economics.

It serves us well to remember that the fundamental fact of modern history is that everyone living in the developed world is vastly richer than all of their ancestors and all humans that came before the 20th century. Many of the cosmopolitan behaviors we consider normal are inherited from the tiny elite classes of europe. Meanwhile the vast majority of lived in ignorance, toil, filth, and exposure to the elements.

So, when I think of Beethoven or Newton or Marco Polo or Cook, and think, "oh, I'd like to do that" I should remember that my ancestors were very likely not riding around doing amazing or interesting things, but   were probably farming potatoes in a bog and dying of tuberculosis. If they weren't then they were extremely privileged compared to their fellow citizens, which is not much to be proud of either.