Blog 11

I found it interesting that Strayer reflects upon the benefits and disadvantages of being the first. He mentions that students and historians are often fascinated by "firsts"; in fact, I happen to be one of them. However, he explains that being the first does not always mean anything good. In many cases, being the first is unhealthy because the first person to invent something believes they have superiority over those subsequent to discover the invention. He quotes, "In terms of human ability to dominate the natural environment and to extract wealth from it, the Industrial Revolution marks a decisive turning point in the history of our species"(pg 859). It seems that the mentality of the Industrial Revolution never left. In other words, societies continue to believe they dominate the natural environment and extract wealth from it. A relevant example would be the first humans to land on the moon. It was said that they would own space. A recent article also mentioned the same when explaining the space elevator. The space elevator that is being built by a private corporation and by NASA, is a literal elevator that takes people up to space. The article mentioned that those who would be the first to build it, would be the owners of space. Many believe that humans have the ability to own the environment and to an extent they do. However, the more humanity thinks the way, the more destructive we will be to the environment resulting in an inability to live on earth. If space elevators thrive, I wonder if humanity will pollute outer space and not care like we do on earth.