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Funny stuff. Including this:
Central Americans of the 16th century played something similar to basketball, except that the ball weighed 20 pounds and often fatally injured the competitors. Oh, and they played in 60-pound stone girdles.Even hip-hop artists get cut down to size. Their ability to rap out rhymes, McAllister says, can?t compare to that of medieval poets, who might have been able to recite from memory 350,000 lines of verse.
But I don't have to run faster or be stronger, I have cars, electricity, light, computers, the internet, satellites, preserved food, and guns. There is also the little fact that even those who are considered pre- or barely literate today have more knowledge at their fingertips than did philosophers even 200-300 years ago. Physical prowess is not everything, especially in the game of survival as modern man's apparent weakness shows.
There is also the little fact that even those who are considered pre- or barely literate today have more knowledge at their fingertips than did philosophers even 200-300 years ago.
Socrates dumbed down ! 8)
But I don't have to run faster or be stronger, I have cars, electricity, light, computers, the internet, satellites, preserved food, and guns. There is also the little fact that even those who are considered pre- or barely literate today have more knowledge at their fingertips than did philosophers even 200-300 years ago. Physical prowess is not everything, especially in the game of survival as modern man's apparent weakness shows.
True, we have the collective experiences of our ancestors to help us. But I think it goes to show us that our ancestors were our superiors in some regards. Modern man suffers from what C.S. Lewis calls "chronological snobbery": the belief that we in the present are so much better than those who lived in the past. When we hear about the strength of our forefathers, or the way someone from the past was able to recite 350,000 lines of verse from memory, those should impress us.....they impress me!
They are impressive facts, but we must not lose sight of the fact that those abilities were born of need. The needs of modern man are very different than the needs of pre-historic cavemen. We are standing on their shoulders but we have very different challenges to face than they do. I don't think it is a case of superiority so much as a case of different survival requirements.
They are impressive facts, but we must not lose sight of the fact that those abilities were born of need. The needs of modern man are very different than the needs of pre-historic cavemen. We are standing on their shoulders but we have very different challenges to face than they do. I don't think it is a case of superiority so much as a case of different survival requirements.
ok but what about your "200-300 years ago philosophers" ??
Even in my lifetime I have seen a weakening/decline.I forget the author, but in a bio I read of Louis XIII and Richelieu he wrote that people were generally more uglier and deformed centuries ago but could take extreme cold and heat better than modern man. Poor birthing techniques, dentistry, and medicine compared to our standards were the main reasons causing deformities.Even this 78 year old grew up on greaseburgers at the beach and never heard of ecoli and salmonella, peanut allergies and such during childhood to early manhood. Is it that modern medicine is allowing many to survive who would not have 50+ years ago? No helmets and leg/arm cushions for bikes. Pecking orders at playgrounds with no mommies around to protect the little brats who mouthed off. Metal slides with sharp edges, chrome dashboards, dodgeball and more to toughen us compared to the little wussers today.Tough guys were those best at fighting with fists without fear of punishments. No knives or guns were used. No steroids. A built guy was natural, a real hunk like Burt Lancaster.
They are impressive facts, but we must not lose sight of the fact that those abilities were born of need. The needs of modern man are very different than the needs of pre-historic cavemen. We are standing on their shoulders but we have very different challenges to face than they do. I don't think it is a case of superiority so much as a case of different survival requirements.
ok but what about your "200-300 years ago philosophers" ??
What about them? Many of their ideas are still valid, I myself am guilty of quoting, Hobbes, Locke, Smith, Rousseau, and Voltaire on occasion. My point was simply that we have more knowledge available today than they did then.
It's okay if we're not as smart these days. We can plug electricity into our brains to make us more intelligent. http://www.medicaldaily.com/news/20101105/3388/electrical-brain-stimulation-improves-math-skills.htmActually, on a serious note, guys, do you remember the research done in Japan to transfer the knowledge in the brain of one mouse to another? They literally recorded the signals given off by a mouse's brain while it learned a maze. The mouse had what looked like a helmet, which actually had electronic connections probing into the brain. The signals were recorded and played back into the brain of another mouse. The second mouse knew the maze before seeing it.Could this be the way modern man will seek to gain more knowledge?
Even this 78 year old grew up on greaseburgers at the beach and never heard of ecoli and salmonella, peanut allergies and such during childhood to early manhood. Is it that modern medicine is allowing many to survive who would not have 50+ years ago? No helmets and leg/arm cushions for bikes. Pecking orders at playgrounds with no mommies around to protect the little brats who mouthed off. Metal slides with sharp edges, chrome dashboards, dodgeball and more to toughen us compared to the little wussers today.
Yes, I would say that that is probably one reason why the life span was shorter back then - more people died at younger ages due to those diseases or to accidents that are prevented nowadays. Funny as it may seem, our modern legal system is one of the reasons why we live longer lives. As the duty of care has expanded for individuals and companies, and as more people have been found liable for negligence, the world has become a safer place (well, at least in America). I remember living in a Third World country about ten years ago and I would be amazed at how it was common to see open potholes on the road or open flames near the sidewalks where restaurants would be cooking meats, and I realized how that would not work in America.
Actually, on a serious note, guys, do you remember the research done in Japan to transfer the knowledge in the brain of one mouse to another? They literally recorded the signals given off by a mouse's brain while it learned a maze. The mouse had what looked like a helmet, which actually had electronic connections probing into the brain. The signals were recorded and played back into the brain of another mouse. The second mouse knew the maze before seeing it.Could this be the way modern man will seek to gain more knowledge?
That sounds exactly like something we will see in the future. Perhaps that means that education will be something of the past. Why go to school when you can just "download" a Harvard education directly into your brain? That actually sounds like a great scenario for a scifi novel or movie.
In the book Family, Sex, and Marriage and England 1500-1800, the author wrote that if one made it past the 21st birthday, barring death in battle or from Plague, one could live a long life with a great immune system. It was not uncommon for men (and women) like Michalangelo or my historical protagonist to live into their 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s in the 16th and 17th centuries.Another book I read gave life expectancy stats for the big European cities in 1900. From memory, I believe 28 seemed to be the median give or take a few years depending upon the city.
