tagged w/ civilizations
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Essay by Steven Soter, Scientist-in-Residence in the Center for Ancient Studies at New York University. Gedanken experiments, which have been used for hundreds of years by scientists and philosophers to ponder thorny problems, rely on the power of one's imagination to project these scenarios to logical conclusions. They do not involve lab equipment or, often, even experimental data. They can be thought of as focused daydreams. Yet, as in the famous case of Einstein's Gedanken experiments about what it would be like to hitch a ride on a light wave, they have often led to important scientific breakthroughs. http://www.makeahistory.com/index.php/submit-an-article/18758-where-is-everybody-how-many-technically-advanced-civilizations-exist-in-our-galaxyEssay by Steven Soter, Scientist-in-Residence in the Center for Ancient Studies at New... more
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worrg
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This paper argues that at least one of the following propositions is true: (1) the human species is very likely to go extinct before reaching a “posthuman” stage; (2) any posthuman civilization is extremely unlikely to run a significant number of simulations of their evolutionary history (or variations thereof); (3) we are almost certainly living in a computer simulation. It follows that the belief that there is a significant chance that we will one day become posthumans who run ancestor-simulations is false, unless we are currently living in a simulation. A number of other consequences of this result are also discussed. http://www.makeahistory.com/index.php/recent-news/15027-are-you-living-in-a-computer-simulationThis paper argues that at least one of the following propositions is true: (1) the... more
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worrg
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In reality, these so-called “primitives” probably knew more about science, mathematics and technology than those nose-mining little rapscallions ever will. They – and many others not listed here – initiated feats of engineering and design that continue to amaze today’s civilizations. Some of them even continue to be used in modern days, too! “Backwards,” indeed!
link: http://onlinedoctoratedegree.org/10-ancient-civilizations-that-were-incredibly-advancedIn reality, these so-called “primitives” probably knew more about science,... more
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eva2
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The end of the world as we know it is not the end of the world full
stop.
Deeper than oil, steel or bullets, a civilisation is built on stories:
on the myths that shape it and the tales told of its origins and
destiny. We have herded ourselves to the edge of a precipice with the
stories we have told ourselves about who ...we are: the stories of
‘progress’, of the conquest of ‘nature’, of the centrality and supremacy
of the human species.
It is time for new stories.
1. We live in a time of social, economic and ecological unravelling. All around us are signs that our whole way of living is already passing into history. We will face this reality honestly and learn how to live with it.
2. We reject the faith which holds that the converging crises of our times can be reduced to a set of‘problems’ in need of technological or political ‘solutions’.
3. We believe that the roots of these crises lie in the stories we have been telling ourselves. We intend to challenge the stories which underpin our civilisation: the myth of progress, the myth of human centrality, and the myth of our separation from ‘nature’. These myths are more dangerous for the fact that we have forgotten they are myths.
4. We will reassert the role of story-telling as more than mere entertainment. It is through stories that we weave reality.
5. Humans are not the point and purpose of the planet. Our art will begin with the attempt to step outside the human bubble. By careful attention, we will reengage with the non-human world.
6. We will celebrate writing and art which is grounded in a sense of place and of time. Our literature has been dominated for too long by those who inhabit the cosmopolitan citadels.
7. We will not lose ourselves in the elaboration of theories or ideologies. Our words will be elemental. We write with dirt under our fingernails.
8. The end of the world as we know it is not the end of the world full stop. Together, we will find the hope beyond hope, the paths which lead to the unknown world ahead of us.
http://www.dark-mountain.net/about-2/the-project/
The Dark Mountain Festival will hold it's first festival in May 2010.The end of the world as we know it is not the end of the world full
stop.
Deeper... more
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The ancient Mayans may have had enough engineering know-how to master running water, creating fountains and even toilets by controlling water pressure, scientists now suggest.
Perhaps the earliest known example of the intentional creation of water pressure was found on the island of Crete in a Minoan palace dating back to roughly 1400 BC. In the New World, the ability to generate water pressure was previously thought to have begun only with the arrival of the Spanish.
Scientists investigated the Mayan center at Palenque in Chiapas, Mexico. At its height, this major site, inhabited from roughly 100 to 800 AD, had some 1,500 structures — residences, palaces, and temples — holding some 6,000 inhabitants under a series of powerful rulers.
The center at Palenque also had what was arguably the most unique and intricate system of water management known anywhere in the Maya lowlands. These involved elaborate subterranean aqueducts to deal with the spring-fed streams that naturally divide the landscape and could otherwise cause flooding or erosion.
"The ancient Maya called this city Lakamha' or 'Big Water' because of its nine perennial waterways, 56 springs, and hundreds of meters of cascades," said researcher Kirk French, an archaeologist at Pennsylvania State University in University Park.
One peculiar finding at Palenque was a buried, spring-fed conduit some 216 feet long (66 m). While other aqueducts under the site's main plaza stayed relatively level and maintained a roughly constant width, the rectangular conduit was located on a steep slope and abruptly narrowed at its end.
Assuming this sloping conduit was smoothly plastered as the aqueducts were at Palenque, the researchers calculated the resulting water pressure could drive a fountain shooting water roughly 20 feet high (6 m).
"This finding is yet another technological achievement made by the Maya independently of the Old World," French said. "The Maya of Palenque had water pressure technology by 750 AD at the very latest and most likely much earlier."
French noted it has been speculated for decades that the palace in Palenque had running water for toilets. "Getting running water to the palace was impossible without water pressure," he said. Because of this new find, "the toilet theory isn’t so far-fetched."
Running water would have been a luxury, not a necessity.
"I actually think that the creation of water pressure at Palenque was a sign of wealth," French said. "It was definitely not necessary. They had water everywhere. The Maya of Palenque were never more than 150 meters (492 feet) from a source of water. Water pressure technology would have been useful through the display of power and knowledge, similar to how priests and shamans used astronomical events."
There may be other examples of Precolumbian water pressure throughout the Americas that have been unseen or misidentified, French said. For instance, ceramic tubes have been found at several sites throughout central Mexico.
"There is a widely held view that the Maya were not necessarily great engineers because their buildings were relatively simple," French told LiveScience. "But in regards to water management their engineering expertise was by all accounts very impressive."
end of excerptThe ancient Mayans may have had enough engineering know-how to master running water,... more
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They have always been there. People noticed them before. But no one could remember who made them -- or why? Until just recently, no one even knew how many there were. Now they are everywhere -- thousands -- no, hundreds of thousands of them! And the story they tell is the most important story of humanity. But it's one we might not be prepared to hear.
Something amazing has been discovered in an area of South Africa, about 150 miles inland, west of the port of Maputo. It is the remains of a huge metropolis that measures, in conservative estimates, about 1500 square miles. It's part of an even larger community that is about 10,000 square miles and appears to have been constructed -- are you ready -- from 160,000 to 200,000 BCE!
(more at link)They have always been there. People noticed them before. But no one could remember who... more
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