T3D Re: off topic

[abram klooswyk <abram.klooswyk@xxxxxx>]

I wrote (20 Oct 1998, TECH-3D Digest 393):
>>America could not have been discovered before central linear
>>perspective.
Jim Crowell:
>(this claim) I find most bizarre.
>Calling Columbus "main-stream" and the others not is overly facile.  
>What exactly do you see as the qualitative difference between these 
>two discoveries?

I do like that my ideas are called bizarre (what is the smiley for "I'm
really serious this time?), especially when I have so overwhelming
evidence for them. I know my 'Englisch' may look peculiar, but I believe
I understand "overly facile" from what my dictionary says.
When you had asked: name a main-stream event around 1500, I would have
said: the discovery of America. I believe you live there?

Until some years ago I had never heard about Bjarni HerjÛlfsson, but I 
had read that there was archaeological evidence that Leif Ericson 
probably stayed some time in a camp at the American coast.
The point is that this trip was not part of a political or cultural 
trend and it had no influence whatsoever on American or on European 
history, it leaved no traces in Western civilisation.

In the middle ages the horizon of Europeans was practically limited to 
Europe, western Asia and Africa north of the Sahara. Alexander's travel
was too long ago, there were only trade contacts at the borders with 
Arabs, Turks and Persians. The "age of discovery travel" as it is often
called (but I don't know if this is a correct translation of the term)
began when the Portugueses explored the African west coast, Batholomeo
Diaz reached Cape of Good Hope in 1486. Then Columbus was sponsered by
the great power Spain in 1492. In 1498 the Portuguese Vasco da Gama 
reached Zanzibar and India, and in 1520 the Portugueses reached China 
(Macao). In the mean time the Spanish were conquering middle and 
southern America. Magellan reached his strait in 1520 and the 
Philippines in 1521, circumnavigating the globe. In less than 50 years
the world became over three times larger for the European spectator.

It is clear that Columbus' travel was embedded in the main-stream of
history, and of all discovery travels it probably had the greatest 
impact on history. It eventually led to the fact that the whole globe 
is watching star(r)reporters interviewing someone in a chalked 
mansion on the continent discovered by Columbus... 
[I'm not saying that Columbus travel was a step forward in civilisation.
  Reporter to Mahatma Gandhi: What do you think of western civilisation?
  Gandhi: seems a good idea.]

A contrary example is the travel by Marco Polo to China in about 1290.
This was an isolated (non-main-stream) event, interesting to hear about.
Later Columbus indeed read his book, but nobody felt any urge to go
there
too in Marco Polo's time. 
Of course not, central perspective yet had to be invented...

The analogy between central linear perspective and the urge, around the 
year 1500, to look over the entire globe, is so strong that it cannot 
be ignored. These are both expressions of the world image of the time, 
and of course the artists were the first to express it, as ever.

I promise I *will* send postings on stereo subjects...

Abram Klooswyk


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