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I remember something Carl Sagan said...something along the lines (paraphrased) that the scholars at Alexandria questioned the movement of the stars but not of s
by sown 17y ago
I remember something Carl Sagan said...something along the lines (paraphrased) that the scholars at Alexandria questioned the movement of the stars but not of social conventions like slavery. The machines they made were made for the amusement of kings or for weapons but not for easing the burden of work or increasing comfort for the common man. So when the mobs came to burn the place down no one was there to stop them.
- jacoblyles 17y agoSeems like something very self-serving for a modern to say, to claim that the ancient civilizations crumbled because they didn't follow our values. I wonder if we have seen the last collapse of civilization? Will our descendants marvel at the wonders left in our remains and chalk our decline up to our own moral failing? Will they condemn us for not following their doctrines? "Such wonders these people made! But they were never willing to question their gods of democracy. Even as their technology grew more awe-inspiring, their governments grew more insane and profligate, until the whole structure collapsed. What mighty and foolish people!"
- sown 17y agoWell...a lot of people share those sentiments. :)
- pvg 17y agoI doubt anyone will be agog at concepts as mushy as 'democracy'. Few people read history and exclaim 'feudalism? who ordered that?'. We tend to be surprised at technological advances that somehow failed to be exploited despite their, in retrospect, obvious value. The first inventions of things like gunpowder, movable type and apparently mechanical gears fall under that category. By that token, future-people are might stare at us in disbelief of the less-than-optimal use we made of, say, packet-switched networks or the radio spectrum.
- Alex3917 17y agoAccording to the Wikipedia article on the library of Alexandria, Carl Sagan was basically full of shit. (I'm assuming you're talking about the last episode of Cosmos.)
- J3L2404 17y agoI believe he was referring to the Christians dragging the female mathematician Hypatia to her death, which is sometimes associated with the sacking of the library at Alexandria, as she was also the Head Librarian.
- jacquesm 17y agoAccording to the wikipedia article the above out-of-context and possibly misremembered quote is full of shit. Without having a transcript of that particular cosmos episode I would not go so far as to say Sagan was full of shit. Do you have it ? Is that a literal quote ?
- wisty 17y agoWhen the next civilization finds the flag on the moon, perhaps they will say the same thing.
- yannis 17y agoSo when the mobs came to burn the place down no one was there to stop them. Hmm.. there were no mobs involved, the first destruction is attributed to Caesar at around 48BC. I appears that the library was then rebuild and destroyed again in 648AD ... Burning and destruction of the Library of Alexandria was reported to be the first act of sacking after Amr ibn al 'Aas forces entered the city. It was also said that the Library's collection was still substantial enough at this late date to provide six months' worth of fuel for the baths. From (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Alexandria http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Alexandria)
- daniel-cussen 17y agoBut weapons...they can sometimes be progress. Take gunpowder. It is said that gunpowder made the infantryman, and the infantryman made the democrat.
- cema 17y agoNot in Ancient Greece.