4 ms·

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

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.

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.