A note from Dr. Hendrix
Since I was nineteen I have collected humanity’s great breakthroughs — philosophical, scientific, religious — and this is my personal top ten, beginning with language itself. I wrote it because it is worth pausing, now and then, to marvel at the discoveries that quietly made every one of our lives possible.
Since I was nineteen years old, I’ve been reading and writing about all kinds of breakthroughs, be they philosophical, scientific, or religious.
If I had to list the ten discoveries that have most impressed me over the years, they would be the following:
One. Language is the greatest tool we humans have developed.
Two. As language becomes information in the form of stories, poems, formulas and theories, discoveries grow exponentially.
Three. The clash of opposing ideas leads to better ideas.
Four. The boldest idea in human history is democracy with its emphasis on the rule of law and the equality of all humans.
Five. Tiny subatomic particles are the beginning and the end and maybe the beginning again of everything in the universe.
Six. Natural selection is the means by which biological evolution takes place and describes how we got to be who we are.
Seven. DNA tells us who we are, where we originated, and how long our ancestors have been around.
Eight. Grace helps humans to find a path where there seemed to be only barriers.
Nine. Consensus among most all ancient cultures regarding the single greatest thought ever written is, “Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you.”
Ten. Evidence of the overwhelmingly power of great art and music is the fact they emotionally impact the honest person and unscrupulous one in equal proportions.