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The industrial portion ceremony started with Isambard Kingdom Brunel, while the modern portion of the ceremony finished with Tim Berners-Lee. I definitely think that Danny Boyle was drawing a parallel between the two people, and it will be interesting to see if history does the same.

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I do not see much of a parallel between the two. Brunel is known for zillions of physical objects, built over decades; TBL is known for only one thing, created in less than two years (probably not as his main project, I guess)

Also, Brunel must have been quite an organizer to get done what he got done; TBL created the web almost alone.

Both men applied their intellect to substantially improve the standard of living for the rest of mankind.

The parallel is their fame. Brunel didn't build the industrial world on his own any-more than TBL built the interweb on his own. Its just good to have heroes.

Surely, fame is insufficient reason to start drawing parallels? If not, what about Brunel vs Phelps or Paris Hilton?

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