Useful knowledge from the lives of the Greatest People in History. Learn the stories and insights about influential people you should have learned in school.
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Sep 1 • 31 tweets • 10 min read
"Education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another."
There is a lot of engagement farming happening on 𝕏 recently, but real educators are still on the app!
Here are 30 Western CIv education accounts you’ll want to follow.
🧵THREAD
Culture Critic (@Culture_Crit) is one of the most knowledgeable guys on this app. He posts a thread nearly every day and his following reflects his efforts. If you like threads and diving deep into the most interesting aspects of culture, follow CC.
Aug 11 • 26 tweets • 10 min read
Napoleon studied Julius Caesar.
Julius Caesar studied Alexander the Great.
But, who did Alexander the Great study?
Cyrus the Great.
Before we start, the most famous telling of Cyrus’ story comes from Xenophone’s "Cyropaedia" (a biography).
Here is a list of people who studied the work:
-Bacon
-Rousseau
-Montaigne
-Bolingbroke
-Shaftesbury
-Montesquieu
-Jonathan Swift
Continued...
Jul 7 • 29 tweets • 11 min read
John D. Rockefeller was nicknamed "The Sphinx"
His secretive and inscrutable exterior made him appear mysterious and impenetrable to the public, much like the Great Sphinx of Giza.
Let’s see what he was like in private… | Thread 🧵
There is a book that was put together that collected a lot of Rockefeller’s letters to his son.
It was titled: The 38 Letters from J.D. Rockefeller to His Son: Perspectives, Ideology, and Wisdom
Rockefeller wrote these letters without thinking they would ever be published…
Jul 2 • 26 tweets • 9 min read
Nikola Tesla’s greatest contribution to humanity was his induction motor.
This invention has been used in everything from power tools and washing machines to elevators and trains.
If only Nikola Tesla gave us a step-by-step guide on how his mind works… | Thread 🧵
One evening Tesla and his sidekick Anthony Szigeti were strolling through a park in Budapest.
They were discussing inventions when suddenly Tesla “snapped into a rigid pose as if he had fallen into a trance...
Apr 15 • 51 tweets • 12 min read
The Ultimate Leonardo Da Vinci Sketch Thread
1/50 - Profile of a Warrior in Helmet
2/50 - Design for Giant Crossbow
Aug 2, 2023 • 12 tweets • 2 min read
10 Carl Jung Quotes You Need To Read:
1. "I find that all my thoughts circle around God like the planets around the sun, and are as irresistibly attracted by Him. I would feel it to be the grossest sin if I were to oppose any resistance to this force." https://t.co/SVRqoOLpPTtwitter.com/i/web/status/1… 2. "We should not pretend to understand the world only by the intellect; we apprehend it just as much by feeling. Therefore, the judgment of the intellect is, at best, only the half of truth, and must, if it be honest, also come to an understanding of its inadequacy."
Jul 25, 2023 • 12 tweets • 5 min read
Attila the Hun and his Horde army were marching past the fortress of Aquileia in Italy.
They had been waiting for the right time to attack but it never came...
As Attila took one last look at the fortress before moving on, a swan soars high over the fortress toward him... https://t.co/YCQppmMmoytwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
At this point in time, Attila and his Hun army had been ravaging Asia and Europe.
This fortress could pose a challenge to the Horde though.
It was extremely well fortified.
Jul 22, 2023 • 9 tweets • 4 min read
Leonardo da Vinci was commissioned to construct the largest horse statue in the world.
It would stand a total of 26 ft tall and weigh 70 tons.
But things went south when the French rolled into Milan and used his sculpture for target practice...
In 1482, Da Vinci was asked by the Duke of Milan: Ludovico il Moro to build a bronze equestrian statue.
The sculpture would be erected in honor of the Duke’s father: Francesco Sforza.
It was going to be a colossal project.
Jul 18, 2023 • 13 tweets • 6 min read
“Where is everybody?”
Asked Enrico Fermi as he sat down to have some lunch with friends.
But he wasn’t talking about humans…
The year was 1950.
Fermi, along with some friends were sitting down for lunch at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.
Fermi was a Nobel Prize-winning physicist who contributed to the development of the first nuclear reactor and the Manhattan Project (atomic bomb).
Jul 13, 2023 • 10 tweets • 4 min read
10 Teachers You Should Know About:
1. Friedrich Fröbel (1782-1852)
He was the founder of the concept of 'kindergarten', pioneering the understanding that early childhood is a crucial period for learning.
His teaching methodology focused on play, activity, and creativity. https://t.co/v20foLWTGxtwitter.com/i/web/status/1… 2. Sal Khan (1976-present)
Founder of the Khan Academy, which has a mission of providing a free world-class education for anyone, anywhere.
They are well on there way, offering counltess online courses that have helped many get through school itself!
Jul 11, 2023 • 14 tweets • 6 min read
Benjamin Franklin invented a lot.
But one invention was used by the greatest composers of the 18th century…
Mozart, Beethoven, and Strauss all composed music for his instrument.
Franklin's invention:
The Armonica (yes, that’s spelled right)
1/ https://t.co/hINkT5gy5atwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Around the middle of the 1700s, Franklin was spending a lot of time in both London and Paris.
He had been serving as a delegate for colonial America.
While over there, he witnessed a lot of cool things…
Jul 9, 2023 • 11 tweets • 4 min read
10 "Film Noir" Movies You Need to See
1. The Big Sleep (1946)
Private detective Philip Marlowe gets entangled in a web of mystery, deceit, and what might be love, as he investigates a captivating case.
(your mind will be scrambled by the end) https://t.co/EHefVIwGMftwitter.com/i/web/status/1… 2. Double Indemnity (1944)
An insurance agent falls under the spell of a seductive housewife, leading them both into a perilous plot of insurance fraud and murder, triggering the watchful eye of his astute colleague, an insurance investigator.
(really good movie)
Jul 7, 2023 • 18 tweets • 7 min read
You know those pictures of children covered in dirt working during the Industrial Revolution?
Well, Andrew Carnegie was one of those kids.
His childhood was darkness.
But one day a single ray of light glimmered as a beacon of hope.
What was the ray of light?
Books
When Carnegie made it to America from Scotland in 1848 (he was 13), things were rough.
His father struggled to find a job so he was forced to help support the family.
Work was brutal.
Jul 6, 2023 • 9 tweets • 4 min read
An oracle makes a prophecy.
She says that whoever can unravel the Gordian Knot, will go on to rule all of Asia...
Guess who rides into town next?
Alexander the Great https://t.co/20sZX73RLCtwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
First off, the year is 333 BC and the story takes place in the Phrygian capital of Gordium in modern day Turkey.
There was an ancient wagon within the city that was supposed to have belonged to Gordius, the father of the famous King Midas.
The yoke's knot was tightly bound...
Jul 3, 2023 • 13 tweets • 5 min read
10 Writers and One Book You Need to Read
1. JOHN STEINBECK (1902-1968)
-East of Eden
This sprawling novel explores the intertwined fates of two families, echoing the biblical story of Adam and Eve's downfall and the destructive rivalry of Cain and Abel.
It’s a captivating tale of love and resilience as a young orphaned governess navigates a tumultuous life - it basically lays out the female hero’s journey.
Jun 30, 2023 • 23 tweets • 9 min read
Warren Buffett made a list of four books that had the largest impact on him.
Three of them were by his mentor, Benjamin Graham.
The fourth was Adam Smith’s "The Wealth of Nations"
But who was this Adam Smith guy? What's his story?
Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger, and many famous wealthy individuals have praised Smith over the years.
He's often considered the Father of Economics.
Side note: technically his book is called "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations"
Jun 12, 2023 • 26 tweets • 10 min read
Spartacus’s wife walked into her bedroom and was shocked.
A snake was coiled around Spartacus’s head as he slept.
It was prophesied that this meant the man was going to gain tremendous power but perish in an unfortunate end.
And that is EXACTLY what happened…
Not much is known about Spartacus’s early life.
His story basically begins with his time serving in the Roman army.
At some point, he either deserted or was caught leading bandit raids, so he was sold into slavery.
Jun 11, 2023 • 13 tweets • 5 min read
12 Philosophers and One Idea You Need to Know
1. IMMANUEL KANT
Categorical Imperative:
An action is morally right if it can be considered a universal law that applies to everyone, in all situations, without any logical inconsistencies. 2. RENE DESCARTES
“I think, therefore I am”
You can doubt nearly everything in the world as not being real: whether you’re awake/dreaming, math, logic, etc.
But you can't doubt the act of doubting itself.
Doubting is a form of thinking, and in order to think, you must exist.
Jun 9, 2023 • 21 tweets • 8 min read
In 1839, the first public school was established in the United States.
Big deal, right?
Well, guess who was doing this 2,500 years earlier and founded the first-ever public school?
Confucius twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Confucius was born in 551 BC in Lu (now largely the Shandong province in China).
Although his ancestors had once garnered a high social standing, the family he was born into was flat broke.
His father was a warrior and had 9 daughters and a club-footed son before Confucius.
May 30, 2023 • 18 tweets • 7 min read
Mansa Musa was rich.
How rich?
$400, $500, $600 billion in today’s money?
We don’t know the exact number...
But we do know that he crushed the entire economy of Cairo when visiting because of how much gold he brought with him… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
There’s a lot of rich and powerful Empires throughout history: