Back in the days when the sun and stars actually revolved around the earth...

[91Joe95]

There was this device. I am fascinated by the levels of knowledge and expertise that went into its construction. There's decades, maybe more, of very precise astrological measurements that were carefully documented. There is the creativity, math, and, engineering involved in designing all of the gears, including the corrections for elliptical orbits. All of this is done with a fundamental misunderstanding of the problem(s) and yet they got it right at all the critical points. They coupled all of those various fields with delicate and precise craftsmanship.



This has a little more detail on how it works:



This is the first part of an eleven episode series on using modern tooling to try and recreate it.

 

[91Joe95]

More previously lost ancient tech that rivals that of today.

Research uncovers secret that made ancient Roman concrete so durable

Scientists from a MIT, Harvard University study found the secret to what made ancient Roman concrete last thousands of years.

www.foxnews.com

Is it any wonder mankind became the dominant species on the planet?

 

[PSU Mike]

More previously lost ancient tech that rivals that of today.

Research uncovers secret that made ancient Roman concrete so durable

Scientists from a MIT, Harvard University study found the secret to what made ancient Roman concrete last thousands of years.

www.foxnews.com

Is it any wonder mankind became the dominant species on the planet?

Cool (or should I say hot?) Estimated that 8% of greenhouse gases are from concrete production? I bet if we add all these type of estimates together we cover about 1,245% of all greenhouse gas production.

 

[BobPSU92]

What’s this ”Back in the days” stuff?

 

[ApexLion]

Who reads books on submarines? Calling Dr. Rick.

 

[PSU Mike]

Who reads books on submarines? Calling Dr. Rick.

Who likes movies about gladiators?

 

[BobPSU92]

Who reads books on submarines? Calling Dr. Rick.

What else is there to do on a submarine?

 

[Bkmtnittany1]

What else is there to do on a submarine?

Penthouse Forum...lots of paper towels!

 

[91Joe95]

What’s this ”Back in the days” stuff?

Shh, they might think you're crazy, or worse, an OSU graduate.

 

[ManxomeLion]

There was this device. I am fascinated by the levels of knowledge and expertise that went into its construction. There's decades, maybe more, of very precise astrological measurements that were carefully documented. There is the creativity, math, and, engineering involved in designing all of the gears, including the corrections for elliptical orbits. All of this is done with a fundamental misunderstanding of the problem(s) and yet they got it right at all the critical points. They coupled all of those various fields with delicate and precise craftsmanship.



This has a little more detail on how it works:



This is the first part of an eleven episode series on using modern tooling to try and recreate it.

I believe it's a real fallacy to believe that we're smarter than our ancestors simply because we live in modern times. The masses (at least where public education exists) may be smarter, but there were brilliant people who existed who given the resources available to them were every bit as brilliant as the brightest minds today. (I suppose it may boil down to intelligence vs knowledge)
Here's a book you may enjoy if you're intrigued by historical chronology https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4806.Longitude

 

[91Joe95]

I agree, I don't believe we're smarter than previous generations. We have access to more information, more quickly, and our computational tools have become faster, but at the end of the day it was the previous generations that figured it out on their own. That's not to say generations are getting dumber, people are extremely intelligent. That said, I do wonder if we're getting too far away from teaching fundamental problem solving skills, and leave it at that.

 

[LionJim]

I agree, I don't believe we're smarter than previous generations. We have access to more information, more quickly, and our computational tools have become faster, but at the end of the day it was the previous generations that figured it out on their own. That's not to say generations are getting dumber, people are extremely intelligent. That said, I do wonder if we're getting too far away from teaching fundamental problem solving skills, and leave it at that.

There’s always someone doing cutting edge science, always has been. Euclid’s Elements dates from 300 bc; it’s really quite sophisticated. The heliocentric model of the universe dates from 250 bc; I have read (in “The Big Bang,” by Singh) that the main reason this new model was rejected was because it couldn’t explain gravity.

Heliocentrism - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[91Joe95]

X

 

[91Joe95]

Cool (or should I say hot?) Estimated that 8% of greenhouse gases are from concrete production? I bet if we add all these type of estimates together we cover about 1,245% of all greenhouse gas production.

 

[PSU Mike]

There certainly wasn’t any math used to get the 8% number either.