Family lore says that my paternal grandfather saw Halley’s Comet in 1910. I saw a much-diminished version in 1986 and a spectacular view of Hale-Bopp in 1997.
Nice! I think I tried to see Halley's comet, but I really just thought it was super lame. I think I was expecting way too much, and really didn't grasp the wonder of the cosmos.
I enjoy the discoveries/developments that happened in the same year or very close to each other like Calculus was developed by Newton and Leibniz about a year apart, and the Special Theory of Relativity paper was published in 1905 by both Einstein and Henri Poincaré, similarly, Telephone was invented by Bell and Elisha Gray in 1876. Quite a few other discoveries across STEM have happened or a paper have been published very close to each other. When the conditions become right, or technology advances to a certain level, multiple people discover or develop the same thing.
Generally, only one person or group gets recognition, and others do not, and I always wonder how this impacts the pace of scientific progress and whether the unrecognized people or groups would have progressed the science further if they had also received recognition.
On a personal note, four generations in my family (from my grandfather to my son) have been born 32 years apart. Not on the exact date but in the 32nd year.
That's an excellent observation about calculus (had to happen around that time, but it did not have to happen twice in the same year!), and ditto for the telephone, light bulb, and probably the GUI as well. It makes me wonder if a setup like Bell Labs is better, where an organization tends to get the credit.
I mean, the idea of two people independently coming up with a catchy "Dennis The Menace" title isn't too crazy, but the timing and the format coinciding is what really drives this one home. We live in the Matrix, man!
Amazing coincidences. Yeah, there are a lot of amazing coincidences. I liked the antics of the American Dennis the menace and I have never read the British one
Despite their debuting on the same day, the American Dennis is arguably better known that the British one, if only because "The Beano" (the comic book where the latter originated) didn't have much circulation outside of the British Isles, except among Anglophiles.
Yeah. I could have said a bit more about UK Dennis, too. The skits were similar in all those ways, but they each had their own distinct personalities, too. Ever read The Beano?
Family lore says that my paternal grandfather saw Halley’s Comet in 1910. I saw a much-diminished version in 1986 and a spectacular view of Hale-Bopp in 1997.
Nice! I think I tried to see Halley's comet, but I really just thought it was super lame. I think I was expecting way too much, and really didn't grasp the wonder of the cosmos.
So, you're earth shattering? Hee!
I enjoy the discoveries/developments that happened in the same year or very close to each other like Calculus was developed by Newton and Leibniz about a year apart, and the Special Theory of Relativity paper was published in 1905 by both Einstein and Henri Poincaré, similarly, Telephone was invented by Bell and Elisha Gray in 1876. Quite a few other discoveries across STEM have happened or a paper have been published very close to each other. When the conditions become right, or technology advances to a certain level, multiple people discover or develop the same thing.
Generally, only one person or group gets recognition, and others do not, and I always wonder how this impacts the pace of scientific progress and whether the unrecognized people or groups would have progressed the science further if they had also received recognition.
On a personal note, four generations in my family (from my grandfather to my son) have been born 32 years apart. Not on the exact date but in the 32nd year.
That's an excellent observation about calculus (had to happen around that time, but it did not have to happen twice in the same year!), and ditto for the telephone, light bulb, and probably the GUI as well. It makes me wonder if a setup like Bell Labs is better, where an organization tends to get the credit.
I thought you might like the following:
https://substack.com/inbox/post/146749385
Yes, possibly.
I mean, the idea of two people independently coming up with a catchy "Dennis The Menace" title isn't too crazy, but the timing and the format coinciding is what really drives this one home. We live in the Matrix, man!
We've had a couple of these coincidences too, right?
We did indeed.
Not quite Dennis-The-Menace caliber, but I'll take it!
Another fun fact about Samuel Clemens (AKA Mark Twain). He spent a few weeks as a soldier fighting for the Confederacy until he went AWOL. area.
“I knew more about retreating than the man that invented retreating,” Twain quipped of his experience.
Yes! That's a very good one about Twain. What a character!
Amazing coincidences. Yeah, there are a lot of amazing coincidences. I liked the antics of the American Dennis the menace and I have never read the British one
DB Cooper hijacked and robbed a plane. Then he jumped out of it never to be seen again. And then I was born the very same day. Coincidence?
I know of other related coincidences. Let's discuss in person.
Despite their debuting on the same day, the American Dennis is arguably better known that the British one, if only because "The Beano" (the comic book where the latter originated) didn't have much circulation outside of the British Isles, except among Anglophiles.
Yeah. I could have said a bit more about UK Dennis, too. The skits were similar in all those ways, but they each had their own distinct personalities, too. Ever read The Beano?
Yes. Also its sibling papers, the Dandy, the Beezer and the Topper.
I am very unfamiliar with most UK publications. It is another world.
I only know about them because of transplanted British neighbors we once had who collected them. I have never been to the UK myself.