Historically, it has always been easier to destroy than create. It has taken many centuries of hard work and progress for civilization to reach the point we are at today, and many, many clever people with clever ideas to get here.
One of the oldest inventions, and one of the most essential in the rise of civilization, was the nail. The idea of permanently fastening two pieces of wood together led to improved shelter, transportation, and a whole slew of other innovations that greatly improved people
Well written piece JT, very well said.
Sounds like something Ayn Rand would talk about. Very well done.
Could not the same be said about the U.S. and the atomic bomb?
Innovations, though perhaps altruistic in their original intent, have always been contorted to humankind’s destructive desire.
No, Michael, I don’t think it can be said. The first reactor that produced usable electricity was in 1951, six years after the first atomic bomb. That’s a case of just the opposite; a device of war being used for peaceful purposes.
For the record: the first controlled chain reaction was in 1942, the first bomb in 1945, the first experimental reactor produced it’s first electricity in 1951, the first reactor to provide electricity was built in 1953 (for the submarine U.S.S. Nautilus), and the first commercial reactor went online in 1957.
Source: Google, then here.
Good try, though. Points for effort.
J.