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Do you think we(human race) have lost significant knowledge/technology at one point or another?

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the creations of bringing destruction. while this is true, I think it's offset by what is destroyed by this new tech.
 
Originally posted by: ElFenix
Originally posted by: JeffreyLebowski
I think we have lost technology or have been stifled in some areas. The dark ages basically held us back for hundreds of years due to the plague and famine, and war.
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war breeds technology like nothing else.
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indeed. just looking at some of the projects DARPA investigates boggles the mind.
 
Originally posted by: RichardE
Originally posted by: zinfamous
I think it's more accurate to argue that we have been held back in developing technology, or have had to re-invent, re-discover certain technologies because of the events mentioned (Alexandria, Plague, saccing of Rome, Crusades, etc...)

I think that if we rationalize some of these histories, some of this ancient technology probably mounts to myth. Here, I'm thinking about "Greek Fire." I've heard theories that the secret to creating Greek Fire was lost in Alexadria (OH, the Irony!), but modern science has never been able to reproduce it's supposed effects. Again, our evidence of this existing primarily amounts to accounts from sailers being terrorized by a superior Greek Navy. You have to assume that their accounts of massive pwning are as accurate as they remember them. If they see fire everywhere, your ship as it's being burned...then why not imagine that it's burning on the sea, as well? You would think that our vast knowledge in materials science and chemistry would be able to create something so apparently simple. Hell, we split the atom! Which begs the question "who gives a fvck about Greek Fire when we can just nuke 'em?

Currently, I think of how (due to politics, corporate interest, fundies, whatever) certain advances have been delayed to near-criminal levels. Alternative energy, embryonic stem cell research, etc. This doesn't bother me as much as it probably should, though...as I remain quite confident that the progress of technology can't be held back forever. It's a shame that asshats in power have to dictate funding due to their own personal interests, despite the potential advantages for all of humanity, but reason will always prevail, I think....despite the setbacks.
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I always thought Greek fire sounded a lot like napalm.
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Does napalm burn on water? I wasn't aware, and just didn't even consider that. Well...if so then we can probably axe that from the "lost" tech category.

Although...you would have to argue that the ancient Greeks had access to the materials needed to make napalm, let alone the knowledge to combine them properly. Still, the reality of such technologies existing largely depend on the validity of personal accounts...
 
Originally posted by: mercanucaribe
If the library of Alexandria wasn't destroyed, none of us would be here, because the likelihood of every event since then playing out so that sperm could fertilize that egg would be 0.

Edit: Not just your parents' gametes, but the ones that produced them, their parents, and every ancestor.
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You can say the same for any event in history.
 
I want to know who built and who lived in the ruins under about 2,000 feet of water just off the coast of cuba.

google, underwater ruins cuba and you will see pictures taken by a ROV several years ago.

why hasnt this site been throughly investiaged, i really want to know old those ruins and how they got to be under 2,000 feet of water.

for the OP's question, just think how far we would be if the dark ages didnt happen. the catholic church killed people for having new ideas. thats 300 years of lost creativity due to supression.
 
Originally posted by: zinfamous
Originally posted by: RichardE
Originally posted by: zinfamous
I think it's more accurate to argue that we have been held back in developing technology, or have had to re-invent, re-discover certain technologies because of the events mentioned (Alexandria, Plague, saccing of Rome, Crusades, etc...)

I think that if we rationalize some of these histories, some of this ancient technology probably mounts to myth. Here, I'm thinking about "Greek Fire." I've heard theories that the secret to creating Greek Fire was lost in Alexadria (OH, the Irony!), but modern science has never been able to reproduce it's supposed effects. Again, our evidence of this existing primarily amounts to accounts from sailers being terrorized by a superior Greek Navy. You have to assume that their accounts of massive pwning are as accurate as they remember them. If they see fire everywhere, your ship as it's being burned...then why not imagine that it's burning on the sea, as well? You would think that our vast knowledge in materials science and chemistry would be able to create something so apparently simple. Hell, we split the atom! Which begs the question "who gives a fvck about Greek Fire when we can just nuke 'em?

Currently, I think of how (due to politics, corporate interest, fundies, whatever) certain advances have been delayed to near-criminal levels. Alternative energy, embryonic stem cell research, etc. This doesn't bother me as much as it probably should, though...as I remain quite confident that the progress of technology can't be held back forever. It's a shame that asshats in power have to dictate funding due to their own personal interests, despite the potential advantages for all of humanity, but reason will always prevail, I think....despite the setbacks.
Click to expand...

I always thought Greek fire sounded a lot like napalm.
Click to expand...

Does napalm burn on water? I wasn't aware, and just didn't even consider that. Well...if so then we can probably axe that from the "lost" tech category.

Although...you would have to argue that the ancient Greeks had access to the materials needed to make napalm, let alone the knowledge to combine them properly. Still, the reality of such technologies existing largely depend on the validity of personal accounts...
Click to expand...

Well, at the same time the Greeks did have mechanical computers as well. I would be very interested in what progress we would be at as a society if the greek people had continued until now canceling the dark ages. Think about how far we have come in just the last 400 years.
 
I didnt even know that existed thanks for pointing that out citrix, this kind of stuff is the main reason I am majoring in history/archeology.
 
Originally posted by: Keblerelf04
I didnt even know that existed thanks for pointing that out citrix, this kind of stuff is the main reason I am majoring in history/archeology.
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no problem. but it boggles my mind as to why that site hasnt been investigated. more money and scientific knowledge has gone into the Titanic than this site. very sad and dissapointing...
 
Originally posted by: RichardE

Well, at the same time the Greeks did have mechanical computers as well. I would be very interested in what progress we would be at as a society if the greek people had continued until now canceling the dark ages. Think about how far we have come in just the last 400 years.
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Yes.
 
Originally posted by: rivan
Originally posted by: RichardE

Well, at the same time the Greeks did have mechanical computers as well. I would be very interested in what progress we would be at as a society if the greek people had continued until now canceling the dark ages. Think about how far we have come in just the last 400 years.
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Yes.
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Thanks I couldn't find the link.


I have to wonder though, whether it is good that what happened did happen. It does seem that the Greeks obtained the technology, but progressed it in the wrong fashion, whereas we made the jump to transistors ect. Fun to think about none the less.
 
Originally posted by: Fritzo
The dark ages alone set back technology about 500 years. We'd all be in flying cars right now if not for that :|

Stupid dark ages.
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More like stupid bubonic plague that prevented the eastern empire from holding the west after Justinian reconquered it.
 
My take (which I'm not sure many buy into yet, but remember you heard it here first)...

We are just starting to realize how often (realatively speaking) civilization ending natural events occur on the planet. We used to estimate large meteor impacts at every 100k users, we are now starting to realize it might be 10k years. There are numerous impact events we are just starting to find. Looking at other global events such as super volcanos, cimate changes (warmer and colder), etc you see you have a robust planet, but not such a robust human species or civilzaitons.

A very intereting impact event in the indian ocen appears to have occured abotu 5000bc, and would have been large enougth to cause tsumai events globally along with torrential rains for weeks. I personaly find that impact event very interesting as it ties in (time wise) with so many flood/tidal wave stories (such as Noah) we find in civilizations world wide. It also ties in with a lot of stories about when 'the world started'. I think right after the 'reset button' was pushed makes sense for many cultures to record from.

My personal belief is that this is one of the longest 'uninteruptted' period in which humans have advanced. We may be in the first period which actually became aware of the external threats to us and acted to prevent them. We'll only know if we finally get a sizeable number of folks off this rock at some point before the next event occurs...
 
Originally posted by: Flyback
IMO the Great Library of Alexandria was the single largest loss for mankind thus far.
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The losses occuring now will most likely be viewed as the largest loss for mankind.
 
the "dark" ages wasn't "dark" elsewhere...lol tooo eurocentric view of things here

In reailty we've done it over and over and over again - Sometimes we get lucky and have translations of the original in a different language...but often we exhibit these losses...

perhaps another reason why war sucks - because it destroys everything that must beg found again
 
Originally posted by: dmcowen674
Originally posted by: Flyback
IMO the Great Library of Alexandria was the single largest loss for mankind thus far.
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The losses occuring now will most likely be viewed as the largest loss for mankind.
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Which losses are those? 😕
 
This thread makes me wonder why we're spending so much money exploring space when so much underwater territory has yet to be explored. It makes sense that coastal cities would be wiped out first during a cataclysmic event.
 
It's because the general populous does not care about history at all, so who really cares if there is a city underwater(regardless if it is more advanced than we are). I mean we have a bunch of flashing lights in space and we know how most people are when something is flashy.
 
Originally posted by: Queasy
Absolutely. Alexandria is a good example. Another one would be what happened to Europe after Rome fell and it descended into the Dark Ages.
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Exactly. The Rome to the Dark Ages would be, I think, the best example
 
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