Science's own Icarus, with a tale of woe to tell being so ahead of the rest.
Or like Ozymandis, a monument to greatness we can look back on in wonder.
Part of the human condition is passing such information forward, as these papers represent.
Or like Ozymandis, a monument to greatness we can look back on in wonder.
Part of the human condition is passing such information forward, as these papers represent.
But the take-away from Icarus seems to be about hubris - he should have just flown low as his father besought. But Curie's contributions are lasting, she didn't fly too close to the forefront of science out of pure hubris that left her with nothing, with others warning her not to. There was no middle ground of escaping Crete (ignorance) while flying low only - if she hadn't done her research, she wouldn't have learned and accomplished what she did.
Likewise the point of Ozymandias is that nobody remembers who the guy even was - it's just arrogance. But Curie will go down in history forever, and her research has fundamentally changed civilization at the expense of her own life. I would say she is the opposite of Ozymandias, building no monument at the time (her public image was dragged through the mud anyway by some affair), but really changing history by contributing a lasting foundation.
No, the take-away from Icarus is that wax is a shitty adhesive. The rest is good points though.
That's the cashed interpretation from ancient times (when flying was for gods). Do we think Wright brothers were guilty of hubris and arrogance too? Or Otto Lilienthal for better analogy?