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Well, in the 3rd century BCE, Eratothenes calculated a fairly accurate circumference of the earth. I don't know how widely accepted this measurement was, but,
by douche 11y ago
Well, in the 3rd century BCE, Eratothenes calculated a fairly accurate circumference of the earth. I don't know how widely accepted this measurement was, but, given that measurement, and the general distribution of land vs ocean observed by the ancients, it's not a huge stretch to assume that there must be something out there on the other side of the world. Some of the early world maps were remarkably accurate, at least for the areas that were well-known to the geographers, even given the very limited tools at their disposal[1].
There's also the curious case of the apparent Roman-era shipwreck that was discovered off the coast of Brazil[2]. It's a little tinfoil-hatty, and possibly a hoax, but it is interesting.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_world_maps https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_world_maps
[2] http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread1042040/pg1 http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread1042040/pg1
- Jonathanks 11y agoThere are similar accounts in that book and it all seemed not-so-extraordinary until I got to the accounts of maps that described features of Antarctica. Whether it's true or a hoax, the human mind is amazing. The book contains accounts of evidence of tides of human civilization: planned cities in Pakistan, well-developed waste management systems, advanced ship building and navigation (for the time they lived), possible advances in weapons and warfare, including nuclear weapons (evidence in an Indian desert and writings describing a nuclear explosion), writings describing space travel and some other marvels of the ancient world.
- losteric 11y ago> planned cities in Pakistan, well-developed waste management systems, advanced ship building, [...] nuclear weapons One of these is not like the other...
- euyyn 11y ago> the general distribution of land vs ocean observed by the ancients Nobody had crossed the Ocean Sea before. So if they were reasonable enough, they'd understand that the general distribution of land vs ocean they were seeing relied on them standing on the land part (vs in the middle of a potentially empty Ocean).