3 ms·

> You would think we were more enlightened nowadays. Why? We're the same species.

dudul 3y ago
There is this strange pervasive myth that everyone who lived before current_year-20years was an idiotic barbarian and current society is peak human evolution.
- LudwigNagasena 3y ago
  The End of History.
- nobody9999 3y ago
  >There is this strange pervasive myth that everyone who lived before current_year-20years was an idiotic barbarian and current society is peak human evolution. Even just some cursory thought should put the lie to that. As Steven J. Gould ruminated[0] upon quite some time ago: ... But if we laugh with derision, we will never understand. Human intellectual capacity has not altered for thousands of years so far as we can tell. If intelligent people invested intense energy in issues that now seem foolish to us, then the failure lies in our understanding of their world, not in their distorted perceptions. Even the standard example of ancient nonsense -- the debate about angels on pinheads -- makes sense once you realize that theologians were not discussing whether five or eighteen would fit, but whether a pin could house a finite or an infinite number. -- S. J. Gould, "Wide Hats and Narrow Minds" [0] https://motd.ambians.com/quotes.php/name/freebsd_fortunes/toc_id/1-0-2/s/125 https://motd.ambians.com/quotes.php/name/freebsd_fortunes/to...
  - dudul 3y ago
    Whats a lie exactly? My claim that a lot of people (I guess you could call them "progressive") believe in this myth? Because the post above clearly shows that it is true.
    - nobody9999 3y ago
      Even just some cursory thought should put the lie[0] to [such a myth]. My apologies. I forget that many folks on here aren't fluent in English. [0] https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/give+the+lie+to https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/give+the+lie+to
      - dudul 3y ago
        I consider myself fairly fluent in English after spending 15 years in the US, but thanks for the patronizing comment. I know the idiom, but [that] was ambiguous in your original comment.
        nobody9999 3y ago
        >I know the idiom, but [that] was ambiguous in your original comment. I thought (incorrectly, apparently) that was made clear by the context and quote. Perhaps you're not as fluent as you think. And you're welcome. I can be paternalistic as well as patronizing if you like.
      - jmholla 3y ago
        I am fluent in English and I have never heard that idiom before.
        nobody9999 3y ago
        >I am fluent in English and I have never heard that idiom before. In that case, congratulations![0]. Especially given that the idiom is more than 800 years[1] old. [0] https://xkcd.com/1053/ https://xkcd.com/1053/ [1] https://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/20/messages/794.html https://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/20/messages/794.ht... Edit: Removed superfluous comma.
tim333 3y ago
We have better tech. Printing presses, social media and the like. At least the sold into slavery thing is mostly over.
- onlyrealcuzzo 3y ago
  > At least the sold into slavery thing is mostly over. It's estimated that there are more slaves today than during the height of the Atlantic Slave Trade...

There is this strange pervasive myth that everyone who lived before current_year-20years was an idiotic barbarian and current society is peak human evolution.

LudwigNagasena 3y ago
The End of History.
nobody9999 3y ago
>There is this strange pervasive myth that everyone who lived before current_year-20years was an idiotic barbarian and current society is peak human evolution. Even just some cursory thought should put the lie to that. As Steven J. Gould ruminated[0] upon quite some time ago: ... But if we laugh with derision, we will never understand. Human intellectual capacity has not altered for thousands of years so far as we can tell. If intelligent people invested intense energy in issues that now seem foolish to us, then the failure lies in our understanding of their world, not in their distorted perceptions. Even the standard example of ancient nonsense -- the debate about angels on pinheads -- makes sense once you realize that theologians were not discussing whether five or eighteen would fit, but whether a pin could house a finite or an infinite number. -- S. J. Gould, "Wide Hats and Narrow Minds" [0] https://motd.ambians.com/quotes.php/name/freebsd_fortunes/toc_id/1-0-2/s/125 https://motd.ambians.com/quotes.php/name/freebsd_fortunes/to...
- dudul 3y ago
  Whats a lie exactly? My claim that a lot of people (I guess you could call them "progressive") believe in this myth? Because the post above clearly shows that it is true.
  - nobody9999 3y ago
    Even just some cursory thought should put the lie[0] to [such a myth]. My apologies. I forget that many folks on here aren't fluent in English. [0] https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/give+the+lie+to https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/give+the+lie+to
    - dudul 3y ago
      I consider myself fairly fluent in English after spending 15 years in the US, but thanks for the patronizing comment. I know the idiom, but [that] was ambiguous in your original comment.
      - nobody9999 3y ago
        >I know the idiom, but [that] was ambiguous in your original comment. I thought (incorrectly, apparently) that was made clear by the context and quote. Perhaps you're not as fluent as you think. And you're welcome. I can be paternalistic as well as patronizing if you like.
    - jmholla 3y ago
      I am fluent in English and I have never heard that idiom before.
      - nobody9999 3y ago
        >I am fluent in English and I have never heard that idiom before. In that case, congratulations![0]. Especially given that the idiom is more than 800 years[1] old. [0] https://xkcd.com/1053/ https://xkcd.com/1053/ [1] https://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/20/messages/794.html https://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/20/messages/794.ht... Edit: Removed superfluous comma.

tim333 3y ago

We have better tech. Printing presses, social media and the like. At least the sold into slavery thing is mostly over.

onlyrealcuzzo 3y ago
> At least the sold into slavery thing is mostly over. It's estimated that there are more slaves today than during the height of the Atlantic Slave Trade...