societal advances smackdown (0-1750 AD vs 1751 AD- present)

[sugarpop]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Bullshit, they were just the rudimentary beginnings of all those sciences, stuff we teach grade school kids. They were far from developing the sciences we have even though they named them. Their biggest shortcoming is they only shared their knowledge with a few of their fellow noble class students, that's why when the libraries were lost the knowledge was lost, except the stuff people were using.

Oh I don't think so. Especially today. Even some high school graduates don't know what Vietnam was, much less would they be able to understand Plato, or the mathematics involved in the architecture of the pyramids, or the strategic art of war that was developed by Sun Tzu. They probably couldn't even find Greece on a map. Please. It's embarrassing.

Today at least the basics are presented to any kid exposed to the school system, and much more for any kid that wants it. Do you think if something "drastic" happened you would forget your trade? Why would anyone else? Public education did more to advance this country than any particular science. Reading, writing, and arithmetic for everyone, made it possible for people to operate a business and to educate themselves in any field that interested them. You know, actually use those libraries.

I'm not saying the developments we've made aren't important, or extreme, I'm saying, I don't think most of you are giving enough credit where credit is due. The ancient world allowed us to get where we are.

As far as the school system goes, I would have agreed with you a few years ago, but not anymore. We have one of the worst education systems in the free world, and even in the not-so-free world. I know someone who works in the school system here, and it's atrocious. We are like 35th and 29th in math and science in the world. We are behind some developing nations. And english? Forget about it. Have you heard the way kids speak today? And many libraries have lost a lot of their funding. Personally, I think human beings are devolving. Not everyone, but it certainly seems to me that the average person is much denser today than they were 20 years ago. Seriously. They aren't even interested in learning anything important or expanding their knowledge or intelligence. Maybe I'm just jaded, or maybe it's where I live (people out west certainly didn't fit that description), but I'm not kidding.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by sugarpop

Oh I don't think so. Especially today. Even some high school graduates don't know what Vietnam was, much less would they be able to understand Plato, or the mathematics involved in the architecture of the pyramids, or the strategic art of war that was developed by Sun Tzu. They probably couldn't even find Greece on a map. Please. It's embarrassing.

And some can't tie their shoes. So what? It's impossible to make every kid want to learn, you can only offer the oportunity... readin', 'ritin' & 'rithmatic... the important thing is to offer it to everyone, not just the rich kid scholars like in early Greece.

[sugarpop]

I know. And I'm not trying to be argumentative. I'm just trying to point out how advanced some of those earlier cultures were. You said they just had the rudimentary beginnings of all those sciences, stuff we teach grade school kids. I don't agree with you and gave some examples of why I don't agree with you. You also said, They were far from developing the sciences we have even though they named them. And while I agree with that to a certain degree, it probably isn't to the same degree that you believe it. For instance, I agree we have, over time, built upon the scientific principles they founded. I do not agree that the science and math they discovered was only rudimentary, and stuff we teach children. If that were true, they never would have been able to build pyramids and cathedrals and other things they accomplished in the ancient world. Some of the military strategy we used today is based on anceint principles. Our form of goverment is based at least in some part on that of ancient Rome and Greece.