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>It’s unclear if civilization started because we could ferment things, or we started fermenting things and therefore civilization started... Wait, aren't those

by qzw 7y ago

>It’s unclear if civilization started because we could ferment things, or we started fermenting things and therefore civilization started... Wait, aren't those two ways of saying the same thing? I would think the alternative would be "or civilization started and therefore we could ferment things."

valarauko 7y ago
>Wait, aren't those two ways of saying the same thing? Yup. Both posit causality from fermentation -> civilization.
- qzw 7y ago
  I suspect the second part was supposed to read "or we started fermenting things because civilization started..."
  - davidw 7y ago
    Maybe we're a little fuzzy from too much fermented stuff.
RobertoG 7y ago
It's a strange sentence anyway. I suppose he calls civilization to the Neolithic, so civilization started with agriculture, and with agriculture you have something to ferment (and more people trying different things). Doesn't look so mysterious to me.
- SilasX 7y ago
  You can have something to ferment before you're growing it yourself: take the fruits (or whatever) growing in nature.