As an engineer, I?m supposed to be technically brilliant and culturally inept. Yet in just the past week, I?ve noticed the following in casual radio listening:
? The History Channel promoting its series on The War of 1812 using as background music the tune ?Dixie? (1859, by Daniel Emmett)
? Another announcement referencing the Revolutionary era, utilizing ?The Battle Hymn of the Republic? (music ca 1856 by William Steffe)
? And today, thirty-year-old memoranda created with Microsoft Word
Is there a fundamental problem with dates and events as seen by the creative class? The engineer says three data points suggest a trend.
