Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Nest
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
[OT] How much of history do we really know?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Tilla the Hun (work)" data-source="post: 1197843" data-attributes="member: 14214"><p>It is a bit broad of a brush to paint - but generally speaking it's the trend in the modern world to develop a theory, then bash on anyone with contrary data or standpoint.</p><p></p><p>Case in point - the sphinx question. The reason the geologist didn't publish much (from his own mouth) was because he didn't want to take a formal stance on the subject that might impact his geologist career.</p><p></p><p>The majority of the opposition debunking his findings are egyptologists. The majority of those supporting his position are geologists and paleogeologists.</p><p></p><p></p><p>But this is only a case in point. Many of today's so-called scientists (or historians) latch onto a theory and defend it even in light of potential contrary data. It's not until a a pile of contrary data piles up that they change their viewpoint.</p><p></p><p>Different case in point: Research one of the first archies that found burial sites near the great pyramids. He 1) leapt immediately to the conclusion these were the builders (later recanted his position, but only after stubbornly sticking to it for along time) and 2) his method of dating one grave to another wos solely by comparing the roughness of the craftsmanship of artifacts between the two. </p><p></p><p>There's so many flaws with that approach that I'll not detail them. However - due to his 'prestige' and his 'adamant' defense of his datings, his was the commonly accepted date for the majority of the graves, his process was the one used from his time period (late 1800's) to the mid 1900's, and was applied to a variety of sites. Also, his conclusions were used as a starting assumption by several other archies that came along later.</p><p></p><p>The problem? If an ancient egyptian was buried, his household goods were buried with him - if he was poor, those were of poor quality, if he was well-off, these were of greater quality. It had very little to do with actual temporal positioning in the time stream!</p><p></p><p>Yet it took nearly a hundred years for sufficient data to pile up before the 'scientists' agreed to the mistake. Even so, it crops up now and then even in today's modern world of scientists.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Now, I know I'm painting a broad brush. Probably broader than I should. But the problem has been on the increase, not staying them 'per capita' as one put it earlier. However, there is still some hope for the future...</p><p></p><p>Between 1999 and 2001, it was stated clearly that frozen mammoth would never yield enough DNA to reconstruct a mammoth via genetic engineering.</p><p></p><p>In 2002, a Russian expedition recovered enough genetic material to state that they would make the attempt. Scientists made a conclusion, found contrary evidence, and changed their position immediately.</p><p></p><p>All I am trying to say is that there is far too much acceptance of bare facts without question in the modern world. As much as we do it, scientists are as well. Do you question this increase over time? If so, I'll point you at the general attitude of the renaissance scientists, compare it to the greek philosophers (the grandfathers of modern science), and then compare it to the modern day scientist. There's a lot less fundamental questioning today than there used to be.</p><p></p><p>In the example of the multiple lies as you grew up - granted it was wrong of them to lie, but how often did you question the fact and ask for proof?</p><p></p><p>Did you ask how Christopher Columbus, with only moderate experience at actually navigating on the sea, managed to lie to three whole ship crews of veteran sailors and captains who'd been navigating ships their whole lives and convince them they had not sailed as far as they thought??</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Tilla the Hun (work), post: 1197843, member: 14214"] It is a bit broad of a brush to paint - but generally speaking it's the trend in the modern world to develop a theory, then bash on anyone with contrary data or standpoint. Case in point - the sphinx question. The reason the geologist didn't publish much (from his own mouth) was because he didn't want to take a formal stance on the subject that might impact his geologist career. The majority of the opposition debunking his findings are egyptologists. The majority of those supporting his position are geologists and paleogeologists. But this is only a case in point. Many of today's so-called scientists (or historians) latch onto a theory and defend it even in light of potential contrary data. It's not until a a pile of contrary data piles up that they change their viewpoint. Different case in point: Research one of the first archies that found burial sites near the great pyramids. He 1) leapt immediately to the conclusion these were the builders (later recanted his position, but only after stubbornly sticking to it for along time) and 2) his method of dating one grave to another wos solely by comparing the roughness of the craftsmanship of artifacts between the two. There's so many flaws with that approach that I'll not detail them. However - due to his 'prestige' and his 'adamant' defense of his datings, his was the commonly accepted date for the majority of the graves, his process was the one used from his time period (late 1800's) to the mid 1900's, and was applied to a variety of sites. Also, his conclusions were used as a starting assumption by several other archies that came along later. The problem? If an ancient egyptian was buried, his household goods were buried with him - if he was poor, those were of poor quality, if he was well-off, these were of greater quality. It had very little to do with actual temporal positioning in the time stream! Yet it took nearly a hundred years for sufficient data to pile up before the 'scientists' agreed to the mistake. Even so, it crops up now and then even in today's modern world of scientists. Now, I know I'm painting a broad brush. Probably broader than I should. But the problem has been on the increase, not staying them 'per capita' as one put it earlier. However, there is still some hope for the future... Between 1999 and 2001, it was stated clearly that frozen mammoth would never yield enough DNA to reconstruct a mammoth via genetic engineering. In 2002, a Russian expedition recovered enough genetic material to state that they would make the attempt. Scientists made a conclusion, found contrary evidence, and changed their position immediately. All I am trying to say is that there is far too much acceptance of bare facts without question in the modern world. As much as we do it, scientists are as well. Do you question this increase over time? If so, I'll point you at the general attitude of the renaissance scientists, compare it to the greek philosophers (the grandfathers of modern science), and then compare it to the modern day scientist. There's a lot less fundamental questioning today than there used to be. In the example of the multiple lies as you grew up - granted it was wrong of them to lie, but how often did you question the fact and ask for proof? Did you ask how Christopher Columbus, with only moderate experience at actually navigating on the sea, managed to lie to three whole ship crews of veteran sailors and captains who'd been navigating ships their whole lives and convince them they had not sailed as far as they thought?? [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
[OT] How much of history do we really know?
Top