Eureka, The history of humanity and "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure"
So, picture this: It's 1989, and a baby-faced Keanu Reeves is lighting up the screen in what I consider to be one the greatest movies of all time - "Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure." Now, you might be wondering, why would someone born the following year even care about this film.
Well, let me tell you, it's got everything I love - History, Time Travel, and Rock N’ Roll. Now, I won't go into all the nitty-gritty details because of time constraints, but here's the gist: In the year 2688, humanity thrives in a utopian society thanks to the music and wisdom of the Two Great Ones: William "Bill" S. Preston, Esq., and Ted "Theodore" Logan. One of the citizens, Rufus, is sent back to 1988 in a phone booth-shaped time machine to ensure that the young Bill and Ted, two not-so-bright high school students, pass their history class. If they fail, it's game over - no high school diploma, no Wyld Stallyns band, and Ted gets shipped off to military school in Alaska by his dad.
There’s even a scene where Genghis Khan owns 2 cops while doing a flip on a skateboard while 80s metal plays, while Joan of Arc absolutely kills it as an aerobics instructor.
The plot may seem wild, but let me tell you, this movie (alongside Horrible Histories) changed my life. It ignited a lifelong passion for rock music and all things history-related. And that obsession with history has led me to some profound realizations about life and our collective journey through time.
Throughout history, more than 107 billion people have walked this earth. That's a staggering number, considering only about 7.7 billion of us are alive today. Over the centuries, these billions of individuals have experimented, failed, learned, and tried again in various ways. Some of their endeavors led to new solutions, while others ended in disappointment. And here we are in the 21st century, lucky enough to inherit a wealth of knowledge from their collective experiences of trial and error
“The dead outnumber the living fourteen to one, and we ignore the accumulated experience of such a huge majority of mankind at our peril.” Niall Ferguson, Civilization: The West and the Rest
We've got a whopping 4.5 billion years of human history at our fingertips. The cumulative lessons of 107 billion people have been passed onto us. And get this: we're closer to the year 2050 than to 1990. Wrap your head around that! We're even closer in time to the Roman Empire than they were to the construction of the pyramids. (Do you know how crazy that is????)
Why am I highlighting this? Because I think we need to read between the lines and learn from our collective past. And our collective past shouts loud and clear that we are smart not because of our individual genius, but because of our collective and communal knowledge. Collective and communal knowledge is what keeps people strong and makes growth sustainable.
There now leads me to two further thought processes:
Are there any new ideas in the world?
I don’t think so. If we’re looking at historical patterns, my belief (and you don’t have to agree with me here) is that the world simply recycles ideas until someone latches onto an idea and breathes life into it.
Take, for example, the journey to create mankind's first practical flying machine, which began in 1783 and continued until 1905 with the Wright Brothers. It wasn't the work of just one person, but rather the collective effort of dozens of individuals.
That first person probably births the prototype, and after that, we continue to upgrade and update it until its relevancy can no longer be ignored. I like to call this ‘collective progression’ – The collaborative effort of many individuals pushing ideas forward over time.
While there will be from time to time, that great big ‘Eureka! This is a totally unique idea moment’ I don’t think the Eureka moments come often enough for us to simply wait for them. Personally, I think that there are ideas out there, just waving their hands and yelling “Hey!, look at me! Help me!’
Do we need more collaboration?
Reflecting on our historical track record, it's evident that nobody possesses all the answers to any given problem. I believe we were designed to collaborate, to join forces, and to generate solutions together.
However, I think our current mistake lies in our obsession with "originality" and our misconceptions about the creative process. Instead of fostering a series of collective efforts, we've created isolated camps of individuals, each afraid of others stealing their ideas. It's a situation where everyone wants to be "the one," rather than recognizing the power of collaboration.
At some point, we will have to take that leap of faith, trusting each other once again, and letting our hearts and minds open up to sharing ideas and thoughts without fear. We need to reach a place where real understanding exists, where we see that differing opinions aren't inherently bad and don't automatically make someone our enemy. Instead, they broaden our perspectives and push us to evolve. And maybe, just maybe, amidst all this, we stumble upon our tribe—our own little community of genuine friendships. Here, it's not about chasing fame or success; it's just about living life together.
The clock is ticking and my 12 minutes are almost up, I leave you with this thought: You might not agree with everything I've said, but I believe it's worth considering. Perhaps these perspectives might encourage you to risk putting yourself out there and sharing your ideas. Why? Because humanity needs you.