I notice a lot of books in bookstores with titles including the words “… That Changed the World.” The Amazon site has something like 100 pages of 12 items each related to those keywords.
Such titles annoy me. Yes, their use of the phrase seems to be a useful marketing tool, and running dog of capitalism that I am, I shouldn’t complain too strongly. After all, markets are more important and real than vaporous political and social theories.
As for what annoys me, it’s that while from one perspective those titles are literally true, in most historical contexts such truths are actually trivial. The literal truth has to do with what’s called the Butterfly Effect (a termed coined by Edward Lorenz) having to do with interconnectedness and Chaos Theory. A butterfly in Australia flaps its wings and the mild disturbance of the air is propagated in its small way to contribute to a Caribbean hurricane months later.
Therefore, the assembly of a gray 1963 Chevy II automobile will somehow change the course of the world and, by extension, the universe.
That is silly, because there is no way to measure in what way that happens.
This is not to be confused with seemingly trivial events that do seem likely to effect important changes. For instance, at the time of the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon was suffering from hemorrhoids. The distraction and discomfort of a little swelling of blood vessels might well have contributed to failures of judgment on that pivotal day in history.
In sum, context counts.
