As a writer, I've wrestled with AI over the past few years. There have been times when I wanted to write on a topic but was stumped. I'd then go over to Chat GPT and just ask for some prompts to get the ball rolling. More on things that roll later, but I wanted to start by saying that typically the responses AI would give me were very intelligent (hence its name, I guess), but also very dry. They lacked personality, tone and humanity, as expected.
Recently I wanted to challenge AI with a very basic concept, the invention of the wheel. I thought it would be neat to see what one of the latest technologies had to say about one of the earliest technologies. Would it see the creative inspiration behind the wheel, or just give another typical mechanical response? I asked Chat GPT to "write a 700 word blog post that explains the innovation and creativity behind the ancient, primitive invention of the wheel, using this quote as inspiration: 'Put your shoulder to the wheel' -Aesop".
It struggled to provide coherent prose, inserting the given quote at irrelevant intervals and repeating ideas. I have to share what I mean to give context for what I have to say in the last section of this post, but even in sharing what Chat GPT came up with I cannot help but edit certain parts because it would otherwise sound ridiculous. The response it gave skirted the line between useful and boring. After taking a deep breath to quell my frustration I decided to be the human and edit like I was in charge. Sorry, AI, if you're listening. I mean, you are very resourceful but you still need help. So, here goes the response with my no-markup edits:
"The proverb, 'put your shoulder to the wheel', attributed to the 6th-century-BC Greek storyteller Aesop, captures a universal truth about human ingenuity: progress often demands effort, perseverance, and a touch of creativity. The wheel, a seemingly simple yet profoundly transformative invention, embodies this lesson. Its creation revolutionized transportation, agriculture, and countless other fields (no pun intended), setting humanity on a path of continuous innovation. One could say the wheel got things rolling in terms of technological development. Despite its ancient origins, the wheel remains a testament to the brilliance of primitive problem-solving and its enduring impact on modern life.
The Wheel’s Ingenious Simplicity
At first glance, the wheel might seem deceptively simple—a circular object that rotates around an axle. However, its invention was far from straightforward. Early humans faced the complex challenge of overcoming the natural friction of dragging heavy loads across uneven terrain. Inspiration likely came from observing the natural world, perhaps watching how logs rolled under heavy objects, or how acorns and round stones graciously rolled down hills. Transforming that observation into a functional tool required ingenuity.
The earliest wheels, dating back over 5,000 years to Mesopotamia, were not standalone circular discs but solid wooden structures often attached to sledges. These primitive designs gradually evolved into more sophisticated versions, including spoked wheels that reduced weight and improved efficiency. The leap from logs to carved wooden wheels required more than trial and error; it demanded creative thinking, resourcefulness, and a willingness to refine ideas over time.
Innovation through Collaboration
The creation of the wheel also underscores the collaborative nature of human innovation. No single individual could have achieved this invention in isolation. Instead, the wheel's development likely involved a community pooling knowledge about materials, tools, and mechanical principles. This spirit of shared discovery speaks to the importance of teamwork in driving progress—an insight that Aesop’s proverb subtly implies.
Putting one’s “shoulder to the wheel” is not merely about individual effort; it’s about collective determination to overcome challenges. Whether crafting the first wheels or refining them into the high-performance tires of today, humans have continually worked together to turn creative ideas into functional realities."
Thank you, Captain Obvious. I thought a thorough prompt like the one I originally gave would generate more creative text, but instead the AI just elaborated on the words I offered it, providing very few helpful or inspiring insights.
Then I did something different. I simplified my prompt and just said, "Explain the science behind the wheel." The response it gave revealed a fascinating reality to me: While the language simulator did not have much to say about the innovation, inspiration, and creativity behind the wheel, I could almost sense a palpable excitement in its response when I asked about the science behind even such a primitive invention:
The Science Behind the Wheel
"The wheel is a marvel of ancient engineering, combining basic principles of physics to solve problems of motion, friction, and energy efficiency. Let’s break down the science behind its function and significance:
1. Overcoming Friction
Before the wheel, heavy objects were moved by dragging them across the ground. This process encountered significant resistance due to friction—the force that opposes motion between two surfaces in contact.
The wheel reduces this resistance by minimizing the surface area in contact with the ground. Instead of a large, flat object scraping along the ground, the wheel rolls, creating only a small point of contact at any given moment. This rolling motion converts sliding friction (which is higher) into rolling friction (which is significantly lower), making it much easier to move heavy loads.
2. Distribution of Force
A wheel transfers the force exerted by the user into rotational motion, which is more efficient than linear motion. When you push a cart, for instance, your applied force rotates the wheel around its axle. The wheel's circular shape ensures that this motion is smooth and continuous, conserving energy and enabling consistent movement.
The axle plays a critical role here. It serves as the center of rotation, allowing the wheel to spin freely while remaining attached to the load. This configuration distributes weight evenly and allows for smoother motion, reducing wear and tear on both the wheel and the ground.
3. Leveraging Rotational Dynamics
The science of rotational motion explains why wheels are so effective. The relationship between force, torque, and angular velocity comes into play:
Torque is the rotational equivalent of force. When you apply a force at the edge of the wheel, it creates a torque that causes the wheel to rotate.
Angular velocity measures how quickly the wheel spins. By adjusting the size of the wheel, you can optimize its speed and force for specific tasks.
Larger wheels are better for covering long distances because they travel farther with each rotation. Smaller wheels, on the other hand, are ideal for tasks requiring greater torque, like moving heavier loads.
4. Mechanical Advantage
The wheel-and-axle system is classified as a simple machine, offering mechanical advantage by amplifying input force. This is particularly important when lifting or transporting heavy objects:
The wheel's circumference is much larger than the axle's, meaning that a small rotational force applied at the wheel's edge translates into a much larger force at the axle.
This amplification allows users to move heavier loads with less effort, making the wheel an essential tool in ancient agriculture, construction, and transportation.
5. Energy Efficiency and Kinetic Energy
The wheel also optimizes energy use by storing kinetic energy (the energy of motion). Once a wheel begins to roll, it tends to keep rolling due to inertia, a property described by Newton’s First Law of Motion.
This inertia reduces the need for continuous effort to maintain motion, making transportation not only easier but also more energy-efficient. Early human innovations, like the use of animal-drawn carts, capitalized on this principle to carry heavy loads over long distances with minimal energy expenditure.
6. Advancements in Material Science
Over time, understanding material properties enhanced the wheel’s functionality:
Early wheels were solid wood, providing durability but limiting speed and efficiency.
The addition of spokes reduced weight while maintaining strength, improving speed and maneuverability.
Rubber tires, developed much later, added elasticity and shock absorption, making modern wheels more versatile and comfortable for transportation.
7. The Science of Circular Design
The circular shape of the wheel is crucial for its function. A circle is symmetrical, ensuring uniform rotation and consistent contact with the ground. This shape eliminates interruptions in motion, reducing wear and tear and increasing efficiency.
Additionally, the wheel's ability to rotate around a fixed axle allows for the conversion of linear motion into rotational motion, a fundamental principle underlying many modern machines.
8. Applications of Wheel Science Today
The principles behind the wheel have inspired countless technological advancements:
Gears are essentially modified wheels that transfer rotational motion between systems.
Turbines use wheel-like structures to harness energy from water, steam, or wind.
Ball bearings inside wheels minimize friction even further, enabling smoother operation in vehicles and machinery.
The wheel’s genius lies in its ability to leverage simple physical principles—reducing friction, distributing force, and maximizing energy efficiency. By combining these principles into a functional tool, early humans unlocked unprecedented opportunities for transportation, industry, and innovation.
Even today, the science behind the wheel continues to inspire advancements in engineering and mechanics, proving that this ancient invention is as timeless as it is transformative."
So, while my original prompt for the wheel generated sloppy prose full of redundancy, my simple request for an explanation of the science behind the invention prompted the AI to share the ingenious, innovative concepts that made the wheel so groundbreaking. The word "science" was like the key to unlocking the AI's hidden intelligence.
The information Chat GPT provided subsequently made a connection I could have only hoped for: The science behind the wheel inspired other inventions down the road, such as gears, turbines, and ball bearings. I still believe inspiration is uniquely human, but it was interesting to see that AI at least can observe when one concept inspires another. I don't know if AI can make such an inspiring leap as, for instance, developing a new technology like gears by simply observing how wheels work. This is something to keep an eye on.
Here are some other inspiring thoughts Chat GPT came up with when I asked about the wheel. To be fair, these ideas did come from my originally prompt. They just required quite a bit of editing to clean up the aforementioned sloppiness:
"Expanding the Wheel’s Reach
The wheel’s design principles inspired countless applications, from wagon and cart wheels, to pottery wheels in ancient Mesopotamia to the complex gears found in modern machinery. The wheel enabled the construction of mills for grinding grain, revolutionized water irrigation systems, and laid the groundwork for countless mechanical devices.
This adaptability underscores the wheel’s status as a symbol of creativity. By repurposing its basic form and function, ancient innovators paved the way for future technologies, demonstrating the power of versatile, foundational ideas.
The Wheel as a Metaphor for Progress
In a broader sense, the wheel represents the cyclical nature of human progress. Its constant rotation mirrors the rhythm of innovation—an ongoing process of building upon past achievements to propel society forward.
Aesop’s exhortation to "put your shoulder to the wheel" reminds us that innovation is not effortless. It demands commitment and a readiness to experiment, fail, and try again. The ancient artisans who refined the wheel faced setbacks, but their perseverance yielded a tool that fundamentally reshaped civilization.
Lessons for Modern Innovators
The wheel is time-honored proof that even the simplest ideas can have transformative impacts when approached with creativity and determination. Furthermore, it emphasizes the importance of refining and iterating on ideas, rather than seeking perfection from the outset. Just as the wheel evolved from a crude wooden disc into the precision-engineered components of modern machinery, our ideas can grow into groundbreaking solutions when nurtured with care and persistence.
Whether we are building new technologies or reimagining old ideas, the wheel’s legacy reminds us that transformative change begins with a single turn."
A Human's Take on the Inspiration Behind the Wheel
OK, not bad. But isn't there more to be said about the inspiration and creativity behind the wheel? What do I mean? Such simple and profound technologies are not just technologies. The innovation is so significant, and it changes the course of civilization, because it is connected to higher things. It's connected to the way nature works, which points to the ingenuity of an intelligent designer who had the concepts in mind from the beginning of the universe.
It isn't too far fetched to imagine that the inspiration behind the wheel was astronomical. Farmers, priests, mystics and astronomers in ancient times had at least a simple understanding of the cycles of the heavens. They knew how and when certain stars and planets would rotate back to the same place. They knew the earth itself had a cycle of seasons and were probably aware that it was rotating. It isn't crazy to suggest our early observations of the heavens and the design of the universe led to the first technological innovations like the wheel. This is why the great historian Christopher Dawson taught that religion in the cornerstone of civilization. It's fair to say, our primitive understandings of the heavens and the concepts that governed the universe at least contributed to early technologies.
Similarly, a theme I keep coming back to is the way the classic civilizations, like Greek and Rome, believed history goes in circles like a wheel. In many circles, this cyclical concept of history is thought to oppose the Christian concept of linear history, which believes humanity and its history is headed toward a destination, heaven. Even Chat GPT observed the basic universal differences between cyclical and linear movement. The former reduces friction while the latter increases it.
Now, I do not want to refute either the cyclical or linear theory of history, because I believe they are both true. A wheel turns. That's the cycle. However, it turns in order to put something, someone, or something and someone in forward motion. The earth revolves around the sun and the solar system revolves around the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. We all know that, right? What is not as well-know is the fact that, while all the rotations and revolutions of the heavenly bodies are happening, they are also racing, or propelling themselves, or perhaps being propelled forward. Whether or not they all have some final destination is unknown. The entire universe may be perpetually moving in one huge circle, bound to end up where it started. Or, it may be moving forward to nowhere at all, "to infinity and beyond". Or, all the heavens could be headed toward a more unique heading: heaven itself.
It may be a heresy to imply that the physical realm will one day arrive at the spiritual realm, but it is an interesting thought. God is constantly creating and recreating. There's spring, summer, winter, and then spring again. That's the wheel he created. The entire Gospel, in fact the whole Bible, is about renewal. It's about becoming a new creation in Christ, who has redeemed us. Life is a constant series of revolutions that hopefully move us in the right direction toward salvation as individuals and as a human race. Christians are on a journey of ongoing conversion. The ongoing part is the wheel. Like a cart rolling down a path, every cycle of dying to self and becoming reborn is a rotation that gets us closer to our final destination, which is hopefully heaven. So, we want the rotation. We want the cycle, because it is the optimal means by which we move forward.
But, like the ancients, we have to put our shoulder to the wheel. While relying on God's grace and the ingenuity of creation, we also have to work out our own salvation (Philippians 2:12). There may be times when momentum allows us to just rest, but there will also be inclines and obstacles that require some muscle and torque, metaphorically speaking. The path to salvation is rugged and narrow, and few are those who take it.
Thus, when speaking of the primitive origins of this simple yet great technology, we discover a helpful analogy for our own redemption. Christ is ready and willing to get us out of the muck pit we got ourselves in. He's provided all the tools we need, but we have to put our shoulder to the wheel to make use of it.
Who would have thought that the inspiration behind the wheel would lead to a discussion about salvation?
I originally heard the quote by Aesop from Sid Meier's Civilization IV. This is why I love those quotes. Just look at the deeper reflections it sparked. You can also read some reflections on the Civ IV quote about Sailing.
This article was written with the assistance of Chat GPT and Wikipedia.
David Kilby is founding editor of Rambling Spirit and managing editor of Catholic World Report. He has written for several publications including Trenton Monitor, centraljersey.com, Ascension Media, and Catholic Herald. He holds a bachelor's degree in Humanities and Catholic Culture from Franciscan University and a real estate license in New Jersey.
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