4 ms·

> The Western urge for constantly rethinking and reevaluating history and traditions, for innovations in art and science, does not lead to an inherently stable

> The Western urge for constantly rethinking and reevaluating history and traditions, for innovations in art and science, does not lead to an inherently stable society in the long run that spans across centuries. A stable society that spans centuries can stagnate. See Imperial China and Japan before Admiral Perry showed up. In 1600, the Chinese (and Moghul India) were probably more advanced than Europe in many respects, but there seemed to be little to no desire for further development. The telescope, which kicked off a revolution in the West, was basically ignored. When the Jesuits showed up in 1595, the China still thought that the Earth was flat: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_Earth#Ming_Dynasty_in_China https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_Earth#Ming_Dynasty_in_Chi... As science developed so did technology, and the European powers were able to basic steam roll over everyone else a century later.

anovikov 6y ago
Fantastic! Compare this utterly bullshit Chinese world "map" from 1609: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Sancai_Tuhui_World_Map.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Sancai_T... With Piri Reis map from 100 years before: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91XW2CEmU4L._AC_SL1500_.jpg https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91XW2CEmU4L... (which is a part of an atlas, picturing many areas of the world with literally amazing detail and precision) Granted, Piri Reis did an amazing job, even raising a few conspiracy theories on how he did it, but here is the fairly average European map of the world from 1609: https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3200.ct001217r/ https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3200.ct001217r/