The greatest tragedy in human history

[Ivan Seeking]

This idea came up in another thread and I thought it might make for an interesting discussion. So, what are your thoughts? I have always believed that the loss of the library at Alexandria may be one of the greatest tragedies of all time. Of course we can't know what we are missing, but there is reason to believe that this was a monumental loss to humanity.

Of course loss of life is hard to compare to loss of information, but who knows how much we had to re-discover; say for example medical information that could have saved the lives of millions through the ages.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

I always have a hard time with these sorts of questions. I think it really depends on the way in which you look at the event's. I agree that the library was a great tragedy but not every one values books and information so highly.

 

[Moonbear]

Of course loss of life is hard to compare to loss of information, but who knows how much we had to re-discover; say for example medical information that could have saved the lives of millions through the ages.

Well, it depends on whether you mean the short-term or long-term. Lives cut short seems tragic, but in the larger time scale, people have a pretty short shelf-life; everyone who died in a tragedy was destined to die eventually anyway. Information, on the other hand, can last a long time and possibly benefit many generations. So, I'd have to agree that on the assumption we really did lose valuable information, loss of the information is a greater tragedy to humanity on the larger time scale.

 

[Danger]

trying very hard not to mention your last couple of elections...

 

[Pengwuino]

trying very hard not to mention your last couple of elections...

lol got to love em. *pets the Canadaian*, good boy

 

[Danger]

lol got to love em. *pets the Canadaian*, good boy

I'd prefer that Evo do that, if you don't mind.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Of course we can't know what we are missing..."

There's the rub. Had the library not been destroyed physics may have advanced to the nuclear age in 1345 and some castle-dwelling tyrant may have precipitously blown all his competitors to ashes. We can't know if we missed something even worse than what did happen.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

There's the rub. Had the library not been destroyed physics may have advanced to the nuclear age in 1345 and some castle-dwelling tyrant may have precipitously blown all his competitors to ashes. We can't know if we missed something even worse than what did happen.

good point. Vlad the Impaler, or Genghis Khan with a nuke; now there's a thought.

 

[Kakarot]

sounds like a good scifi movie. bill and ted go back in time and save the library and then ghengis khan nukes the world

 

[kaos]

good point. Vlad the Impaler, or Genghis Khan with a nuke; now there's a thought.

Or the catholic church. Convert or die!

 

[kaos]

And maybe the muslims as well...

 

[matthyaouw]

How about fall of the Roman Empire? It took hundereds of years to regain some of the skills lost with the Romans.

 

[arildno]

The emergence of Judaism/Christianity&Islam.

 

[dextercioby]

I fully agree with Arildno.

Daniel.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

Judaism arose amid a culture of human sacrifice and temple prostution. I doubt the world would be better off without the Jewish reform.

 

[Astronuc]

The emergence of Judaism/Christianity&Islam.

Or one could say, the emergence of religion, or is that the emergence of organized or institutionalized irrational thought - that being the concept of 'faith' or 'belief' in the absence of evidence or fact.

I would have to say the greatest tragedy is the Holocaust and World War II, and following closely the purges and pogroms of Stalin, the Cultural Revolution, and period of Pol Pot's regime in Cambodia (Kamupchea). The level of inhumanity and evil is profoundly sad. Then one could add the Crusades and the Inquisition.

 

[arildno]

There are some massacres of natives in California&Texas during the 19th century which ought to be mentioned..

 

[Monique]

I would have to say the greatest tragedy is the Holocaust and World War II

I was going to say the same.

 

[Astronuc]

There are some massacres of natives in California&Texas during the 19th century which ought to be mentioned..

The whole European invasion and conquest of the America's, and the genocide and ethnic cleasening of the native peoples.

And I could add the same for the native peoples in Australia.

There are aboriginal and indian tribes that no longer exist, not even one person.

 

[marlon]

I would have to say the greatest tragidy is the upcoming North Korean Global Nuclear Attack

Do you all sleep well at night ? MuHAHAHAHA

regards
marlon

 

[arildno]

A nuclear fart??
What's so tragic about that?

 

[SpaceTiger]

The greatest tragedy in human history

Star Wars: Episode I

 

[arildno]

The whole European invasion and conquest of the America's, and the genocide and ethnic cleasening of the native peoples.

And I could add the same for the native peoples in Australia.

There are aboriginal and indian tribes that no longer exist, not even one person.

The only reason why I limited myself to the California&Texas case, is that these massacres cannot be denied or explained away as something else than they were,
since these horrors, in particular in California, was amply covered by shocked Bostonians and other east-coasters whose ancestors had finished their work 150 years before.

I could have generalized it a bit like you did, though..

 

[marlon]

Star Wars: Episode I

yeah, i'd add episode two also...pitty Natalie Portman is so well hidden under her make up

marlon

 

[arildno]

Star Wars: Episode I

,
About as tragic as the murderous Aztec religion, I'd say..

 

[marlon]

A nuclear fart??
What's so tragic about that?

it's bad for your health

marlon

 

[arildno]

it's bad for your health

marlon

I already smoke.

 

[marlon]

I already smoke.

so do I...at least two people that will survive...But who will be using our FAQ ?

marlon

 

[arildno]

so do I...at least two people that will survive...But who will be using our FAQ ?

marlon

All our work in vain..

Perhaps I should stop smoking in time after all..

 

[Smurf]

I would have to say the greatest tragidy is the upcoming North Korean Global Nuclear Attack

Do you all sleep well at night ? MuHAHAHAHA

regards
marlon

People always say they're worried about the situation in North Korea, it never made any sense to me man, I'm worried about right ****ing here! The states man, those guys have so many ****ing nukes it's not funny. And they're taking more nukes from other people too so they have any more, and they're elections arn't even stable! they're almost at the point of civil war that's what's scary, not some pissy north korean arsenal of a scud missile and a couple ww2-era warheads.