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> So I think "as far as the 70s" is fairly misleading As far as the 70s refers to efforts to create whiter and more reflective paint.

deleted 4y ago
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nomel 4y ago
This assumes that the white paint, used on those houses, had an unrelated use, and was never improved in the context of the purpose of why the paint was applied. This doesn’t seem like a safe assumption, with the intent required to keep it going for so long.
- D13Fd 4y ago
  In context it’s pretty clear they are talking about modern efforts rather than historical ones.
- Vt71fcAqt7 4y ago
  It only assumes that a new paint was never created in the context of the purpose of why paint was applied, more accurately, which is possible. The article doesn't know, and I don't think you know either out of hand. That's why it reads "as far back as the 1970s."
  - uoaei 4y ago
    Yours is a bald-faced assumption that humans aren't constantly innovating on existing technologies. You demand evidence in place of such assumption. Yours appears to me to be a view that is very strange not to extend back beyond the 1970s. We know how people work, in societies, at this broad-stroke level. This level of pedantry gets us nowhere.
    - Vt71fcAqt7 4y ago
      >Yours is a bald-faced assumption that humans aren't constantly innovating on existing technologies. No it isn't. Mine is an asumption that "white" was just a color before we understood what light is, which doesn't happen until centuries later. Searching for ways to produce "the whitest paint" is unrealisric given that we are talking about objects that reflect invisible light here. Not "white" the color. And there is also a difference between using something and creating something for that purpose. Saying that scientists are now searching for the whitest paint does not imply that nobody was using white paint before. >This level of pedantry gets us nowhere. It gets us to the question of whether ancient societies looked for ways to produce paint that reflect more light in order to prevent heat absoption which is what has been hapening since at least 1970.
  - dmitriid 4y ago
    Paint as science, especially in the context of "we need a newer better paint with better reflective properties and whiter than white" is a very, very modern idea. Light and color weren't scientific concepts until basically Newton. And then you needed significant advances in chemistry, optics etc. to even begin measuring and thinking about such mundane things as application of color to house exteriors.
    - nomel 4y ago
      > Light and color weren't scientific concepts until basically Newton. Yet, any child knows that stepping on black asphalt burns your feet. The conclusion that "less dark means less heat" is trivial. I think it's odd that people think so little of the members past civilizations, with brains no different than ours.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

nomel 4y ago

This assumes that the white paint, used on those houses, had an unrelated use, and was never improved in the context of the purpose of why the paint was applied. This doesn’t seem like a safe assumption, with the intent required to keep it going for so long.

D13Fd 4y ago
In context it’s pretty clear they are talking about modern efforts rather than historical ones.
Vt71fcAqt7 4y ago
It only assumes that a new paint was never created in the context of the purpose of why paint was applied, more accurately, which is possible. The article doesn't know, and I don't think you know either out of hand. That's why it reads "as far back as the 1970s."
- uoaei 4y ago
  Yours is a bald-faced assumption that humans aren't constantly innovating on existing technologies. You demand evidence in place of such assumption. Yours appears to me to be a view that is very strange not to extend back beyond the 1970s. We know how people work, in societies, at this broad-stroke level. This level of pedantry gets us nowhere.
  - Vt71fcAqt7 4y ago
    >Yours is a bald-faced assumption that humans aren't constantly innovating on existing technologies. No it isn't. Mine is an asumption that "white" was just a color before we understood what light is, which doesn't happen until centuries later. Searching for ways to produce "the whitest paint" is unrealisric given that we are talking about objects that reflect invisible light here. Not "white" the color. And there is also a difference between using something and creating something for that purpose. Saying that scientists are now searching for the whitest paint does not imply that nobody was using white paint before. >This level of pedantry gets us nowhere. It gets us to the question of whether ancient societies looked for ways to produce paint that reflect more light in order to prevent heat absoption which is what has been hapening since at least 1970.
- dmitriid 4y ago
  Paint as science, especially in the context of "we need a newer better paint with better reflective properties and whiter than white" is a very, very modern idea. Light and color weren't scientific concepts until basically Newton. And then you needed significant advances in chemistry, optics etc. to even begin measuring and thinking about such mundane things as application of color to house exteriors.
  - nomel 4y ago
    > Light and color weren't scientific concepts until basically Newton. Yet, any child knows that stepping on black asphalt burns your feet. The conclusion that "less dark means less heat" is trivial. I think it's odd that people think so little of the members past civilizations, with brains no different than ours.