Top Ten Most Significant Events of The Last 1000 Years

[DarkCloud]

Dissident

You might be happy to know that there is evidence that it IS possible to go faster than light-speed... indeed some scientists argue that it is the wavelength that increases infinitely, and not the mass- if that is true than it is possible to make the transition.

Also, studies into quantum foam may provide the answer to FTL (faster than light) travel, at some point in the near future (eg: 100-200 years).

Superstring theory is an interesting proposal...

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by DarkCloud
Kuciwalker- but the space colonization thing hasn't happened yet. Therefore, the space race is NOT important for that reason. You can't put things on a top 10 list if they haven't been amazingly important YET.

Yes you can. The space race is important because it determines our future.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by DarkCloud
Dissident

You might be happy to know that there is evidence that it IS possible to go faster than light-speed... indeed some scientists argue that it is the wavelength that increases infinitely, and not the mass- if that is true than it is possible to make the transition.

Also, studies into quantum foam may provide the answer to FTL (faster than light) travel, at some point in the near future (eg: 100-200 years).

Superstring theory is an interesting proposal...

Or we could stick with STL ships. FTL breaks causality.

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by DanS
Booooooooo! We can put whatever we damn well want on our lists, you list fascist!

[Spiffor]

I would seriously put the formation of the EU as one of the ten most significant events, though it hasn't shown its potential yet.

It's an incredible experiment of having former enemies integrate in a working fashion. It could seriously be a model for a future peaceful political integration. The European construction is probably the third most significant political event of these past 1000 years, after the French and American revolutions.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Even after all these posts, mine still wins .

Though the Crusades are close to my point, they never would have happened if not for the reforms of Gregory.

[Kidlicious]

I don't think the EU is a model for future integration. European integration seems more natural now that the world is bigger (or smaller depending on how you look at it). True integration requires that differences fade away. I don't see how that is going to happen world wide just because it is starting to happen in the EU.

[St Leo]

9) War of the Polish Succession
8) War of Jenkin's Ear
7) St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre
6) Battle of Ankara
5) Diego de Landa's auto de fe
4) Sack of Rome, 1527
3) Sino-Indian War
2) Nigerian Civil War
1) Great Smog of 1952
0) The Defenestration of Prague

[Kuciwalker]

[Vince278]

Originally posted by alva

1) Man walks on the Moon
The pinnacle of human achievement, and undeniably what will be most significant to the next millenium.

Hmm, I think what will be remembered of tis episode in a thousand year is Gagarin and not the first man on the moon which is only an extension IMO(a great achievement nonetheless).

Gagarin would definitely be on my list if we were picking more than ten items. The Russians slapped a man on an ICBM in a typical rush job. He was one of the bravest people in the space race.

Weren't some of the German V2s pilot capable?

[Vince278]

Originally posted by DanS
Well, what's a list for, if you're not going to argue about the ranking?

Besides, the Space Race list will depend a lot on what happens in the future. In some sense, we're still fighting the Space Race. Will Russia be remembered as the pre-eminent spacefaring nation or will it be remembered like Portugal is remembered today with regard to the Age of Exploration -- i.e., not much at all compared to Spain?

Good analogy.

[DarkCloud]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
I agree with your, DC, that the Reformation has to be #1.

I would add in the Top 10 (possible at #2):

Papal Revolution / Investiture Crisis (1073-1122) - the struggle over who gets to give bishops their regalia ended with the Pope basically having total control over Europe. Gregory VII, in this reforming era, also increased the bureaucratization of the Church (part of his new view of the Catholic Church) creating what could be called the first modern state. The victory of the Hildebrand (Gregory VII's real name) reforms under Callixtus II changed Europe forever. Without them, the Emperor would have continued to rule Christendom and who knows how the future would have turned out without a state system created by the Church which was a model to the emerging kingdoms.

Also the Crusades are pretty important .

err- Imran that really doesn't convince me as being more important than the other wars/reformations, etc. though I can see how you connected it as a major predecessor to the decline of the Holy Roman Empire and the subsequent rise of Protestantism and the Reformation.

As an example of a series of novels about the Emperor having continued to rule Christendom- I believe that Alfred Bester wrote a series of 100 page short novels about a time traveler who visited an alterantive timeline that was controlled by a mystical 'church-like' gunpowder possessing group- can't remember the name of it- but it was a disturbing narrow-minded future.

However, if Christendom had reigned supreme- it would almost certainly have fallen to Saladin, or Suleiman the Magnificent during his seige of vienna 1556, or the later one in 1648 that was lifted by jan sobieski of poland.

[DarkCloud]

St Leo- I see that you've provided us with a list of the most bizarre and unnecessary conflicts

I thought something was up when I saw the WAr of Jenkins Ear, which if I recall correctly, was begun because a british trader showed the king that his ear had been cut off by a spanish person in one of the treaty ports- but then again, he had been there illegally in the first place, so the Brits really had no legal reason for the war declaration.

Then I saw #0- the Defenstration in Prague... and collapsed in laughter

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by DarkCloud
err- Imran that really doesn't convince me as being more important than the other wars/reformations, etc. though I can see how you connected it as a major predecessor to the decline of the Holy Roman Empire and the subsequent rise of Protestantism and the Reformation.

It's far more important. Can you imagine a world where the Pope was simply seen as another bishop and the Holy Roman Emperor controlled the Church? Let us not forget that the Catholic Church of the Cluniac Reforms was the first modern 'state' and the Kingdoms adopted that model. Before the Papal Revolution, most law was based on ordeal (passing a physical test) and folk law. The reformists changed things and introduced many modern legal practices, such as the right to question your accuser, etc.

Gregory's two swords theory was one of the first seperation of Church and State theories out there (with the Church reigning supreme, of course). Beforehand they were seen as one with the Emperor at the head of the government and Church.

It's not important in it's 'connection' with other events, but as itself. I mean without the Papal Revolution, Christendom looks far, far, far different. Forget about a Reformation, we may have had different political structures running the world today.

Frankly, I'd put it at #2 in my list and not regret doing so at all.

[DarkCloud]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker


Yes you can. The space race is important because it determines our future.

By that reasoning, I can argue that since cybernetics could provide the ability for people to live longer than ever before that it edges out another thing on the top ten list.

and then I can add cloning...

and then I can add faster than light travel.

heck, why not just add holograms... startrek had them, and consider how they revolutionized life. Matter transmission and all. AI and that stuff, etc.

See- by that argument you could infinitely regress and speculate.

Perhaps they will be popular and good at some point in the future, but they simply aren't that imporant right NOW.

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"list fascist"... I like that DanS, I like that very much :hmm: