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Are you human?

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Are you human?

"Humans have a highly developed brain, capable of abstract reasoning, language, introspection, and problem solving. This mental capability, combined with an erect body carriage that frees the hands for manipulating objects, has allowed humans to make far greater use of tools than any other species. Mitochondrial DNA and fossil evidence indicates that modern humans originated in Africa about 200,000 years ago."

What do you think?

Why are we born to live at this point in time in human civilization? Are you not a bit skeptical? Perhaps there were human civilizations that have reached peak of knowledge and wisdom before us but have decided best not to pass it on to us.

@platorepublic,

platorepublic;159627 wrote:

Perhaps there were human civilizations that have reached peak of knowledge and wisdom before us but have decided best not to pass it on to us.

What kind of knowledge and wisdom might they have had?

Where are they now?

@TickTockMan,

TickTockMan;159648 wrote:

What kind of knowledge and wisdom might they have had?

Where are they now?

We would not know what they know - duh! If we did, then why would I make this thread!

Where are they? They might've left no traces on Earth and fled Earth at faster than light speed - who knows? Perhaps they killed themselves.

@platorepublic,

platorepublic;159652 wrote:

We would not know what they know - duh! If we did, then why would I make this thread!

Where are they? They might've left no traces on Earth and fled Earth at faster than light speed - who knows? Perhaps they killed themselves.

No, I meant, what type of knowledge and wisdom might they have had?
Technological? Literary? Spiritual?

If you have enough imagination to make this thread, surely you must have the
imagination to theorize what these vanished humans might have known?

@TickTockMan,

TickTockMan;159654 wrote:

No, I meant, what type of knowledge and wisdom might they have had?
Technological? Literary? Spiritual?

If you have enough imagination to make this thread, surely you must have the
imagination to theorize what these vanished humans might have known?

Well perhaps they have a type of knowledge that is unknown to us.

@platorepublic,

platorepublic;159662 wrote:

Well perhaps they have a type of knowledge that is unknown to us.

Okay. Why would they have chosen not to pass this type
of unknown knowledge on to us?

@TickTockMan,

TickTockMan;159665 wrote:

Okay. Why would they have chosen not to pass this type
of unknown knowledge on to us?

I could think of two:

(i) The knowledge was self-destructing, so there was no choice.

(ii) The knowledge was dangerous if used wrongly, and perhaps have been used wrongly before and wiped the whole of humanity.

@platorepublic,

platorepublic;159669 wrote:

I could think of two:

(i) The knowledge was self-destructing, so there was no choice

So who were they to decide for us?
And . . .

platorepublic;159669 wrote:

(ii) The knowledge was dangerous if used wrongly, and perhaps have been used wrongly before and wiped the whole of humanity.

. . . if the whole of humanity had been wiped out before, where did they come from?

And if they were so advanced, what were they doing mucking about with
such self-destructive knowledge? Maybe they weren't so advanced after
all.

@platorepublic,

platorepublic;159627 wrote:

Are you human?

"Humans have a highly developed brain, capable of abstract reasoning, language, introspection, and problem solving. This mental capability, combined with an erect body carriage that frees the hands for manipulating objects, has allowed humans to make far greater use of tools than any other species. Mitochondrial DNA and fossil evidence indicates that modern humans originated in Africa about 200,000 years ago."

It's more like ~20% of us who have a highly developed brain, rest are mere normal. We can teach eachothers to preform much greater feats if left to ourselves, just observe various continents through history, only very few would rise to a great civilization, with great architecture, great goverment, medical understanding ..etc.

platorepublic;159627 wrote:

What do you think?

Why are we born to live at this point in time in human civilization? Are you not a bit skeptical? Perhaps there were human civilizations that have reached peak of knowledge and wisdom before us but have decided best not to pass it on to us.

Yes I belive there has been some who reached almost peek knowledge in some areas, just look at buddhist monks who can stay sane even after years of chineese prison isolation, which would drive normal people insane just after a few months.

Roman and Mayan civilization would invent waterproof concrete long before our modern civilizaiton re-invented it.

Dogon tribe in African knew of the dog star, long before our astronomers with telescopes discovered it.

@platorepublic,

platorepublic;159627 wrote:

Are you human?

"Humans have a highly developed brain, capable of abstract reasoning, language, introspection, and problem solving. This mental capability, combined with an erect body carriage that frees the hands for manipulating objects, has allowed humans to make far greater use of tools than any other species. Mitochondrial DNA and fossil evidence indicates that modern humans originated in Africa about 200,000 years ago."

What do you think?

Why are we born to live at this point in time in human civilization? Are you not a bit skeptical? Perhaps there were human civilizations that have reached peak of knowledge and wisdom before us but have decided best not to pass it on to us.

By all means I am Human and proud of it. I just have the feeling we live in

Byzantine Times; all we can do is wrap our liberal viewpoints till they will be a memory, a myth of the 20th century. Laughing

@platorepublic,

platorepublic;159627 wrote:

"Humans have a highly developed brain, capable of abstract reasoning, language, introspection, and problem solving. This mental capability...

The key word here is 'capable'. Whether these faculties are used (and if so, when) is another matter.

platorepublic;159627 wrote:

Why are we born to live at this point in time in human civilization?

I'm not sure there's a why that's easily grasped. I am, in part, a product of my experiences so it can't be answered outside this context. On the other hand, if the answerer to this question consists of that part of me that "came installed", he wouldn't have the intellect (minus the experiences that are a product of his time line) to even comprehend the question. From the constraints that define us, this question isn't answerable.

platorepublic;159627 wrote:

Perhaps there were human civilizations that have reached peak of knowledge and wisdom before us but have decided best not to pass it on to us.

Sure, could be... most things are possible. As far as passing along knowledge and wisdom; this not happening is pretty much the norm since both are gained on an individual level and must be re-gained each generation. Facts can be passed - as can advice, methods and concepts - but none of these (nor their sum) qualifies as wisdom. I think its an ineluctable human attribute that some of the best must be re-discovered anew with each new mind.

Thanks

@Khethil,

Very much, thank you.:bigsmile:

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