(Untitled)

[gentleunwashed]

CNN wants to know what humanity's greatest achievement is. Decent answers, I think, considering that CNN is the news network that once had Jerry Falwell on to discuss whether or not Armageddon was imminent, and he was more sane than the anchor. Fire, I think is a solid one, and for all that going to the moon was essentially just an operation of

Comments

[patadragon]

I don't know... I can't think of a single thing that I would be happy calling humanity's greatest achievement; it seems like humanity is too big to pick one thing as our greatest achievement. I mean, if it is something that one person thought up - like Einstein's relativity theories - what does that say about him, and about the rest of humanity? If it is a tool of some sort, well, I don't feel tools last long enough: technology is so fleeting, everything quickly becomes outdated. I could almost get behind 'the application of intellect to the solving of various problems,' if I felt it were a uniquely human trait.

In fact, I find it very disquieting that I cannot think of a single achievement that I can really support here.

[gentleunwashed]

Yeah, it's true...you have to buy into the premise if you're going to suggest examples, and I do think the premise is suspect. It's a fun game, though. That's why I like the idea of a work of art; it's something uniquely human, and it doesn't age in quite the same way that technology does (although it's hard to say that fire, or the wheel, or cooking food have really aged). Maybe it gives too much credit to one person, and anyway, how do you pick which book or song or movie is the GREATEST THING EVER DONE BY HUMANS EVER X INFINITY + 1!!!!! but I think if you're going to answer the question, that's the direction to go. I sort of recast the question into "what is the apotheosis of human creativity/invention?" and try and answer it that way.

[patadragon]

hmmm... your re-casting makes the question more palatable.

[gentleunwashed]

So what's your vote then?

Also, that does kind of lose you stuff like the Pyramids; it's hard to argue that whipping a thousand terrified slaves into piling up stones has much claim as the pinnacle of human creativity.

[dannax]

At this point, I'm kinda impressed that we haven't completely destroyed the planet already.

So yeah. Go us!

[gentleunwashed]

First of all, give us a bit more time.

Second, if we did destroy the planet, I think that could qualify as our greatest achievement. Destroyed a fucking planet, without properly even trying! Whooooo! Yeah! Suck it, dude! Humanity rocks!