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This is a line of thinking that wanders away from intellectual curiosity and into intellectual madness. You're describing a process that would somehow "undo" mi

This is a line of thinking that wanders away from intellectual curiosity and into intellectual madness. You're describing a process that would somehow "undo" micro- and macro-scopic effects and chemistry in rock and ice records around the world -- including those on the ocean floor -- without, itself, leaving any trace. It would be like peeling the skin off an onion, running that layer through a food processor, and then delicately gluing it all back on, and not being able to tell the difference under a microscope. That's wizard wand technology, not fusion.

dragonwriter 6y ago
> This is a line of thinking that wanders away from intellectual curiosity and into intellectual madness. When we’re talking about the prospects of a more advanced human civilization in a time from which we have artifacts (but, obviously, not ones that are more obviously advanced than standing stones into which people read improbable histories), if you aren't going to lean hard into intellectual madness, what's the point? > That's wizard wand technology I prefer “sufficiently advanced” to “wizard wand”, but the former is, as they say, indistinguishable from the latter.
- thaumaturgy 6y ago
  Heh. I tend to pretty rapidly lose interest in subjects when they go from "huh, that's kinda neat" to young-adult fantasy storytime. It's a mental self-defense against the kinds of ideas that sneak up on clever people and trick them into believing dumb things.
  - dmix 6y ago
    This sort of historical fantasy is surprisingly rampant. From History channel pushing 'ancient astronauts' to the founder of the 1619 NYTimes project writing an article claiming African people were helping mesoamerican Aztecs build pyramids and the Olmec stone heads - predating the arrival of Columbus and the Europeans [1]. I'm always skeptical of any sort of hidden ancient advanced culture claims. The capabilities of bored humans over an extended hundreds/thousand year timescales is always underrated. Even without modern technology trading and just the night sky to be inspired by. Same the complex earthworks and manipulations of the environment created by indigenous Americans which is the thesis of 1491 book [2]. Or even in the complex large scale network of Eel farming in by natives in South Australia which surprised the European explorers [3]. Or even how Convergent evolution works in nature. [1] https://www.scribd.com/document/466921269/NYT-s-1619-Project-Founder-Calls-White-Race-Barbaric-Devils-Bloodsuckers-No-Different-Than-Hitler-x#from_embed https://www.scribd.com/document/466921269/NYT-s-1619-Project... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1491:_New_Revelations_of_the_Americas_Before_Columbus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1491:_New_Revelations_of_the_A... [3] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/23/budj-bim-indigenous-eel-trap-site-on-verge-of-world-heritage-listing https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/23/budj-bim...
  - partyboat1586 6y ago
    You can consider the ideas without accepting them as true. You don't need a self defence. Feed your imagination and it feeds creativity.
mc32 6y ago
It sounds like children’s magic wand thinking. Convert all trash into its pure elements. Take chemical elements and transform into magic city, etc. It’s fantastic but not based on reality.

dragonwriter 6y ago

> This is a line of thinking that wanders away from intellectual curiosity and into intellectual madness. When we’re talking about the prospects of a more advanced human civilization in a time from which we have artifacts (but, obviously, not ones that are more obviously advanced than standing stones into which people read improbable histories), if you aren't going to lean hard into intellectual madness, what's the point? > That's wizard wand technology I prefer “sufficiently advanced” to “wizard wand”, but the former is, as they say, indistinguishable from the latter.

thaumaturgy 6y ago
Heh. I tend to pretty rapidly lose interest in subjects when they go from "huh, that's kinda neat" to young-adult fantasy storytime. It's a mental self-defense against the kinds of ideas that sneak up on clever people and trick them into believing dumb things.
- dmix 6y ago
  This sort of historical fantasy is surprisingly rampant. From History channel pushing 'ancient astronauts' to the founder of the 1619 NYTimes project writing an article claiming African people were helping mesoamerican Aztecs build pyramids and the Olmec stone heads - predating the arrival of Columbus and the Europeans [1]. I'm always skeptical of any sort of hidden ancient advanced culture claims. The capabilities of bored humans over an extended hundreds/thousand year timescales is always underrated. Even without modern technology trading and just the night sky to be inspired by. Same the complex earthworks and manipulations of the environment created by indigenous Americans which is the thesis of 1491 book [2]. Or even in the complex large scale network of Eel farming in by natives in South Australia which surprised the European explorers [3]. Or even how Convergent evolution works in nature. [1] https://www.scribd.com/document/466921269/NYT-s-1619-Project-Founder-Calls-White-Race-Barbaric-Devils-Bloodsuckers-No-Different-Than-Hitler-x#from_embed https://www.scribd.com/document/466921269/NYT-s-1619-Project... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1491:_New_Revelations_of_the_Americas_Before_Columbus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1491:_New_Revelations_of_the_A... [3] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/23/budj-bim-indigenous-eel-trap-site-on-verge-of-world-heritage-listing https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/23/budj-bim...
- partyboat1586 6y ago
  You can consider the ideas without accepting them as true. You don't need a self defence. Feed your imagination and it feeds creativity.

mc32 6y ago

It sounds like children’s magic wand thinking. Convert all trash into its pure elements. Take chemical elements and transform into magic city, etc. It’s fantastic but not based on reality.