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Re: Today in History

Started by Icarus, December 14, 2014, 06:50:36 PM

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Recusant

#15
Quote from: No one on November 06, 2015, 06:37:29 AM
Quote from: xSilverPhinx on October 31, 2015, 01:44:35 PM
I read some reviews Icarus, looks like an interesting book for a mathematical  layperson such as myself. I'll definitely pick up a copy when I find one. :)

After seeing your signature, I just could not resist.

HISTORY, n. An account mostly false, of events mostly unimportant, which are brought about by rulers mostly knaves, and soldiers mostly fools

The Devil's Dictionary by Ambose Bierce

(I was not aware there was another that knew of its existence.)

Ambrose Bierce has a devoted following and I number myself among them, having chanced upon The Devil's Dictionary at the tender age of 13.

Bierce's thoughts on atheism were in line with those of most present day atheists (which differ from the majority of dictionary definitions of the word):

QuoteThe atheist, as such, has no belief. To say he believes there is no God is inaccurate; he merely does not believe there is a God. Atheism is a non-belief, a word without a corresponding thing; to object to its recognition and pre-eminence is the same thing as to be jealous of a vacuum.

There is an excellent essay on Bierce and Robert Ingersoll, who might now be called a "New Atheist" though he lived long before the term was coined: "The Blasphemer Robert G. Ingersoll: Why He Mattered to Ambrose Bierce" | The Ambrose Bierce Site
"Religion is fundamentally opposed to everything I hold in veneration — courage, clear thinking, honesty, fairness, and above all, love of the truth."
— H. L. Mencken


Icarus

On this day 1989, the gates of the Berlin wall were opened amid cheers of happiness of the oppressed eastern Berliners.

xSilverPhinx

483 years ago today (Nov 16th) the Spanish conquistador Pizarro led a surprise attack against the Incas.   

From Wikipedia:

QuoteThe Battle of Cajamarca was the ambush and capture of the Inca ruler Atahualpa by Francisco Pizarro and a small Spanish force on November 16, 1532. The Spanish killed thousands of Atahualpa's counsellors, commanders and unarmed attendants in the great plaza of Cajamarca, and caused his armed host outside the town to flee. The seizure of Atahualpa marked the opening stage of the conquest of the pre-Columbian Inca civilization of Peru.
I am what survives if it's slain - Zack Hemsey


Guardian85

On this day in 1869, with the opening of the Suez Canal it was for the first time possible for a vessel in the Mediterranean Sea to cross into the Indian Ocean without sailing around Africa.


"If scientist means 'not the dumbest motherfucker in the room,' I guess I'm a scientist, then."
-Unknown Smartass-

Tank

Quote from: Icarus on November 09, 2015, 11:30:52 PM
On this day 1989, the gates of the Berlin wall were opened amid cheers of happiness of the oppressed eastern Berliners.
And one of those East Germans went on to run the united Germany.
If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

Icarus

^ and one of those east Germans went on to win the worlds championship in singles ice skating. That was the beautiful Katerina Witt.

xSilverPhinx

On November 24th, 1859, Darwin's On the Origin of Species was first published.
I am what survives if it's slain - Zack Hemsey


Icarus

1947 The UN General Assembly passed a resolution calling for the partitioning of Palestine between Arabs and Jews.

1961  Enos the chimp was launched from Cape Canaveral aboard the Mercury-Atlas 5 spaceship. The ship orbited earth twice before returning.

jumbojak



The return of the British contingent of the International Brigades on December 7, 1938. It wasn't just Pearl Harbor.

"Amazing what chimney sweeping can teach us, no? Keep your fire hot and
your flue clean."  - Ecurb Noselrub

"I'd be incensed by your impudence were I not so impressed by your memory." - Siz

Lark

How do schools manage to teach history which keeps getting bigger and bigger ?  Where should they begin and what should they leave out ?  It is very difficult as all history had an effect on the future but there is too much of it !    Should children just be told about last few hundred years but cover the world more thoroughly now ' the world has shrunk'  or do the same  for their own country ?

Tank

Quote from: Lark on December 13, 2015, 09:27:25 PM
How do schools manage to teach history which keeps getting bigger and bigger ?  Where should they begin and what should they leave out ?  It is very difficult as all history had an effect on the future but there is too much of it !    Should children just be told about last few hundred years but cover the world more thoroughly now ' the world has shrunk'  or do the same  for their own country ?
Interesting question. Maybe it will be down to 'time's filter' of what is important. Humans can only cope with so much information. I'm sure during the 1930s WWI was very widely discussed, but now not so much. As time passes we get a perspective on what matters so the relevant history is perceived as that which has shaped us in the past.
If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

xSilverPhinx

Today Albert Einstein would have turned 137 years old! :party:
I am what survives if it's slain - Zack Hemsey


Icarus

^ The old boy left us some good stuff to work with.

Tom62

April 1, 2001: Laws that permit marriage for same-sex couples and grant same-sex couples adoption rights in the Netherlands come into effect. Four same-sex couples are married at the stroke of midnight by the Mayor of Amsterdam.
The universe never did make sense; I suspect it was built on government contract.
Robert A. Heinlein

Biggus Dickus

Quote from: Tom62 on April 01, 2016, 04:48:40 PM
April 1, 2001: Laws that permit marriage for same-sex couples and grant same-sex couples adoption rights in the Netherlands come into effect. Four same-sex couples are married at the stroke of midnight by the Mayor of Amsterdam.

How awesome, and look at that it was 15 years ago, something to be extremely proud of...meanwhile here in America they're still trying to pass "Religious Freedom Laws" which will allow them to discriminate legally.

I should move to the Netherlands, sounds nice....except for all of the extremely tall men. That would be strange. ;)
"Some people just need a high-five. In the face. With a chair."