Part 7 - Part 6
Human intelligence creates the rudiments of Social Media. And sets in motion the means to master the oceans. Communication, meaning, where two or more people truly understand each other, has not developed at the same pace as our quite brilliant technical achievements.
Notwithstanding the fact that Communication is intrinsic to advancement, in both the sphere of Technology and the sphere of Human Relationships.
The following glimpses into our intellectual past indicate how Thinking Minds articulate seemingly disparate principles, engendering technical progress.
We can also observe that progress is not a simple, linear process. Obstacles abound. Overcoming obstacles is the playground of Human Intelligence.
Communication is an essential element in overcoming obstacles, a process otherwise known as Problem Solving.
Communication
in the sense mentioned above is as difficult to attain as is technical
progress. However, both can be attained with the Right Thinking
approach. In other words, Attitude is paramount.
Combining those disparate principles, in whatsoever manner, for whatsoever purpose, should be executed on purpose. Furthermore, an on purpose approach works best when the Natural Laws that are involved are well understood.
An on purpose approach functions equally effectively when applied to Communication, via a reciprocative mode, by all involved parties. The aim here, too, is to understand. In this case, each other.
The sole purpose of Social Media is to Communicate, and we are doing just that. Consciously or unconsciously. The views we express reflect our Attitude, our Character, and our State Of Mind. For this reason alone, our attitude and state of mind should be of primary concern. Our character is on full and open display.
Social Media began more than two thousand years ago. The earliest newspaper we are aware of,
the Acta Diurma, Latin for Record Of Acts, began as a stone tablet
describing daily events. No fake news here, but give 'em time. Some
insipid excuse for a Human Being will try it on. Decent Human Beings do
not indulge in Deception on purpose.
The
Acta Diurma was introduced by the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar i(100-44
BC) the same guy responsible for the Julian Calendar, which itself was
an updated Roman Calendar.
The first newspaper was displayed in communal meeting places such as Bath Houses, where people congregated to socialize and wash. Or maybe that should be to wash and socialize.
Albeit a touch different to the way we socialize in the Modern Era, it was perhaps the seed of today's Social Media scene.
Enjoying
a long running monopoly, the Acta Diurma would be in circulation for
seven hundred years before a handwritten News-sheet was launched in
China, quaintly entitled Mixed News.
Assisted by slow, but certain advances in Communication, Technology found itself building an equally slow but certain head of steam. Slow appears to be the theme for quite some time.
It would be several hundred years more before
movable Woodblock Type was invented in China around the turn of the
Millennium. Then another long wait before the West caught up with the
East.
German born inventor Johann Gutenberg somewhat compensated
for that long wait when his sensational Letterpress Printer appeared on
the scene in the middle of the fifteenth century. Around four hundred
years after Woodblock Type.
Along with the ability to mass
produce the written word in the form of Books and Pamphlets, Gutenberg's
press made possible the printing of Maps. Maps would prove to be as
valuable as the treasures they were mythologically used to discover. In
reality, the entity who held a map, held a distinct advantage.
Gutenberg
Letterpress Printed Maps, used in conjunction with the rapidly evolving
Mariner's Compass, a navigation instrument essential to the accurate
guidance of the equally rapidly developing Sailing Ships, would change
the World forever.
Magnetism in partnership with Electricity is a Fundamental Force of Nature. An inherent Element in the structure of the Universe. To Humans, and all living creatures, one of its most important functions is the protective Force Field magnetism forms. A field extending from the molten center of our Planet to beyond Earth's atmosphere.
This benevolent Force Field deflects and repels Cosmic Radiation, preventing the entry of this deadly threat into Earth's environment.
If Cosmic Rays continued on their original trajectory, allowing them to enter Earth's environment, All Life would be prevented from existing on this incredible Planet.
As
sobering as comprehending just how reliant we Humans are on Magnetism
to merely exist, is, our absolute dependence on this Fundamental Force
of Nature does not stop there.
It is Electromagnetism that makes modern Humans quality of Life possible, convenient and comfortable. The Technology we are entirely dependent on for our lifestyles is based in the Quantum World of Particles.
Electromagnetism is intrinsic to the Quantum World of Particles.
Magnetism is intrinsic to the accurate functioning of the Mariners Compass.
The moment Chinese Scholars
stumbled upon Magnetite, the magnetic iron ore commonly recognized as
Lodestone, the bold obsession to comprehend this strange Element's
magnetic properties took hold. Curious Eastern Minds were studying
Lodestone many centuries before Europeans had Magnetism brought to their
attention, via the efforts of French Scholar, Petrus Peregrinus, in the
latter half of the thirteenth century.
Petrus Peregrinus summarized what was known about Magnetism, in his pamphlet, entitled in English as, The letter of Petrus Peregrinus on the Magnet.
Combined
with the knowledge gleaned by early Chinese investigators, his work was
possibly instrumental to the invention of the Mariner's Compass.
However, the origins of this instrument are shrouded in mystery.
Albeit, from the discovery of Magnetite on the surface of our Planet,
curiosity has led intelligent minds to the very edge of Creation,
encapsulated in the fascinating World of Quantum Physics. Wisdom has not always been paramount in our application of knowledge gleaned from this fascinating World,
As our present Worldwide State Of Affairs lucidly illustrates, Humanities search for knowledge is now instrumental in our Evolution as a Species. Wisdom has never been as crucial to our survival as it is today. As a Species, we must Think Wisely or perish.
There is no longer an option left where we continue to blunder our way into a dubious Future by ignoring Nature.
William Gilbert, (1544-1603) born some three hundred years after Petrus Peregrinus, was an English Medical Doctor, Scientist, and Intuitive Thinker. He was a man cast in the mold of the Scientific Method.
Gilbert penned a seminal, yet extensive, treatise on the properties of Magnetism, entitled De Magnete. In this treatise, he makes reference to Peregrinus's work, describing it as learned for the time.
Published in AD1600, an authoritative dissertation, akin to the rigorous efforts by Peregrinus,
covered everything known about Magnetism at that time, and immediately
became accepted as the standard reference on the subject.
Excluding Peregrinus, Gilbert was justifiably scathing of the men
preceding him who knew of and wrote on the subject of Magnetism yet did
not examine the subject any further than simply commenting. These men
did little of a practical nature to deepen understanding.
To
paraphrase Gilbert, these writers merely repeated each other's waffle,
appearing happy to live in a world of myths. Uh oh, something vaguely
familiar here . . .
Could that vaguely familiar feeling be they were exhibiting little Human intelligence?
Gilbert
conducted many varied experiments and studies on Magnetism, including
experiments proving that the earth possessed an iron core.
Until
recently it was believed that Earth's Iron Core is composed of pure
Iron. Consisting of a liquid outer and a solid inner. The latest
investigations now suggest that Earth's Inner Core is not pure Iron, but
a composition, including light Elements, in a superionic state. A state that is neither a liquid nor a solid.
The mystery deepens, emphasizing the stark lesson that we Humans simply cannot afford to ignore Nature. We must seek, and find, Truth. On purpose.
We see Homo Sapiens busily amalgamating Technology,
Scientific Disciplines, and Ship Building skills to master the oceans.
Europeans employed this synergy to initially foster then paradoxically,
dominate World economic trade. Amassing stupendous wealth.
A portion of this massive bonanza was used to fund intensive Scientific Research. Wise minds exercising Human Intelligence.
A greater portion of this wealth was dissipated, via foolish attempts to dominate each other's Culture. Once again, that vague familiarity mentioned above returns. Like clockwork, History is repeating itself in our own era.
Oh Wisdom, where art thou??
From the earliest time China has been involved in building boats and ships. Her Citizens and Denizens crafting magnificent vessels of all shapes and sizes. Ships reputedly ranged up to fifteen hundred tons displacement at the height of their expertise. Colossal vessels for the time, being several times larger than ships from any other Nation.
Sadly, there is too little archaeological evidence to gain a comprehensively clear picture.
Largely responsible for the rush of technological advances that
enabled magnificent vessels to be produced, the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)
soon established an immense Navy that served both the regime's
Commercial, and Political, interests.
During this
administration's extensive seafaring adventures, foreign trade prospered
and regular diplomatic endeavors thrived. China was at the cutting
edge, and on top of, the seafaring game and International Relationships.
Alas, on the Domestic Scene, Relations between various ethnic groups did not prosper to the same degree. Violence wrought chaos.
Natural disasters and Peasant revolt have been offered as a cause for the the Ming Dynasty's decline and collapse.
Yet while at the peak of their influence, Wisdom was evaporating and the seeds of corruption were germinating.
As
always happens when corruption takes hold, the Ming's state of affairs
went pear shaped, and the Dynasty floundered and collapsed.
Were
it not for the Ming's corrupt downfall and the bewildering decision late
in it's rule to ban shipbuilding and seafaring on the pain of death,
and instead the regime remained honest and fostered compassion,
expanding trade and diplomacy globally, we may today live in a totally
different world.
There exists a School Of Thought that believes Natural Disasters and Human founded chaos accompany one another.
The above School Of Thought runs deep, and requires a familiarity with Quantum Physics to comprehend why this belief may be justified.
Nevertheless, this belief does bring to our attention that Human Intelligence is ignored at our peril.
Human Intelligence Rocks!
Part 7 - Part 6
Next - Refusal To Languish