The Wheel - Introduction

By nature, human beings are inclined to measure their lives against their personal achievements – at least, that certainly applies to me. It’s important for my self-confidence.

In ‘Cast away’¹, Chuck Noland (performed by Tom Hanks) is screaming: ‘Look, I have made something incredible. A fire, I have made fire’. He is so proud of what he did, he even doesn’t need applause. He has made it. Of course, the main character is fully aware of the fact fire has been ‘invented’ ages and ages ago. But it’s not easy to make it without any help at all. That also became apparent to me when I saw a television program with Rutger Bregman², who explains what we can learn from ‘The Toaster Project’³. It is about the following.

One takes a toaster and tries to copy it, provided that one does that from scratch. That implies that you cannot cheat, for instance by using a brass wire from the electrician. No, you have to obtain the material all by yourself, melt it down and make a wire of it that is capable of conducting electricity. From behind my chair, it was a pleasure to listen to the explanation of Thomas Thwaites, about the numerous walls he had to climb in order to make a toaster that shows at least some of the characteristics of the one we are used to. In addition, the time and money spent was way out of proportion to a toaster from the store – for 10 euros you should be able to buy one.

Rutger Bregman emphasizes how much effort our ancestors have made in order to make a living. Without them we wouldn’t be standing at this point. That has opened my eyes. It took years and years to built the society that we are living in nowadays. When I was on holiday in the Basque country in Spain, I visited a little museum in the city of Zarautz⁴. The guide explained us that the coast line was, thousands of years ago, the residence of a hard working people. So tell us the skeletons that have been found. They were small, boney and they did not grew older than 35 years, also as a result of the humidity in the region. When we look at the luxury of today, it’s hard to believe the way that they were living, surviving day after day. But still, we have our own problems.

It makes me aware of how much those ancestors have done for me. It is quite an honor to walk into a store and buy a toaster. Being part of the transaction at the pay desk is the result of thousands years of long and painful labour. Quite impressive. It’s something to be proud of. At the same time the following question raises to me: In this life, is it my duty to make a contribution to the well-being of future generations? Maybe. But I won’t make it too much of an item, because otherwise I only can be succesful if I am some kind of a ‘superhero’. That is as unlikely as those movies that make us believe that the fate of certain people of the world is in the hands of one individual. And that individual is both very clever and very strong and very persistent. A quite unusual combination, I would say.

Of course there are people that do something very extraordinary. But often, when they are asked about how they did it, they are giving the answer: ‘It was nothing special. I have done what everybody would have done in my place’. However, in spite of their confession, it has no influence on the public opinion. We just want our heroes. For the person involved, it may be not such a big deal, because he or she knows that their succes is more or less the result of ‘good luck’.

But still, there are extraordinary achievements. Such is the case when I make a song or a composition. At that moment, I truly am the happiest person on earth, just like Chuck Noland in ‘Cast Away’. And I am expressing my joy by singing or playing that song time after time. Tom Hanks does it his own way, by dancing around the fire and yelling: ‘I am the best!’ Wonderful, isn’t it? Everybody should have this feeling of invincibility a few times in his or her life. Our self-confidence is built upon it.

Here I am making a step sideways.The very moment, that we think ourselves great and invincible, is the most fragile and most intimate at the same time. I prefer to celebrate it when I am alone, with nobody around. I wonder if Chuck Noland would be dancing and screaming with the same passion, if there other people in the neighbourhood? Those might be not amused. ‘What an idiot. He is acting as if he just invented the wheel, but in fact he only made a fire. Who does he thinks he is? God himself? He’s a megalomaniac’. And after that, they turn their heads off.

As a result, modesty is our second nature. It prevents us from being criticized by others. Even worse, if some are doing it to us, more people will follow. Our achievement will not be recognized. And our pride will be gone. We will try to forget it and withdraw to a place, far away, where no one can see our disappointment. Unfortunately most people are acting only on behalf of what their environment might think about them.

However, when speaking of certain inventions, it is better to have a modest attitude. I would like to mention one of the most intriguing inventions of all times: the wheel. An object, so commonly used, and yet everybody takes it for granted. It almost feels like we invented it ourselves. On the contrary, the wheel has ever been invented or evolved, but we don’t know, how that happened. There is no straight line in history, from the invention up to the people living today. Gradually, the line became thinner and thinner and, ages ago, has been broken. My faith in the use of my bike, my car, and countless devices is unjustified. I don’t have any knowledge at all about these matters. I only know how to use them. If I do this, this will happen. What do I know else? Barely anything.

I think I am standing with both feet on the ground, but I am just going further on the path that has been dug out by our predecessors. The fact, that I have no understanding of the wheel, gives me so much to reflect, that I decided to spend a few blogs about the question: What are the origins of the wheel? The following theories will be given consideration:

1. The wheel was invented by the gods
2. The wheel was invented by human beings
3. The wheel invented itself
4. The wheel has not been invented yet

I am aware that this might scare off the readers of my blog, because all signs may point to a series of not very attractive discourses. That’s why my intention is to make them as ‘juicy’ as possible. A good thing to keep in mind during the coming year. Till the next blog!

Corresponding cartoon: