Great fast walk in ancient military history. In my time in Italy on the north shore of Lake Trasimene you can still find artifacts of the battle, most of which are housed in a small museum on the site.
I had a similar experience in the wetland forests near Detmold in Germany where Arminius destroyed a Roman Legion. In the midst of the forest there is a giant monument of Arminius that was erected after the Franco Prussian War. He faces France with sword drawn. My German colleague who took me there said the space at the foot of the statue was Hitlers favorite spot for speeches in the run up to the war
During WW II a tank battle there churned up bones and Roman equipment.
I believe I can make a persuasive case that humanity’s demise is written in our genetic code, or more broadly, all living organisms genetic code. Life, evolving in an environment of resource scarcity, selected all living organisms’ ancestors for their competitive traits. Even the disappearance of scarcity cannot upend our instincts. So we are predestined to kill the competition, even when it is unnecessary for our own survival. Brains plus opposable thumbs plus natural selection ultimately leads to hydrogen bombs. In the history of the world, a tool was never built that was never used. How quaint to consider the massacre of 50,000 soldiers 2,000 years ago a tragedy. History has sped up. I wish there were a pause button. In the time before the end (sooner or later,) I enjoy reading your crisp history lessons as they lead me to reflect on the absurdity of the juxtaposition of my creature comforts and the reasonable belief that my generation will be the last or the penultimate before the end of history.
How can a physician be so pessimistic? Even political philosophers like Niebuhr saw some hope in the evolution of the social consciousness leading to incremental advances in the moral position of peoples. Of course, not to be cynical, I never quite bought the argument because like many theologians, it always came down to religion. But your comment reminds me of a recent published interview with Salman Rushdie. He was asked for his outlook in the wake of the terrible incidents attending the issuance of the fatwa on his life, the subsequent attack that almost killed him, the maiming and assassination of those associated with his books, and the equivocation of many governments reluctant to support him. He responded that he was, nonetheless an optimist because artists must be optimists to wade into uncertain receptions after, perhaps decades of planning. But most important, artists must assume that there will always be an audience! This immediately brings to mind the absurdist optimism of Pangloss in Voltaire's "Candide" and Don Quixote in Cervantes' masterpiece. From a pragmatic point of view, the human species is relatively young and there is still time to determine if the survival mechanisms will kick-in to override our more destructive impulses.
It’s not that I don’t believe that there is evolution of humanity’s social conscience. But I look at the average modern human, and I compare them to the sociopathic outliers. It can almost be reduced to a statistical problem. There are 8 billion of us in our bell curve. The population of, say 2 or even 3 standard deviations from the average human’s social behavior, is still a huge number of people. The odds of one such outlier becoming powerful enough to make a momentous miscalculation increases with time and increasing population and decreasing political buffers. So, not by nature, but by calculation, I’m pessimistic. Unless someone of your ilk (a physicist) creates a usable energy source from nuclear fusion, the increasing need for energy to fight climate change will bring out the red in all of us and with nuclear teeth we will end.
That bone, in the movie 2001, flying in slow motion from a scene of primordial violence into a human future of technological marvel and structure, the notes of The Blue Danube temporarily shushing entropy, is the sweetest and most poignant of fantasies. It is my favorite movie scene of any movie, ever. But it is good to remember that what goes up (unless it has achieved escape velocity) must come down. We will likely one day sink back into primordial violence. So to your chalkboards physicists!
That’s a lot of war! I’m wondering about the ones yet to come. Will drones depersonalize it so much that even people of conscience will engage in the killing ? Or will the “thrill “ of combat fade and maybe cause people to take up other endeavors? Then, of course, there’s the all-time favorite, nuclear war. Deterrent?
Of course there is no thrill in war. Every soldier knows there is only fear, misery and death. There have been reports of PTSD among drone operators--rules of engagement requires judgment and care. As for nuclear war, I have much to say, having been on the brink of a holocaust October 23, 1962.
I’m an ardent listener to these comments from deep thinkers.
Great fast walk in ancient military history. In my time in Italy on the north shore of Lake Trasimene you can still find artifacts of the battle, most of which are housed in a small museum on the site.
I had a similar experience in the wetland forests near Detmold in Germany where Arminius destroyed a Roman Legion. In the midst of the forest there is a giant monument of Arminius that was erected after the Franco Prussian War. He faces France with sword drawn. My German colleague who took me there said the space at the foot of the statue was Hitlers favorite spot for speeches in the run up to the war
During WW II a tank battle there churned up bones and Roman equipment.
But the Romans exacted terrible revenge for their forest defeat. Hitler should have paid attention.
I believe I can make a persuasive case that humanity’s demise is written in our genetic code, or more broadly, all living organisms genetic code. Life, evolving in an environment of resource scarcity, selected all living organisms’ ancestors for their competitive traits. Even the disappearance of scarcity cannot upend our instincts. So we are predestined to kill the competition, even when it is unnecessary for our own survival. Brains plus opposable thumbs plus natural selection ultimately leads to hydrogen bombs. In the history of the world, a tool was never built that was never used. How quaint to consider the massacre of 50,000 soldiers 2,000 years ago a tragedy. History has sped up. I wish there were a pause button. In the time before the end (sooner or later,) I enjoy reading your crisp history lessons as they lead me to reflect on the absurdity of the juxtaposition of my creature comforts and the reasonable belief that my generation will be the last or the penultimate before the end of history.
How can a physician be so pessimistic? Even political philosophers like Niebuhr saw some hope in the evolution of the social consciousness leading to incremental advances in the moral position of peoples. Of course, not to be cynical, I never quite bought the argument because like many theologians, it always came down to religion. But your comment reminds me of a recent published interview with Salman Rushdie. He was asked for his outlook in the wake of the terrible incidents attending the issuance of the fatwa on his life, the subsequent attack that almost killed him, the maiming and assassination of those associated with his books, and the equivocation of many governments reluctant to support him. He responded that he was, nonetheless an optimist because artists must be optimists to wade into uncertain receptions after, perhaps decades of planning. But most important, artists must assume that there will always be an audience! This immediately brings to mind the absurdist optimism of Pangloss in Voltaire's "Candide" and Don Quixote in Cervantes' masterpiece. From a pragmatic point of view, the human species is relatively young and there is still time to determine if the survival mechanisms will kick-in to override our more destructive impulses.
It’s not that I don’t believe that there is evolution of humanity’s social conscience. But I look at the average modern human, and I compare them to the sociopathic outliers. It can almost be reduced to a statistical problem. There are 8 billion of us in our bell curve. The population of, say 2 or even 3 standard deviations from the average human’s social behavior, is still a huge number of people. The odds of one such outlier becoming powerful enough to make a momentous miscalculation increases with time and increasing population and decreasing political buffers. So, not by nature, but by calculation, I’m pessimistic. Unless someone of your ilk (a physicist) creates a usable energy source from nuclear fusion, the increasing need for energy to fight climate change will bring out the red in all of us and with nuclear teeth we will end.
That bone, in the movie 2001, flying in slow motion from a scene of primordial violence into a human future of technological marvel and structure, the notes of The Blue Danube temporarily shushing entropy, is the sweetest and most poignant of fantasies. It is my favorite movie scene of any movie, ever. But it is good to remember that what goes up (unless it has achieved escape velocity) must come down. We will likely one day sink back into primordial violence. So to your chalkboards physicists!
That’s a lot of war! I’m wondering about the ones yet to come. Will drones depersonalize it so much that even people of conscience will engage in the killing ? Or will the “thrill “ of combat fade and maybe cause people to take up other endeavors? Then, of course, there’s the all-time favorite, nuclear war. Deterrent?
Of course there is no thrill in war. Every soldier knows there is only fear, misery and death. There have been reports of PTSD among drone operators--rules of engagement requires judgment and care. As for nuclear war, I have much to say, having been on the brink of a holocaust October 23, 1962.
Your first-hand experience is invaluable. I love reading what you have to offer from your years on the “front lines” of so many different areas.