the greatness of individuals can be decided only by those who live after them, not by their Contemporaries.

In deciding about the greatness of individuals, the statement above takes an extreme position by claiming that only there people who live after the great individuals can recognize their greatness and not their contemporaries. Although greatness of people can better be decided by the people who live after them, it is not a rule, and there are cases that individuals’ greatness has been decided by contemporaries and future averred that greatness.

There are two main reasons why greatness of individuals can be better determined by people who live after them. First, greatness of people can be decided better in a crucible of time because more information is provided when the time goes by. For example, an industry man who has provided jobs for local citizens of a city might be regarded as a great founder. When the time goes by, with the pollution and the diseases the industry brings on the local citizens they no more recognize that person as a great individual because pros and cons of his role can then be better weighed. Hence, time gives people better resolution to decide on the greatness of individuals.

Secondly, when one is so much ahead of his time, contemporaries cannot understand the greatness of the one. Consider Van Gogh. His paintings are valued in millions of dollars each year, while during his life he was so desperate that cut off his ear in order to draw the public attention toward his art and he did not become successful because the contemporaries could not understand the greatness of such an artist in Post-expressionism.

Finally, what has mentioned above should not be overgeneralized; aside from situations mentioned above, when one makes a great contribution, and such contribution is not far from understanding , even the most common contemporaries can decide the greatness of that individual properly. Consider Fleming for instance. When he discovered the antibiotic characteristics of a certain fungi, he introduced it to the world and many patients cured by his discovery. His greatness immediately were established among human beings because of the great contribution he made for humans. Hence, sometimes individuals can prove their greatness and their greatness is averred both by their contemporaries and future generations.

In short, individuals’ greatness can be better decided when the time goes by, as better information is revealed in the future, while contemporaries might not understand the greatness of individuals. Nevertheless, it is not only for people who live after individuals to decide for their greatness. There are times that greatness of people become so self-evident that there is no need of time passing to decide for their greatness and both contemporaries and future generation aver the greatness of individuals.