something ive refused to believe (that we are smarter) since discovering just how many things have been known for centuries or more that influence and shape modern technology. i agree completely, we arent smarter, we just have more tools to work with. however, one thing that IS different between us and our ancestors is a social willingness towards new technology. that IS a large difference that makes an important distinction.
On 4/25/05, Mike Carrell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > BlankNow that this thread has led into ancient technology in general, let me > stir the pot by referring to Cremo & Thompson's "Hidden History of the Human > Race", a condensation of "Forbidden Archeology". Their invesigation pushes > evidence of intelligent hominid habitation way, way back in time. It's > fascinatin reading. The authors are up front about the drive of their quest, > which is adherence to Hindu teachings of a cyclical universe. > > We moderns suffer from temporal chauvisism, the delusion that we are the > smartest of all humanity [which is refuted by any teenager]. It happens that > there are more tech geeks like us than anytime in history, so the odds of > something useful being found are better, but it does not follow that our > individual geekiness woud stand a chance if dropped into, say, King Arthur's > Court like the Conneticut Yankee handyman of Mark Twain's novel. Most of > Edison's inventions could have been built anytime in the Iron Age by someone > "who knew what to do". > > I was captivated by Hapgood's "Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings" as proof of > ancient capabillities until I encountered Menzies' "1421" about the immense > Chinese fleet of exploration which mapped the Americas and Antarica among > other things, with accurate longitude. > > Robert Temple is another fruitful author, whose "Crystal Sun" is about > ancient lenses and optics, and "The Sirius Mystery" is about the tirbal > knowledge of the Dogon, which includes the white dwarf companion of Sirius, > and an even smaller thurd star detected only by perturbation studies. > > Our common public education is effectively an indoctrination of the popular > mythology about who we are and how we got here and what is going on. It's > very useful, so we sort of know what to expect from each other and how to > play the game. > > But don't pretend that it is 'truth'. > > Mike Carrell > > -- "Monsieur l'abb�, I detest what you write, but I would give my life to make it possible for you to continue to write" Voltaire
