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Poverty is another case in point. Many cultures have viewed poverty as an inescapable part of this imperfect world. According to the New Testament, shortly before the crucifixion, a woman anointed Christ with precious oil worth 300 denarii. Jesus' disciples scolded the woman for wasting such a huge sum of money instead of giving it [...]
A famous example is lightning. Many cultures believe that lightning was the hammer of an angry god used to punish sinners. In the middle of the 18th century, one of the most celebrated experiments in scientific history took place. Benjamin Franklin flew a kite during a lightning storm to test the hypothesis that lightning is [...]
Until the scientific revolution, most human cultures did not believe in progress. They thought the golden age was in the past and that the world was stagnant, if not deteriorating. Strict adherence to the wisdom of the ages might perhaps bring back the good old times, and human ingenuity might conceivably improve this or that [...]
Until the scientific revolution, most human cultures did not believe in progress. They thought the golden age was in the past and that the world was stagnant, if not deteriorating. Strict adherence to the wisdom of the ages might perhaps bring back the good old times, and human ingenuity might conceivably improve this or that [...]