so, thomas hardy then. a poet, 1912, writes "the convergence of the twain." in this poem he writes, as the smart ship grew in stature grace, and hew and shadowy silent distance grew, the iceberg, too. reference to? >> titanic. >> titanic. very good. the sinking of the titanic was to some, symbolic. symbolic of too much innovation, too much flaunting our ability to transcend nature's limits. flight. the panama canal. automobiles. the harnessing of electricity. and now perhaps nature had struck back. maybe god had struck back. thomas hardy in his poem also describes "the pride of life that planned her." and he capitalizes p and l. meaning all of the modern technology and innovations that went into building the dazzling showpiece of a passenger ship and all of the hubris that seemed to accompany its building. what is hubris? good liberal arts college word. what is hubris? >> excessive pride? >> excessive pride. yes. arrogance. good. ok. we will get a sense of where we are headed in terms of this clash. this leads us into really what we are going to wrestle with