The Benefits of Exposition - Essay Example

THE BENEFITS OF EXPOSITION By and Introduction “Expositions are the timekeepers of progress. They record the world’s advancement. They stimulate energy, enterprise, and intellect of the people and quicken human genius. They go into the home. They broaden and brighten the life of the people. They open mighty storehouses of information for the student. Every exposition, great or small, has helped this onward step.” Discussion The above quote by President William McKinley in 1901 is probably the most famous quote when it comes to expositions (Roche 1998). It describes every purpose expositions serve on the planet and why they are important. The first World’s First exposition was organized by Prince Albert, the President of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce. He was the husband of Queen Victoria (Gibbs-Smith 1988). The exhibition was held in London, the capital of the world at the time, and was attended by notable figures such as Samuel Colt, Charles Darwin, Lewis Carroll, Charlotte Brontë, Charles Dickens, and Alfred, Lord Tennyson (Quiller-Couch 2008). The United Kingdom was developing steadily since the advent of the Industrial Revolution and possessed immense industrial capacity. Although the exhibition was the first of its kind, the attendees were about the third of the total British population at the time. The venture, therefore, was profitable, and the whole area received many visitors in the form of tourists. This paper will, however, discuss the above quote in relation to the exposition, detailing how the quote sums up the purpose the expositions serve. Timekeepers of Progress There have been a number of things that have been shown in the past exhibitions. Each world fair has been showcasing innovation that was present at the time. In the first exposition, the above individuals in attendance had excelled in their respective fields. Colt is known for his work in development of firearms. In the expo, he presented the Colt’s Navy pistol which was the first real functioning single action cartridge pistol. Frederick Bakewell, on the other hand, showcased his prototype for a fax machine, there was also the display of several kitchen appliances. People like Charles Darwin also had papers and projects about biology that they had gone to present. In essence, every expo was a display of the wonders of time and showed the development of the time meaning the exhibitions that followed brought more innovative technologies. In the 1930s, the expo was a little bit more advance in the items shown. It showed that time was moving forward, and technology was becoming more advanced. The Bell Laboratories, for example, showed off the Voder, which through buttons, dials, and levers, was able to simulate the human voice talking. This year’s exposition that will be held in Milan, Italy will be discussing some of the most pressing issues of our time. It will have the theme "Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life" which shows that the world needs more food than ever (Arnone 2014). This is in line with the need for eradication of extreme poverty and hunger as it remains the most critical part of the Millennium development goals the world set a while ago (WHO 2008). The expo has clearly shown that times are changing, and the world is having to deal with newer issues as times goes by. They Record the World’s Advancement Apparently things are changing for the better. The most important part of the expo is showcasing to the world how advancing the world is becoming. For example, the very first world fair was attended by people such as Charles Darwin and Samuel Colt. These were excellent people in each of their fields. Today, everybody expects that with each expo comes better and more sophisticated technologies. While the Colt’s Navy pistol was a significant development in science in the 1850s, clearly the technology is not as unique now as it were during the time. Today, weaponry has become more and more sophisticated as times goes by. The weaponry everybody would expect now is that that uses more advanced forms of GPS. Others could be that that can evade radar and improvements in nuclear technology could be something that the world can gladly welcome (Chun 2012). In 1851, the world did not have any phones and it was until the 1930s that the world saw its very first “phone”, developed by Bell Laboratories (Joel & Schindler 1975). Nylon made its first appearance in the 1930s. The world had electricity at the time, and it made it possible to produce the fluorescent lights, television were also present at that particular expo showing that the world was advancing. Stimulate Energy There have been quite a number of expos in the world. Among the most important purpose that they serve is that they stimulate energy. Without them, probably there could be some things that the world may never see. With the world fairs, the energy to create new technologies is sparkled. Some researchers and developers are more likely to develop innovations if they feel that they will get a chance to showcase new development to the world. Other than stimulating energy of the particular individual’s development several items or technologies, they boost the energy of the people who attend and who host the expo. For example, the world fair attracts many people. In the year 2000, the expo was hosted by Germany. The country attracted over 29 million visitors, although it had prepared to receive over 40 million visitors (Richards & Wilson 2004). Any area that attracts so many visitors is a plus to the world as it fosters something that the world needs, peace. Any fair attracts different groups of people that have very diverse backgrounds, beliefs, and so on. In other words, people are given a chance to experience new traditions and the diversity the world has (Hall 1997). Quite implicit and inspiration was the fact that greater accomplishments were yet to come. It was implicit that fairs afforded respective countries forums and opportunities to “show off” their achievements and culture that helped any nation juxtapose its prowess in any fields against every other participating country (Rydell 1993). Through bringing the world together, they promoted peace. It also stimulates energy for those countries that have little to offer the fair so they can research more and at least develop something they can show to the world. Quicken Human Genius The Pan-American Exposition in 1901 is a famous example of a case of quickening human genius. While it is often associated with the assassination of President William McKinley by Leon Czolgosz, it was an important moment for Nikola Tesla’s genius. The central theme of the exposition was cooperation of all the continents (Hadzigeorgiou, Klassen, & Klassen 2012). However, Tesla brought about the innovative use of Niagara Galls where he proposed the use of the falls as a power source to light an entire small city. The idea turned up to be a legacy. While the first expo was not as colored or innovative at the beginning of the 20th century, they were both creative enough and looked at both of which brought about the development of human genius. The idea to use a fall to illuminate a city was unheard of during the time, and its announcement by Tesla during the expo clearly shone light on the whole world. Today, things have really improved in the world fair. While lighting was not even developed at the time, the expos have seen leaps and bounds in not only how they are presented in the world, but even in the architecture involved in the construction of the pavilions. In 1901, the first pavilion was just a small structure while compared to what is witnessed today. In Germany, visitors could see animations of people shaking hands on the pavilion, things that did not exist sometime back during the very first world fairs. The main exhibition in 1901 was held in a new structure known as the “crystal palace” which was a gigantic greenhouse (Eatock 2010). Today’s expos are not conducted in greenhouses but innovative and high-end pavilions. The Expo in 1939 is arguably the most famous in the world and took place in New York City. The difference between the fair and that that preceded it was immense. This one had a perisphere and Trylon and focused more on new technologies, science, and whatever people anticipated in the future. During the fair, a very notable genius, and scientist, Albert Einstein was in attendance and gave a talk on cosmic rays. Other very interesting works of genius were the first electric typewriter and calculator. These are clearly some developments that changed the world. The General Motors Company had probably the most incredible displays of architecture and design at the fair where they presented an entire miniature country with about 5,000 miniature cars driving in it. There was a ride taking a person throughout the whole setup detailing important things that were being shown. The display, known as the “Futurama” exhibit showed hundreds of buildings and millions of trees to depict a realistic landscape (Maffei 2012). The main idea was to shape the transport sector for the future. It also detailed how the city would be able to deal with the increased traffic as it had been used to horses. While the people now take such feats for granted, it is clear that it must have inspired many people then and quickened the desire and, therefore, the genius to develop it. Broaden And Brighten the Life of the People Naturally, every fair brings about an introduction of new items or ideas in the market. For example, the introduction of electricity, cosmic rays, the calculator, typewriter, the telephone, are all things that have brought about many improvements in people’s lives. Also, they have brightened the life of the people. Tesla’s idea on the use of a fall to harness hydroelectric energy did not only brighten the world and its population literally, but also in how they now lead their life. Light is an imperative part of life and the economy, in general. When an area is well lit, for example, things like double economy are possible. It goes without saying, therefore, that fairs are an important part of life. Lighting also broadens the life as in the case of a double economy, people can choose when to work, at daytime or night. The typewriter advanced learning and reproduction of materials in the form of print, making work easier or rather broadening and brightening life. It was at the 1939 expo that color photography was shown, fluorescent lights first seen, and the introduction of a milking machine known as the “rotalactor”, a device that has based even the development of the newest devices on the principles it operates with. On looking at these technological advancements, it is clear that the world has seen quite some development in how people live. With the milking machine, farmers that had great numbers of employees only needed to buy a machine and consequently save much money. While these may seem like a small development in technology, the truth is that they are critical in making life easier and, therefore, brighter. With the fluorescent bulbs, the television, also shown in the fair, life was simpler, and meaningful things like communication became even more sophisticated and developed. While the expos broaden and enhance life, it is also true that at some point they make life worse than it probably is. This argument goes hand in hand with the development of the pistol as discussed earlier. The Colt’s Navy pistol may also have been a form of development in weaponry, but the truth is any such development endangers important things such as peace. The pistol is sure to have paved way for more sophisticated technologies such as nuclear, for example, which is in no way any advancement. The death of scores of people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki are popular examples of how this is possible (Sherwin 2010). Open Mighty Storehouses of Information for the Student Fairs are very familiar with technology. They give people a chance to learn, to dream, and they inspire them to come up with newer technologies or the development of those that already exist. The television screens, microchips, Liquid Crystal Displays, and touch screens were invented in the 20th century, 1959, 1962, and 1966 respectively (Schadt 1989). People did not get to use the touch screen on a smartphone until a decade ago. Also, the microchip, the LCDs, and other technology are said to be technically new since it is until a few years ago that they became crucial and indispensable to the market. All the things that have been in fairs have a rich history about them, and they mostly have much research done on them. Such information is paramount to students who want to learn about something. Conclusion Fairs serve a unique purpose. As discussed above in the paper, without them the world will be decades behind in technology. There are notable figures that used the fairs to reach out to the world and showcase their designs. People like Einstein in the 20th century used the show to discuss cosmic rays. Charles Darwin, Samuel Colt, Tesla, and the General Motors have used the fair positively and due to the popularity of the event, whatever they presented was able to reach a lot of people and arose the desire for others to research more on it or adopt it. The fair also serves other purposes such as fostering peace among the people. Since they entail people coming together and sharing something they have in common, it encourages them to work together. References List Arnone, G. (2014). New Technologies and Technological Innovation for the City: Chance EXPO 2015. In Innovative Technologies in Urban Mapping (pp. 49-56). Springer International Publishing. Chun, C. (2012). Defending Space: US Anti-satellite warfare and space weaponry (Vol. 53). Osprey Publishing. Eatock, C. (2010). The Crystal Palace Concerts: Canon Formation and the English Musical Gibbs-Smith, C. H. (1981). The Great exhibition of 1851. HMSO. 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