The story of the Titanic has captivated the world for nearly a century ­— so much so that the tragedy became a pop culture icon with the release of the 1997 movie, “Titanic.” The film spent 15 consecutive weekends at number one in the box office and earned more than $600 million in the United States — a figure which made it the highest grossing domestic film in U.S. history for a span of eleven years.

The reasons for the widespread interest are clear. The Titanic’s fate was a terrible disaster with serious human and material costs. There is also the painful irony that the “unsinkable” sank on its maiden voyage.

There is more to the story of the Titanic than irony or persistent idolization, however. The Titanic is not an isolated story or a terrible turn of fate. Rather, its lessons hold credence and value for the modern day. It is a story whose mistakes, while repeated, yearn to be understood and recognized.

The Titanic was deemed unsinkable because it was so massive and outfitted with an innovative safety design to prevent water infiltration in the event of a breach. Yet it was this view of the Titanic which led to its destruction. Other ships gave warning about the existence of icebergs in the Titanic’s path, but the captain made no effort to reduce speed or change course. In fact, a governmental investigation conducted after the tragedy blamed the captain for traveling much too fast through an ice field.

Furthermore, there is an unconfirmed report that the captain wanted to break the record for fastest trans-Atlantic crossing. The Titanic did not sink because it was structurally weak. It sank because it was immensely strong — so strong that those in charge of commanding the ship felt it could withstand anything.

That conclusion is the important takeaway from the Titanic’s story, and it shows how important human action and decisions remain in a world of technological and innovative genius. And it is a story which has been mirrored most recently in the Costa Concordia disaster. No matter how big, powerful or technologically advanced the ship, human agency remains crucial. And when entrusted with the responsibility of commanding a ship that can, today, effectively command itself, training and human attention to detail should be increased, certainly not decreased.

Costa Concordia was a very modern, safe ship, built in 2006 and operated by one of the largest cruise companies in the world, Carnival Corporation. If anything, like the Titanic, it could have been termed unsinkable, as could most of the massive cruise ships in operation globally.

As with the Titanic, it was not a weakness of design or construction, but rather a greatness of design and construction which instilled in the ship’s operators the complacency which caused the tragedy. In a 2010 interview with a Czech newspaper, Concordia Captain Francesco Schettino stated, “These days, everything is much safer. It is easier to navigate thanks to modern technical instruments and the Internet.”

It was reported that Captain Schettino deviated five miles from the usual route in order to pass closer to the Italian island of Giglio. Some speculate this decision stemmed from the captain’s desire to show off the ship to the island’s citizens. It also may have been a nod to the Concordia’s chief waiter, who comes from the island and hoped to pass close enough to wave to family members.

Schettino claims the rocks which ultimately damaged the Concordia were not on his nautical chart and that when he saw them with his naked eye the ship was already about to collide. Regardless, the captain deviated the ship from the planned route and brought it too close to land. He relied on nautical charts rather than pure common sense, and the ship’s prowess gave him a false sense of security. Like the Titanic, the Concordia was too safe and too durable in its commander’s eyes — it was unsinkable.

Thus, if there is anything to be learned from the demise of the Concordia and Titantic it is this: No matter the technology, size or power, human decision matters. It is a lesson which must be applied in the context of all human endeavors. With advanced technology and power, the responsibility for all of us to make rational and calculated decisions must increase. In a world filled with complex economic, social, political and military models — a world which seems so easy to put on auto-pilot — we must always remember that human decisions and behavior are still the most vital factors. Nothing is unsinkable.