September 4, 2004

Well, isn't that great

By Steve Feinstein
Great is a misunderstood and often misused word. It's bandied about far too casually, and people, places, and events are described as great when in actuality, they are really nothing more than ordinary. The Merriam—Webster dictionary has eleven entries for its meaning. Number nine is clearly the most relevant to this discussion: 'markedly superior in character or quality.' What makes a society great? How is that measured? Is sheer size or length of time a measure of greatness? The Roman Empire extended for thousands of miles, dominated dozens of diverse peoples, and lasted for hundreds of years. Does that qualify as greatness? Maybe, on some level.  Do cultural contributions denote greatness? Music, architecture, art, cuisine? Perhaps greatness is defined by technological innovations such as the invention of the internal combustion engine, electricity, the transistor or by medical breakthroughs like penicillin. But what about that critical word in Webster's definition?...(Read Full Article)