Articles written by Michael Fassbender

What is Helium

About me - Michael Fassbender

I am an overeducated officeworker who is hoping to reinvent himself through his writing.

I have two Master's Degrees, one in Modern German History, the other in Russian Studies. I speak both German and Russian rather well, but a bit rustily at present; I also

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Sciences > Social Science (Other) Which came first: Language or culture?: 1 of 26
Language and culture are closely linked to each other, and throughout history, they have grown in tandem; in the first instance, however, the rudiments of language were necessary for the establishment of culture. If culture can be likened to a living cell, then language is its DNA, encoding cultural information and making pos... More..
Arts & Humanities > Ancient History The importance of river valleys to ancient civilizations: 1 of 13
Egypt. Sumeria. The Indus Valley. Shang Dynasty China. The Olmecs. These are the oldest civilizations in each of their areas of the world, pioneers in the creation of states and tutors to the civilizations that arose later. Not coincidentally, each of them emerged in important river valleys: the Nile, the Tigris and Eup... More..
Arts & Humanities > European History Death of the Romanov family: 1 of 12
In the summer of 1918, with Civil War raging and its outcome still uncertain, Russia's last Tsar was murdered along with his family and four servants. Their killers disposed of the bodies hastily, as the execution was part of a plan to retreat. The bodies were left in a shallow grave, but there they would remain until after t... More..
Arts & Humanities > European History Casualties of World War I: 1 of 11
The trauma of the First World War was unprecedented. The scale of it alone was staggering: for almost four and a half years, most of Europe was locked in combat. Despite all efforts, technological and tactical alike, to achieve a decisive breakthrough, only rarely was anything like it accomplished. Far more often, enormous ba... More..
Arts & Humanities > Ancient History How the Ancient Egyptians understood the role of the pharaoh: 1 of 11
The Egyptian pharaoh was seen as nothing less than the sole intermediary between the gods and his people. With one foot in the human sphere, and one in the divine, he moved in both circles, yet was fully a part of neither. Like an ordinary man, he was born, he lived, and he died; like a god, he exerted a metaphysical effect o... More..
Computers & Technology > Computer Maintenance Tips to help newbies with the Mac: 1 of 8
The Mac is designed to be as user-friendly as possible. There are sometimes half a dozen ways to accomplish the same task, such as launching a program. With experience, one finds that this redundancy helps one to customize the system greatly; in the beginning, however, it can also be daunting. It is best to begin simply, and ... More..
Arts & Humanities > Ancient History The ingenuity of the Roman style of combat: 1 of 8
Ingenuity is not one of the first words that come to mind when considering the Romans. Stolid and practical, they were far more adept at applying and perfecting the lessons of their own experience and those taken from other civilizations. Their experience was extensive, however, and the civilizations from which they drew fu... More..
Arts & Humanities > Arts & Humanities (Other) Is artistic skill natural or learned?: 14 of 109
Skills are learned, by their very nature; artistry, however, is inborn.In the artistic sphere, skills are tools with which one makes art. They are not art in themselves. Such skills might range from the ability to draw a recognizable face, through the ability to play the guitar, to the ability to string words into sentences a... More..
Arts & Humanities > European History Events that led to the Battle of Hastings: 1 of 6
In 1066 there was a perilous vacancy on the English throne. Edward the Confessor died without issue and without an unambiguous provision for the succession. Three claimants emerged with enough support to press their claims; only one remained alive at the end of the day on October 14, 1066.It is generally understood that the B... More..
Arts & Humanities > Ancient History The discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun: 1 of 6
The discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922 was one of the great moments in the history of archaeology. It had everything: a treasure spectacular enough to capture the imagination of even the most ardent materialist, but also a wealth of historical material to significantly advance our knowledge of ancient Egypt; and abo... More..