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> some ancients almost lost their minds due to this new development Platus lived 254 – 184 BC. Sundials are from 1500BC. While it's a great quote, it certainly
by verbify 1y ago
> some ancients almost lost their minds due to this new development
Platus lived 254 – 184 BC. Sundials are from 1500BC. While it's a great quote, it certainly wasn't a new invention when he wrote it.
- eschulz 1y agoBeing invented doesn't mean that they became commonly used. Many ancient inventions took thousands of years to rollout and be adopted by the vast majority of humans.
- mitthrowaway2 1y agoPerhaps, but the quote also doesn't read to me like someone ranting about a new invention, just one that he wished had never been invented. Just like I might find myself occasionally cursing whoever invented the idea of an office building, even though it predates me.
- verbify 1y agoSure, but is there anything in that quote that suggests it's a reaction to new technology rather than just a rumination on existing technology?
- xandrius 1y agoYep, they definitely could have bought it from Amazon.
- inglor_cz 1y agoThe Mediterranean was a tightly connected civilizational region, so if a certain invention was in use anywhere, it would spread at the speed of a sailing ship to the rest of the coast. Already prior to the rise of the Roman Empire, there was a massive network of Phoenician and Greek colonies that would trade with one another constantly, from Cadiz to the Levant. The sea was a highway to them. Amazon did not exist, but cunning merchants absolutely did, and they knew how to make money by selling attractive goods.
- bee_rider 1y agoI don’t really get what this comment is suggesting. It is seemingly sarcastic, because obviously Amazon didn’t exist at the time. But Amazon didn’t invent the concept of long distance trade…
- noosphr 1y agoElectric cars were invented in 1881 a full 4 years before the first internal combustion car.
- whaleofatw2022 1y agoKinda interesting to ask what would have gone different if the infrastructure was in place to make electric cars 'good enough' as far as charging infrastructure.
- ben_w 1y agoAs I understand it, the core problem back then was the batteries would mass half the car and lose a third of their maximum capacity in just 500 charging cycles. Back when cars were new, there was no infrastructure for petrol either, that was something you got in tiny quantities from a pharmacy. (The diesel engine can run on vegetable oil, but I don't think Mr Rudolf Diesel himself ever did that?)
- UncleSlacky 1y agoDiesel did use peanut oil, though only after someone else showed that it was possible: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Diesel#Use_of_vegetable_oils_as_diesel_engine_fuel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Diesel#Use_of_vegetable...
- ben_w 1y agoNice find, I missed that.
- userbinator 1y agoThe batteries of the time were far less energy-dense and charged slowly. Lead-acid was the norm for EVs.
- kjs3 1y agoInfrastructure requires demand, and energy density and convenience of a contemporary battery versus gas engine means that no one was going to demand batteries when ICE was an option. We only figured the downside much later.
- WalterBright 1y agoUsing a vertical stick to track the sun's position goes back much, much further.