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Man has always longed to build things, and as time goes on, man feels the
need to outdo all previous achievements. Arthur C. Clarke's novel, Foundations
of Paradise is a good example of this human characteristic. Vannevar Morgan is
an engineer living in the twenty second century, and is known by his peers to be
one of the greatest engineers in the world. The creation that gave Morgan this
title was the Gibraltar Bridge, connecting Europe to Africa. This bridge is
situated five kilometers above the water of the Mediterranean Sea. Dr. Morgan
has in his head yet another idea that will become his final and greatest mark on
the world. A new substance has been developed through years of research. It is a
microcrystaline fiber that is extraordinarily strong and ten times narrower than
a human hair. Morgan's idea is to use this material to build an elevator to
hoist things into orbit of the Earth. This way, no rockets will be needed to
blast things into orbit. Much money will be saved, along with a dramatic
decrease in pollution. Morgan knows many people who have faith in his plan,
including the World Bank, although many doubt the feasibility of his ideas. I
can relate to this because I tend to dream big also. Many of my ideas are very
grandiose and many times, I have a hard time explaining them to other people. I
have found though, like Vannevar Morgan, if I keep one of my ideas in my mind
for long enough and think it out, it has a good chance of coming true. It seems
like the number of difficulties encountered when an idea is put into place is
directly relative to the outcome of the completed idea. A simple idea with
little benefit will typically not encounter many problems in production. A
grandiose idea with earth-shaking benefits, on the other hand, will have many
obstacles to overcome before completion. This rule applies very heavily to the
space elevator concept. It turns out that the place on which the elevator is to
be built is occupied by xenophobic monks. After a few twists of fate that hardly
be called luck, the monks leave their home and construction of the tower is
started. The problems aren't over yet, though. The tower is built, but not
without causalities, the last of which is Dr. Morgan himself. After the tower is
completed, it becomes one of the most important structures on Earth. This is not
unlike many construction ventures that have been completed in the past. The
construction of the Hoover Dam had a human cost in the dozens of lives, and the
average north-Atlantic fisherman works in the business for only four years
before he is killed or forced to quit due to family or physical problems brought
on by the work. Another part of the book that deals with human ingenuity takes
place 2000 years before the main story, but in the same general locale. A king,
so afraid of his own mortality, creates his own heaven on earth. Although the
technology is not as advanced in this era, the garden paradise and the palace in
the sky serve the same purpose as the space elevator. This shows that throughout
history, man has endeavored to be master of all he surveys. Another example of
man's need to outdo himself can be seen in sporting events. Every athlete longs
to hold a world record, and many go to great troubles to do just that.
Personally, I enjoy swimming. I am on the high school team and have went to the
State level meet every year since I was a freshman. As a team, we shave our
heads and legs in hopes to eliminate that extra one or two tenths of a second
needed to place better. This is a good example of the great lengths that man
will go to outdo himself. All in all, Foundations of Paradise by Arthur C.
Clarke has opened my eyes to the fact that Even as technology advances, the
reason for it stays the same. I hope that I can live to dream big and leave my
mark upon the world. I want to make it bigger, better, and faster than ever
before.
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