The Old World’s process of reorientation could never have come about if that civilization had not produced individuals who were willing to go first. These “captains courageous” were not necessarily brilliant, learned, or noble. Verrazano and Vespucci came from a high social class, and Columbus possessed one of the major libraries of his time. But for the most part what united those who went first was desire, the capacity to be decisive, and just plain “nerve” rather than knowledge of data or technique, despite the fact that such knowledge was also useful. Unlike the astronauts of our time, for
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