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I always assumed that it was more a case of behavior selection: Yes, people did drink water frequently, but those societies and groups that regularly consumed
by niemandhier 1y ago
I always assumed that it was more a case of behavior selection:
Yes, people did drink water frequently, but those societies and groups that regularly consumed fermented drinks like wine or beer, had on average a lower chance of consuming polluted water.
As a result behavior that favored drinking slightly alcoholic drinks became more widespread by selection.
This doesn’t require that people actually knew their water sources were polluted.
- wat10000 1y agoThis is basically the argument for respecting and following traditions even if nobody can explain why they're done.
- clickety_clack 1y agoI’ve become a lot more circumspect about pushing through Chesterton fences as I’ve gained more experience in life. I used to believe that we could determine a basis for most decisions from first principles. However, that requires a level of complete a priori knowledge that’s simply unattainable except for extremely niche situations.