Scotland

The population of Scotland is about 5 million, less than 0.07 % of the world population. However, in history, it creates many brilliant thinkers, scientists, inventors and other scholars and industrialists. Historically, they are under the influence and control of English people. The movie 'Braveheart' documents one tragic chapter of the Scottish history. It tells the story of the legendary thirteenth century Scottish hero named William Wallace who rallies the Scottish against the English monarch and Edward I after he suffers a personal tragedy by English soldiers. It seems they have not been very successful in gaining political independence. Lately, there was an opportunity in 2014 for them to become independent by referendum. They voted 'no' to the referendum, 55%-45% split. In other words, a little less than half of them are for the independence, a split society indeed. It seems the economic factor is more important to Scots than the independent political state. Ironically, in 2016, British voted to exit EU which seems to oppose the will of Scots. History is unpredictable and uncertain. We don't know whether Scots made a good decision but we know they will bear the consequence of the decision.

It is worthwhile to mention some of the most influential persons to our civilization from Scotland. Since we can't list them all here, I pick only six of them.

Adam Smith (June 16, 1723 - July 17, 1790)

Born in Kirkcaldy, Scotland.

He was the first to present a systematic theory of economics in his book 'The Wealth of Nations'. The full title is 'An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations'. The central idea is that the seemingly chaotic free market is actually a self-regulating mechanism that automatically tends to produce the type and quantity of goods that are most desired and needed by the community. Since then, Adam Smith has become the father of capitalism. It ruled and influenced the world economy for more than 200 years.  Adam Smith picked the right time to be born. The publication of his book was 1776, the time of American Revolution and almost the same time when James Watt invented the Steam Engine. British businessmen, as the Industrial Revolution progressed, recognized the validity of Smith's doctrines, discarded mercantilist restrictions and privileges, and in the 19th century developed Britain into the world's wealthiest nation.

With the challenge of socialism and communism, even today the capitalism continues to dominate the world economy and market.  The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990's and the recent economic transition in China prove that communism is simply no match to the system of capitalism. The impact of Smith's ideas and his book was so great that few would deny that Adam Smith richly deserves the title of "Father of Modern Economics."

James Watt (January 19, 1736 - August 25, 1819)

Born in Greenock, Renfrewshire, Scotland.

Industrial Revolution is a monumental event in our civilization. It started around 1768 about the time James Watt invented a steam engine. After this, the limitation of the power source was removed, not limited to the river bank or windy seashore. Human being was able to move the steam engine anywhere he wants and increases the industrial productivity tremendously. Steam engine also made locomotive and train possible. Even today we sometime stand before a railway track to watch a locomotive hauls more than 100 cargo boxcars and streams along a railway track. It is mind boggling. The steam engine eventually moved on to power ships and created a new kind of navy. The sea power became a potent tool in the 19th century. This also made western world the upper hand in world politics. Within just a few decades, the steamboat and the railroad were to revolutionize both land and water transportation in the world.

Strictly speaking, Watt was not the first person to have the concept of steam engine or build a steam engine. However, his work and improvement on some existing model such as Newcomen's device were so important that it converts a not very useful device to an instrument of industrial workhorse. The world is never be the same when steam power replaces muscle power. He is honored in the world as his name is used as the unit of power, Watt. Even today the electric power is replacing mechanical power, people still use Watt as their usage of electricity. Power is the rate of energy or work, it doesn't matter what kind of energy it is. James Watt is truly a powerful and influential person in our civilization.

James Clerk Maxwell (June 13, 1831 - November 5, 1879)

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland

Maxwell was a genius in mathematics. While he worked on problems on physics with well known scientists such as Gauss, Faraday, Ampere et al, he was able to synthesize the known results and some new findings to come up with even newer mathematical equations. He is best known for his four Maxwell Equations which expresses the basic laws of electricity and magnetism. All the previously known laws of electricity and magnetism can be derived from his equations. From the equations, Maxwell was able to predict a new kind of electromagnetic wave (EM wave) and calculate its speed. He then boldly predicted the light is a kind of EM wave as the speed of light is the same as that of EM wave. The idea was so new at the time as the EM wave has not been discovered yet. Heinrich Hertz later confirmed and detected the invisible waves as Maxwell predicted. This led to the wireless communication started by Guglielmo Marconi. His equations basically unifies the field of electricity, magnetism and the optics. Maxwell is generally considered to be the greatest theoretical physicist in the whole interval between Newton and Einstein.

Maxwell also made significant contribution in the study of kinetic theory of gases.  He worked out a formula (at any fixed temperature) which specifies what fraction of the molecules of a given gas will be moving at any specified velocity.  This formula has important applications in many other branches of physics.  Ludwig Boltzmann was much influenced by him in the work on transport phenomena. The formula is called 'Maxwell Distribution'.  The significance of this theory is that even we don't know the behavior of each molecule of the gas, we were able to figure out and predict the behavior of the gas as a whole.  This intriguing concept is like the study of evolution.  Although species go through a lot of mutations and random events, the environment and living things as a whole can be studied and predicted with certain degree of accuracy without the interference of emotion and faith.

Alexander Graham Bell (March 3, 1847 - August 2, 1922)

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland

Bell worked and invented the telephone. The device is used so widely and have had a tremendous impact upon everyday life. The telephone becomes a major communication device in our society. Bell Telephone becomes a great success and enterprise in the world.  However, Bell's original interest was in the reproduction of vocal sounds to help the deaf.  His wife was a deaf girl whom he had formerly tutored. Bell's research and work on helping the deaf led him to the invention of a device which created a tremendous application and market in the industry.

Bell filed a patent application of the invented device in 1876. Interestingly, Elisha Gray also filed a similar patent claim on the same day but at slightly later time.  This created a lot of confusion later and several law suits followed.  When time went by, Bell Telephone faced more than 500 law suits concerning to the validity of the patent claims. Bell himself decided to leave the company in order to focus his time on other work instead of attending the law suits.

Even today with so many new development and inventions, most of them revolved around the concept of telephone. Mobile devices used widely today are basically a personal telephone with all bunches of applications built around it. It is interesting to see the incorporation of audio (phonograph), video (movie), computer and other business or personal applications onto a mobile phone which essentially the same as the one invented by Alexander Graham Bell.

James Hutton (June 3, 1726 - March 26, 1797)

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland

Hutton is truly a naturalist. The earth becomes to him transparent. Everywhere he sees significance, harmonies, laws, chains of cause and effect endlessly interlinked. He originated the theory of uniformitarianism, a doctrine of uniformity, a fundamental principle of geology. He also advocated uniformitarianis for living creatures, an evolution in effect.  He even suggested natural selection as a possible mechanism for living things. Darwin used to spend some time in Edinburgh and might pick up the idea from Hutton.

Hutton is the father of Modern Geology. With his 'Theory of the Earth' he challenged existing ideas about the age of the earth. He places strong emphasis upon the time factor, the vastness of the geological eons necessary to accomplish the 'system of decay and renovation'. As Newton had widened man's conception of space, so Hutton enlarged his conception of time.

Hutton was more than a geologist. He was a philosopher who believed that all activities that make humanity what it is and suggest, with blended hope and despair, what it might become, are inexorably geared to the earth. As Copernicus opened the new heavens, so James Hutton revealed the new earth.

Alexander Fleming (August 6, 1881 - March 11, 1955)

Born in Lochfield, Scotland

Fleming is the discoverer of penicillin. He made the great discovery in his laboratory, a cultures of staphylococcus bacteria was exposed to the air and became contaminated by a mold. He found that the mold killed bacteria. He showed the similar substance inhibited the growth of many other types of harmful bacteria. He called the substance penicillin.

Fleming published his finding in 1929 but drew little attention at the time.  He continued working on the project with progress but not good enough to qualify as an effective drug for human use.  It was until the Pearl Harbor Attack during WWII, some other researchers used the research funds supported from the US and British government to purify and mass produce penicillin and use it effectively on the field as an antibiotic medicine. By the end of 1945, the uses of penicillin spread all over the world and save many many lives. The discovery of penicillin has indeed changed the world of modern medicine by introducing the age of useful antibiotics.

It is interesting to note that Fleming's incidental discovery of Penicillin is similar to Wilhelm Roentgen's discovery of X-Ray and its use in the field of medicine. They are not the intended research project. However, the unintended consequence of the finding creates a new application that extends far beyond the expectation.