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One important tangent from this and the other ancient wonders is the peril of proprietary information. How much earlier might humanity have achieved calculus,

One important tangent from this and the other ancient wonders is the peril of proprietary information. How much earlier might humanity have achieved calculus, flight, transistors, &c if important knowledge wasn't confined to priesthoods and artisans? Don't let the know-how pass with you, say I.

jl6 4y ago
I don’t think the ancients were altogether different from us when it comes to protecting trade secrets. Innovations of military or economic value were kept secret to preserve an advantage, and they still are today. I also don’t think there’s a slam dunk answer to whether innovation is spurred more by the profit motive inherent in the proprietary approach, or by the widespread enablement of the high-openness approach.
- KineticLensman 4y ago
  Yes. Secrecy associated with silk manufacture is a great example [0]. [0].
  - account-5 4y ago
    Unsure if you missed pasting the link, or you're being ironic...
    - turtleyacht 4y ago
      This is amazing: denote empty citations as an alernate to the terminating sarcasm tag (/s). It's probably even more explicit, and we are forced to charity by the absence of reference. Imagine what wonders the wandering of undeclared references shall do to a mind numbly scrolling through comments; forced to pause, and brief attention focused on the fitting of a slotted thought.
- smitty1e 4y ago
  The historical record seems to show a great deal of knowledge being obtained, then lost. Knowledge transfer ain't bean-bag.
achrono 4y ago
Calculus, flight, transistors etc. were not delayed because of knowledge being confined, but because of knowledge being persecuted.
- smitty1e 4y ago
  (a) Both can be among the causes for slow knowledge growth (b) The past tense is by no means in order where persecution is concerned.
  - achrono 4y ago
    Sure, agreed with (a) in general that they both can be causes of decline, but in the specific case of this post, it is amply clear that the wide range of intellectual areas that ancient Greece excelled in (with barely a parallel) was radically narrowed and almost destroyed due to persecution of this knowledge rather than it being restricted to the elite. I don't understand what you're trying to say with (b).
    - smitty1e 4y ago
      (a) Euclid and Pythagoras have surviving writings, but the physical applications were lost. (b) Look at the scientists trying to view Covid accurately.

jl6 4y ago

I don’t think the ancients were altogether different from us when it comes to protecting trade secrets. Innovations of military or economic value were kept secret to preserve an advantage, and they still are today. I also don’t think there’s a slam dunk answer to whether innovation is spurred more by the profit motive inherent in the proprietary approach, or by the widespread enablement of the high-openness approach.

KineticLensman 4y ago
Yes. Secrecy associated with silk manufacture is a great example [0]. [0].
- account-5 4y ago
  Unsure if you missed pasting the link, or you're being ironic...
  - turtleyacht 4y ago
    This is amazing: denote empty citations as an alernate to the terminating sarcasm tag (/s). It's probably even more explicit, and we are forced to charity by the absence of reference. Imagine what wonders the wandering of undeclared references shall do to a mind numbly scrolling through comments; forced to pause, and brief attention focused on the fitting of a slotted thought.
smitty1e 4y ago
The historical record seems to show a great deal of knowledge being obtained, then lost. Knowledge transfer ain't bean-bag.

achrono 4y ago

Calculus, flight, transistors etc. were not delayed because of knowledge being confined, but because of knowledge being persecuted.

smitty1e 4y ago
(a) Both can be among the causes for slow knowledge growth (b) The past tense is by no means in order where persecution is concerned.
- achrono 4y ago
  Sure, agreed with (a) in general that they both can be causes of decline, but in the specific case of this post, it is amply clear that the wide range of intellectual areas that ancient Greece excelled in (with barely a parallel) was radically narrowed and almost destroyed due to persecution of this knowledge rather than it being restricted to the elite. I don't understand what you're trying to say with (b).
  - smitty1e 4y ago
    (a) Euclid and Pythagoras have surviving writings, but the physical applications were lost. (b) Look at the scientists trying to view Covid accurately.