9- the competitive edge: a timeline of human ingenuity
Are you a runner? A soccer player? Have you ever competed in a sport, felt the thrill of the game, or raced for the win? Why is it that our best performances are often those played against our toughest competitors? Ask Liliya Shobukhova (top right) of Russia when she attained her best marathon time. She won't tell you she did it while training alone. She did it while running—and winning—the 2011 Chicago Marathon, her third consecutive win. It's not just physical competition that inspires us. As many of us can testify, competition affects every aspect of life. The following timeline demonstrates that the competitive instinct has been around for a long time and has produced some staggering results.
A: ANCIENT HISTORY THE STORIES WE TELL
Before written language developed, oral stories were handed down from one generation to the next. From Greek mythology to the plays of Shakespeare, classical literature abounds with tales of rivalry between siblings. Often birth order, gender, and status within the family play into the clashes as siblings determine the best strategy for succeeding over the other. Whether it's for parental approval, wealth, or love, competition between siblings is an age-old story. It's a drama we don't tire of easily.
B: 1206 THE LARGEST EMPIRE
A boy abandoned in the Mongolian grasslands with his mother and siblings later controls the largest empire in history. As a warrior, he 30 conquers the tribes competing for control of Mongolia and brings them under his rule. thereby earning the title "Genghis Khan." which means "ruler of all between the oceans." Now acknowledged as a leader. he commences a lifelong career of brutal military campaigns. Throughout his reign, Khan commands a network of armies in different regions, all fighting on his behalf. He uses songs to communicate plans of attack to a largely illiterate officer group. These rhymes help soldiers remember and execute orders. Even now, stories of this legendary man continue to make the news.
C: 1296 AN ENGINEERING FEAT
In an effort to compete with the beauty of the cathedrals in Pisa and Sienna, the Florentine elite commission Arnolfo di Cambio to build a great cathedral. He builds a nave so large, no one is certain how to construct a dome over it. Not until the fourteenth century is the problem solved. This time a competition is held to see who can devise a strategy to complete the dome. Filippo Brunelleschi wins the competition with his ingenious design. He uses a system of interlocking bricks so the structure can support itself. This engineering feat ushers in the Renaissance.
D: 1419 GETTING THERE FIRST Prince Henry
the Navigator of Portugal begins sending regular expeditions to the coast of Africa, eventually reaching the Indian Ocean. Henry's devotion to exploration leads to competition between Spain and Portugal. Over the next 150 years, both countries send out Atlantic voyages that bring Europeans to the Americas.
E: 1450 THE PATH TO LITERACY
Starting with the Chinese in the ninth century, who used blocks of wood to imprint characters on paper, printing is used to create currency and books. However, it is not until 1450 that the world sees the first book printed using moveable metal type. Soon after Johannes Gutenberg establishes his press in Germany, other European countries want their own. With books becoming widely available, the printing press is credited with an increase in the number of schools, a corresponding steep rise in literacy, and consequently the creation of the middle class.
F: 1854 COMPETITION OF MARKETS
In 1854, William Makepeace Thackeray uses the term capitalism, meaning "having ownership of capital," in his novel The Newcomers. The meaning and term evolve to encapsulate the economic principles we associate with it: private ownership of production, goods, and services, and the ability for businesses to compete for profit in free markets. Proponents of the system argue that competition leads to better quality and lower prices. Opponents point to its role in class division and an unequal distribution of wealth.
G: 1957 THE SPACE RACE
The Soviet Union launches Sputnik I, the first satellite. This satellite, about the size of a beach ball, sparks The Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union. The space programs of the United States and the Soviet Union parallel each other in this race to be the first to reach the moon. Billions of dollars in aerospace research are spent by each. The United States reaches the moon first, in 1969.
H: 1980 THE PERSONAL COMPUTER
Company executives from IBM schedule a visit with Gary Kildall at his company, Digital Research. They want to llcenae his operating system in IBM'S new personal computer. According to legend, Kildall decides to take a flight on his private plane instead of meeting with IBM, but he doesn't cancel the appointment. The IBM executives come to Digital Research, but Kildall is not there. A young self-starter named Bill Gates reportedly says, "Gary went flying." Gates then offers to let them license his DOS system instead. IBM agrees, and soon Bill Gates and Microsoft are household names. There are several variations on this story, but most report that Kildall did fly his plane that day; however, it was to a previously scheduled meeting with an important customer, not just a trip for fun. The phrase "Gary went flying" stuck though, and has become an industry phrase meaning "a great, lost opportunity."
I: 2004 BUILDINGS THAT SCRAPE THE SKY
Cy Lee designs Taipei 101, a 101-story skyscraper that becomes the world's highest structure, a record previously held for 30 years by the Willis Tower in Chicago. But four years later, the Taipei record is beaten by the Shanghai World Financial Center, and just two years after that by Burj Khalifa in Dubai. However, in 2011, contracts are signed for a tower in Saudi Arabia even taller than Burj Khalifa.
J: 2010 TESTING, TESTING . . . The results of the 2009 PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) are released. The test, a mechanism for measuring skills in reading, math, and science, is administered to 15-year-old students in 65 countries. Students in Shanghai, China, outperform the rest of the world. Other countries begin both qualitative and quantitative analysis to prove the educational abilities of their students.
K: 2011 GOING GREEN
On October 31, 2011, the United Nations estimates that the world population has reached seven billion. Editorials fill the world's newspapers with solutions to the world's depleting resources as more and more people compete for their portton of food, energy, and wealth. Previously, the United Nations had predicted the world wouldn't reach seven billion until 2013. Companies continue to search for viable ways to supply energy to the world's growing population. Only the future will tell what innovations this competition yields.
