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Comment by CPLX | Hacker News Reader

New York is the most important city in the history of world civilization, this shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone.

Everything genuinely important in this country ends up run from New York City eventually. People forget the Rockefellers made their money in Cleveland.

But that aside NYC has always had a serious tech community since the electric grid was invented in lower Manhattan, or the transistor in suburban New Jersey.

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That's a very US-centric world view, not shared by much of the rest of the world

I wouldn't even go that far. It's a NY centric world view. The rest of us outside NY (especially those whom moved from there) regard it as an outdated and overhyped.

> New York is the most important city in the history of world civilization, this shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone.

I wouldn't even consider New York to be the most important city in the history of the US, much less world civilization

Found the guy from Jersey! Kidding...

But, I agree. Obviously NYC is an important city, but to say it is the most important city in the history of world civilization is a bit outlandish and US-centric.

It seems like a very "New York" thing to say, though.

Everyone else in the US knows to enthusiastically agree, quietly raise prices by 40%, and wait to roll their eyes until after the New Yorker's back is turned.

Not a problem, we can afford it.

And even before that, the steamboat was invented here, the Manhattan project was called that because it was originally in Manhattan. Edison was over in Jersey and Tesla on Long Island. Republic had it's plant out on the island too where they built the LEM. IBM's Watson lab is just north of the city and Bell labs a bit west. New York has always been a tech hub but it wasn't as obvious since there was - and is - so much else going on.t

And lest we forget, it is where Jesus made its most infamous miracle, waltzing over the Hudson.

I love New York but I’m pretty sure if you consider the history of the world, London, Rome, Istanbul/Constantinople, and Jerusalem (maybe Beijing/Peking too) are almost certainly more important.

Agreed. One could maybe make a case for NY as pre-eminent city of the 20th century, but Rome held that title for at least 4 or 5 centuries. London maybe for 1 or 2 centuries (I'd say 18th and 19th). Maybe Madrid at the height of the Spanish Empire. From an Asian perspective, a case could be made for Beijing.

NY is like 400 years old.

You are funny. What you state isn't true for most of the world population currently, and certainly wasn't true through most of the mankind history for nearly every human that ever lived.

There are many aspects of this stupid topic, but for me personally I would rank Rome much higher when looking at the history. London too. And few other places. But this is highly subjective topic

That must be why Manhatten smells like poop and garbage in the summer.

When I was in NYC for an internship. I remember sitting in Central Park enjoying a warm humid breeze that smelled like being at a garbage dump. Blech.

> People forget the Rockefellers made their money in Cleveland.

We do? I mean, I live in Cleveland and grew up in Ohio, but this is surprising to me.

How on earth do you think we got Severance Hall? The Orchestra, the Art Museum, all those bougie old Tudors in Cleveland Heights?

> New York is the most important city in the history of world civilization

Uh huh. You and New York just keep telling yourselves that.

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