they normally trained in warfare. I believe they practiced their warring arts even as a form of leisure. This would make them naturally adapt to being a pain in the neck to the Romans. If the Romans could have replenished or reinforced its army in greater numbers, they may have been able to rule the entire island. While the Celtic warriors were fierce, they were not trained in unit fighting to the extent the Romans were, and their weapons and armor was inferior.
Don:So are you saying the US is the greatest historical villian of all time? I'm not quite sure what the theme or purpose of your last post was.
I believe Don was responding to the previous poster who said:
I am sensing some socio-political bias as well as chronological. Are there no villains in the Americas?
Alright, lol, I was sort of wondering if someone would mention that. I suppose that given the situation, it's the most intelligent thing to do. But as far as some time that I would have loved to have seen and been a part of would be Rome, perhaps sometime between the time of Trajan and Caracalla, when the Empire was perhaps at its height. Imagine - an ancient city with a population of 1 million...structures of gradeur throughout the city...marvelous hot baths, forums, statuary, and so forth. Of course, there would certainly be the atrocities, brutalities, and perversities of Roman life. However, Rome as a whole would be a marvelous sight to behold for a spectator. Just imagine the visitors who visited the city from neighboring lands.
... Of course there were other controversies such as establishing an Anglican Bishop in North America and the decision to keep a standing army in North America. These and other things (even though they were legal and well within the Empire's rights) did not set well with the colonists.
Even though these may have been "legal", and the Colonists' actions "illegal", were the Colonists morally justified? Assuming that King George offered the Colonists some leeway - say, an actual seat in Parliament, some minor form of self-governance, would the Revolution still be as legitimate as it is considered today? Perhaps an even better question would be whether the Colonists would have revolted had they been offered some tokens from England.
jonny, I think that the answer lies in the basic fact that the United states = good. Now, before any harsh objections are made to this, I realize that America has hardly acted justly at all times and in all circumstances. However, the country was founded by enlightened men of good will who put in place a democratic system which would control excesses and grant justice to the oppressed. For all its failures, it is largely a good system which has controlled rampant corruption.Corruption is key, because if it goes unchecked it can lead to a multitude of problems. One of the biggest things people ought to realize from the whole Abu Ghirab prison torture scandal is that those unjust actions have had consequences, and the persons involved are now being punished. This is hardly the case in other countries where armies perform far greater atrocities and go unpunished.
I had the same initial concern as you, but I decided to include some of those names because they did design inventions. Leonardo, for instanced, did invent any number of products, even if they weren't all invented during his lifetime (see this article). Also, Einstein's work on the atomic bomb qualifies as an invention of the highest caliber. But your point is well taken - Einstein's inventions should be separated from his advancements in physics theories such as time, matter, etc.
That is an interesting example of “credit shafting” when one inventor gets credit for another's work.But how did Tesla invent the water fountain? There were similar water machines going back to the time of the Greeks.Actually, you have given me an idea for a new poll.
Interesting – I may have to check that book out.But do you think there's an obvious answer to it? Cold weather is obviously going to be more conducive to spending time indoors, and perhaps this creates more of an atmosphere of study and learning, which brings technological advancement. Warm weather, meanwhile, is more conducive to barrierless entry, and more social interaction among people could be the result. With "southern" living, man is forced to look outside himself for fulfillment. This benefits entertainment and the arts, but not the sciences.Of course, I'm not sure if what I'm saying has merit, but it seems like it may be the case. I don't know of many politically free, poor cold-weather nations (except for maybe Russia). The number of poor warm-weather nations, however, is astounding.
WMLambert, have you seen the post I made on Tesla's Death Ray? It was really fascinating when I found out about that, and during his day the rate of scientific advancement (well in theory, at least) was quite astounding, so it's not surprising that we see the emergence of science fiction developing after that time period. Yes, Telsa is an interesting figure.
Another thing to consider – last night on Modern Marvels: Bullets I saw that it was a period of time, I believe about 50 years during the latter part of the 19th Century, that there were four technological enhancements with bullets. The rifled barrel, the pointed bullet, smokeless powder, and one other thing. I believe it was smokeless powder, which can fire a bullet twice as fast as the gunpowder used prior to that, which the North had in its arsenal which it used against the South. Little technological advances such as this would be a key advantage over a rival army with plenty of soldiers.
I am sensing some socio-political bias as well as chronological.
Lol, yes, you are probably right about that. As for American villains, obviously some serial murderers might come to mind, but the theme here falls more along the line of political/military villains. I am unaware of any mass slayings of innocent people that have been ordered by any Americans, either in early or recent American history. I am not saying that innocent people have not been murdered at the hands of U.S. soldiers/politicians at some point, but just that I am unfamiliar with any such episodes. Perhaps the closest thing to an "American holocaust" was the Camp Douglas POW camp during the Civil War. We started a thread about it over here.
I think you're right about this one. It separated one nation from the rest in such a gigantic way. It is the real doomsday weapon. Forunately, it was confined to countries which kept it largely secure for many years. Unfortunately, for whatever reason (likely because of man's nature), nuclear secrets have made their way around, and we really should ask how soon it will be before one of these new atomic countries (India, Pakistan, or another) uses such a weapon on its enemy.This is not to say that more powerful weapons won't be developed in the future (i.e. something which is more secretively delivered). But the a-bomb's development certainly was a break from wars (and geo-politics) of the past.
Her name is on this page: http://web.archive.org/web/20080119202501/http://louisville.edu:80/~mrbach01/
yes and we would all be share cropers working for food and little pay
What do you mean "we would all be share cropers working for food and little pay"?
I suppose the problem with this is that religion intergrates with history and plays important parts at almost every stage – from the early Greeks, Romans, the Middle Ages, all the way through early modern times (and today, though perhaps less than in previous ages). It's difficult categorizing history into topics because it can be done in many ways; chronologically, by theme, by geography, by event, and so forth. I've tried to do it primarily by chonology here, though a bit by geography and event as well.The idea of a current events section sounds like it might be good. I'll think about that, and I can even incorporate the American Legal History section into it, since a lot of those relate to current events.Thanks for the suggestions.
