Westman just recently turned

twenty years old. He has been aging one

year for every one of our centuries, since he turned ten years old in our year 1000.

I asked Westman to describe the single most interesting

event in each of his last ten years.

This was his answer.

WESTMAN

The Last Ten Years

10years old

The first of a series of strange

journeys

10

Mother sent me on a journey to a faraway land. I saw strange people and places, and learned that the world is a bigger place than I ever knew.

The Crusades

11 years old

I met my grandfather

11

He seemed incredibly wise and I was comforted just by

knowing that I came from him

11

The Rediscovery of Aristotle

12 years oldI argued with

Vincent --insisting that he take me more seriously.

12I even made him sign a

piece of paper promising to take my wishes into account

12

13 years old

Adolescence -- a dramatic explosion

13

I began to create – to paint, to write music and poetry

Mother was delighted. She supported me every step of the way

14 years old

My voice changed

The Guttenberg Printing Press

15 years oldI fought with

motherI insisted that I could and would think for myselfShe was not pleased.

15

The Reformation

Martin Luther

16 years old

I discovered that the world

is a logical place

16SCIENCE

SCIENCECopernicus

GALILEONewton

17 years old

I fought with Vincent

17 Political

RevolutionI would no longer do whatever Vincent wanted. I would think for myself and be free and independent.

18 years old

I began to work

18 and 19The Days

Industry

Henry Ford

.. and buy

Uncertainty sets in

18 years oldNight

Charles Darwin

Karl Marx

Sigmund Freud

What used to be certain is not any more

19 years oldThe Day

Back to work

The unknown and the unease run even

deeper

19 years oldThe Night

Relativity

E = MC2

The Uncertainty

Principle

E = MC2

Uncertainty

Relativity

Quantum Mechanics

Uncertainty

Quantum Mechanics

Undecidability

Probability

Relativity

Uncertainty

Quantum Mechanics

Undecidability

Probability

Relativity

Westman –Now 20

years old

The theme of the millennium

The ascendance of the individual

A review

1000 The Crusades1100 Aristotle Rediscovered

1200 The Magna Carta

1500 The Reformation

1600 Scientific Revolution1700 Political Revolution

1300 The Renaissance

1400 The Printing Press

1800 and 1900Productive Days & Uncertain Nights

1000 The Crusades1100 Aristotle Rediscovered

1200 The Magna Carta

1500 The Reformation

1600 Scientific Revolution1700 Political Revolution

1800 and 1900

1300 The Renaissance

1400 The Printing Press

Productive Days & Uncertain Nights