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— Scott Allison and George Goethals
Nice essay, and very evocatively written. It really must have taken great courage, along with great insight, to attempt the taming of fire. It’s hard to imagine how monstrous and magical fire must have seemed to those people; and I wonder how much perseverance it took– and how many injuries were suffered. But we owe that person, or those people, not only our civilization, but our Humanity– for their success began the process of freeing mankind from mere survival, allowing us to develop the Arts & Sciences.
Well done, Jesse. I love it. 🙂
This is a great post. It has me asking when, exactly, did humans start demanding credit for their new ideas and inventions. I assume it coincided with the advent of language and writing for record-keeping.
I have a hard time calling the makers of fire heroic. I agree that their initial manmade creation of fire opened up a whole new realm of possibilities that were previously unheard of, such as heating up food and giving oneself the power to see in the dark. That being said, fire is a natural process that would have eventually fallen under the power of mankind if those first creators had not tamed it. If those who first made fire are considered heroes, so are those who first used water for domestic reasons and realized wind could be used as a mechanism of power, such as for a sailboat. These types of people are definitely influential and worthy of recognition, but have not reached the status of hero. They were merely trying to survive. A person's worthiness to be deemed a hero has a lot to do with his or her intention. Although the makers of hero actually did have an immense positive impact on later societies, I would assume their intention was to create fire so their own lives would be easier, not necessarily to better the lives of other people in later generations.
These are true heroes. Simply put, where would we be in this world without fire? How could we survive, create half the stuff we crate, or even stay warm from a freezing gust of wind or a cold winter? All these questions are answered with the use of fire, which sends of heat. Unoticed heroes for sure, and that is because we take advantage of this amazing creation.
I definitely agree with some of the points made in the article and comments as I, too, have some reluctancy calling the makers of fire heroes. I think “Makers” is the wrong word to use in the title. You mention taming in the post and that seems much more appropriate. No one invented electricity, water, or fire, someone just learned to manipulate them.
The inventor of fire is truly a hero to me because where would we be without fire? No way to stay warm in the winter. No way to light the candles on a romantic date. Where would we be? They will always be considered heroes
We couldn’t do a lot of the things we do without it. They changed life forever. They are undoubtedly heroes.
WOW. Talk about unsung heroes! I often think about the simplest inventions we regularly use and take for granted as always having been there. For example buttons…though it doesn’t have as many widespread uses, still this invention is useful. Heroes can do small, simple things that forever change the world…what an ability
I am intrigued by this blog because the blog shows how the creation of fire is completely taken for granted in modern society.
The author of the blog discusses how humans today would be challanged to successfully make fire without modern appliances, I think this is extremely valid. As a result,I think we fail to appreciate the magnititude this accomplishment really was for the so called “primitives”.
I am intrigued by this blog because the blog shows how the creation of fire is completely taken for granted in modern society.
The author of the blog discusses how humans today would be challanged to successfully make fire without modern appliances, I think this is extremely valid. As a result,I think we fail to appreciate the magnititude this accomplishment really was for the so called “primitives”.