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Has technology made us lose any capabilities so far? Everywhere I look there is someone preserving 16th century cave painting techniques or hand tanning beaver

by jf22 1y ago

Has technology made us lose any capabilities so far? Everywhere I look there is someone preserving 16th century cave painting techniques or hand tanning beavers and then writing guides that surpass whatever knowledge there was centuries ago.

sejje 1y ago
I'm kind-of into old techniques and crafting styles. I live in the forest, so it kind of lends itself to that. I agree with you. I have piles of books detailing very old crafts like processing game, tanning hides, trapping, hunting. Knapping stone tools, weaving baskets, raising pole barns, distilling whiskey at home, making clothes, mending clothes, herbal/wild medicines. The foxfire books being a great example of how we preserve this knowledge. Almost anything modern we've learned is going to be well-documented IMO. We may not be referencing those documents any longer, but they exist, and will exist for a long time. And also agree that modern methods tend to be better, or at least the best version of the old methods is widely known, thanks to youtube etc. Primitive Technology on youtube, for instance, was able to launch himself into the iron age without bringing any modern tools along. But the access to modern informational sources makes him a primitive powerhouse.
MeetingsBrowser 1y ago
> Everywhere I look there is someone preserving ... You don't know what you don't know. Just because you know of some things being preserved doesn't mean all knowledge is being preserved. For example, the US has lost its ability to do all sorts of manufacturing. Businesses don't tend to document internal processes publicly. As those businesses die out and the people who worked for them retire, there is no one left to pass the skills along. That's why the Army always keeps one tank factory open. So the knowledge and skills are not lost.
- jf22 1y ago
  Yeah but if the US wanted to make a tank it would make a tank. The knowledge isn't in practice but not lost. We still know how to weld steel and built turrets. I mean the full schematics of tanks are available online. I'm not as worried about "business processes" dying. Who cares how Freddy does submits his TPS report.
  - MeetingsBrowser 1y ago
    I didn’t mean business processes, but the actual knowledge on how to do something. Saying we know how to weld so we can build a tank is like saying we know C++ so we can build a new unreal engine. If epic games went out of business, and no one worked on game engines for 30+ years, the knowledge would be lost. Even if the source code or “schematics” are available. You need to know why things are the way they are, why decisions were made, what the limitations are, etc.
    - jf22 1y ago
      What I mean is the base knowledge and components are still there that make building a thing possible. If nobody built a game engine in 30 years we could still build another game engine. Knowledge will be "lost" but the capability is still here.

by jf22 1y ago

sejje 1y ago

I'm kind-of into old techniques and crafting styles. I live in the forest, so it kind of lends itself to that. I agree with you. I have piles of books detailing very old crafts like processing game, tanning hides, trapping, hunting. Knapping stone tools, weaving baskets, raising pole barns, distilling whiskey at home, making clothes, mending clothes, herbal/wild medicines. The foxfire books being a great example of how we preserve this knowledge. Almost anything modern we've learned is going to be well-documented IMO. We may not be referencing those documents any longer, but they exist, and will exist for a long time. And also agree that modern methods tend to be better, or at least the best version of the old methods is widely known, thanks to youtube etc. Primitive Technology on youtube, for instance, was able to launch himself into the iron age without bringing any modern tools along. But the access to modern informational sources makes him a primitive powerhouse.

MeetingsBrowser 1y ago

> Everywhere I look there is someone preserving ... You don't know what you don't know. Just because you know of some things being preserved doesn't mean all knowledge is being preserved. For example, the US has lost its ability to do all sorts of manufacturing. Businesses don't tend to document internal processes publicly. As those businesses die out and the people who worked for them retire, there is no one left to pass the skills along. That's why the Army always keeps one tank factory open. So the knowledge and skills are not lost.

jf22 1y ago
Yeah but if the US wanted to make a tank it would make a tank. The knowledge isn't in practice but not lost. We still know how to weld steel and built turrets. I mean the full schematics of tanks are available online. I'm not as worried about "business processes" dying. Who cares how Freddy does submits his TPS report.
- MeetingsBrowser 1y ago
  I didn’t mean business processes, but the actual knowledge on how to do something. Saying we know how to weld so we can build a tank is like saying we know C++ so we can build a new unreal engine. If epic games went out of business, and no one worked on game engines for 30+ years, the knowledge would be lost. Even if the source code or “schematics” are available. You need to know why things are the way they are, why decisions were made, what the limitations are, etc.
  - jf22 1y ago
    What I mean is the base knowledge and components are still there that make building a thing possible. If nobody built a game engine in 30 years we could still build another game engine. Knowledge will be "lost" but the capability is still here.