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<blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 7396724" data-attributes="member: 22779">It's kinda funny.&nbsp; I have no idea how to knap flint.&nbsp; I don't.&nbsp; Never done it.&nbsp; A neolithic farmer certainly would have that knowledge.&nbsp; However, there's a bit that's being ignored.&nbsp; I DO know what knapping flint is, and, in a very broad way (you whack one rock with another) have some idea how it might be done.Flip it around, and that neolithic farmer would have zero ability to conceptualize even the most basic elements of my life. I could, through trial and error (and hopefully before I starved to death) figure out how to knap flint.&nbsp; That neolithic farmer will never be able to conceptualize writing his name.&nbsp; He simply has no way to get there.So, I'm really rather confused by the notion that earlier peoples actually had more knowledge than modern people.&nbsp; How could they?&nbsp; Sure, they might be able to produce Damascus steel, fair enough.&nbsp; But, modern peoples can produce a hundred different things from titanium alloys to fidget spinners that they couldn't begin to conceptualize.&nbsp; And while we might not know exactly how they produced Damascus steel, we do know that it can be done and we know what it is.&nbsp; They wouldn't have the first clue what teflon is, nor how to produce it.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Hussar, post: 7396724, member: 22779"] It's kinda funny. I have no idea how to knap flint. I don't. Never done it. A neolithic farmer certainly would have that knowledge. However, there's a bit that's being ignored. I DO know what knapping flint is, and, in a very broad way (you whack one rock with another) have some idea how it might be done. Flip it around, and that neolithic farmer would have zero ability to conceptualize even the most basic elements of my life. I could, through trial and error (and hopefully before I starved to death) figure out how to knap flint. That neolithic farmer will never be able to conceptualize writing his name. He simply has no way to get there. So, I'm really rather confused by the notion that earlier peoples actually had more knowledge than modern people. How could they? Sure, they might be able to produce Damascus steel, fair enough. But, modern peoples can produce a hundred different things from titanium alloys to fidget spinners that they couldn't begin to conceptualize. And while we might not know exactly how they produced Damascus steel, we do know that it can be done and we know what it is. They wouldn't have the first clue what teflon is, nor how to produce it. [/QUOTE]

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