Rebellion is a strange thing. It conjures up the image of an underdog fighting an unjust power. And yet, the word implies a considerable resistance that is often unsuccessful.

A teen going head to head with a parent (a battle of wills). The Confederacy seceding from the Union (we know how that turned out). The Rebel Alliance standing up to the Galactic Empire (they never seem to completely outdo them).

Now consider revolution.

There seems to be a bit more majesty about the word. It implies a larger movement than a rebellion. Actions may be rebellious, but ideas can be revolutionary.

That concept is rooted in the very origins of the word. Taken from the Latin revolvere, meaning "to revolve, to roll back," the word revolution was initially associated with astronomy and celestial bodies. Copernicus made the connection in On the Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres (1543).

Stars and planets make recurring cyclical movements, or revolutions, around a particular point. This is what allowed astronomers to make observations and predictions, that were bolstered by or helped to improve mathematics.

In On Revolution in 1963, Hannah Arendt likened it to "the ups and downs of human destiny, which have been likened to the rising and setting of sun, moon, and stars since times immemorial."

In other words, humans are predictable; what's past is prologue.

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