10-02-2002, 08:51 PM | #1 |
The Rogue Elf
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The Past - A Failed Future?
I've often wondered how different it would be for this world if it had already faced a failed future of advanced technology. What if long, long ago a past civilization had reached it's peak of the same technology we're trying to reach now and had a major world war which destroyed everything they created? All this "magic" we hear about in history from the mythological periods B.C. - what if it wasn't magic, but things lost from an old world that they couldn't explain? How do you think that would effect us today if some of that "lost world" surfaced?
Better yet, if our own world faces this someday, do you think the people of the far future would know what really happened? Or would they start from the beginning all over again, with their descendants believing it all to be just myths? Really makes you wonder about history. |
10-02-2002, 09:11 PM | #2 |
Elf Lord
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Quantum foam...quantum foam.
RE, you might be interested in "Timeline" by Micheal Crichton (sp?). Or better yet, Harry Turtledove...I think that's his name. He writes alternative history stories, and they are incredible. He also touches on this issue you brought up specifically in one of his short stories, but I can't remember which one.
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10-02-2002, 10:18 PM | #3 |
'Sober' Mullet Frosh
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A Harry Turteldove fan! At last one of my fellow Freedom Party hating brethren!
Read a Canticle for leibowitz if you're up to it. That's excellent stuff that relates to the inevitability of history along with other cool stuff.
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10-02-2002, 10:23 PM | #4 |
the Shrike
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I wonder about this stuff all the time. Or at least I used to when I still romanticised archaeology.
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10-03-2002, 02:51 PM | #5 | |
The Chocoholic Sea Elf Administrator
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10-03-2002, 02:56 PM | #6 |
the Shrike
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Well, not quite. I hate wearing hats!
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10-03-2002, 04:08 PM | #7 |
Domesticated Swing Babe
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I don't think we'll ever know! (and THEY probably won't either ) Who built that sphinx anyway!
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10-03-2002, 04:10 PM | #8 |
Retired Ent
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Interesting. You could use this as an explanation for the astounding technological advances we've made in the past century: someone found "ancient" artifacts!
Turtledove's alternate history books are awesome . Terry Brooks's latest books have a similar premise: that our world went out in a nuclear holocaust and then the magic, fantasy world came into existence.
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10-03-2002, 04:12 PM | #9 |
The Rogue Elf
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Thanks for the tips, Starr. I began just thinking about this the other day after going over an unfinished story a friend of mine was working on. It takes place long after a great world war, and the people have become primitive again, but they began to surface from beneath the earth things like "singing" swords and "blinding" devices (powerful flashlights, BTW ) and it's all very interesting.
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10-03-2002, 04:30 PM | #10 |
im quite stupid
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i oten wonder about this fact. If the wholse life spand of the dinosar race was condence into a day then the humans would be about foir about 10 seconds of that day.
If you believe the theory of evolution (let face who doesnt) why didnt the dinosars reach a level of advanced civilisation? I believe the world will work in ages much like in tolkiens work. i can see a time comming when we will be the death of ourselves. The best example of this is the roman empire (they had central heating people) i find them facinating how they were so advanced and clever and somehow it all got lost. think if we could of carried on from them we would of conolised planets by now i think.
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10-03-2002, 05:31 PM | #11 | |
the Shrike
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Because they had peanut sized brains and stumpy legs, and no opposable thumbs.
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10-03-2002, 05:54 PM | #12 | |
Elven Warrior
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Yes the Romans were a brilliant culture, but what about the Egyptians? They created crude batteries! Why did there interest in science suddenly wain?......and how much further ahead would we be if they had continued And the Aztec carvings that appear to be space ships and astronaughts Maybe the human race has discovered, then forgotten, more than we realise ............. I'm only thankful that the chinese only used gunpowder for fireworks for hundreds of years before they utilised the stuff for powering cannons Last edited by osszie : 10-03-2002 at 07:12 PM. |
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10-03-2002, 06:01 PM | #13 |
Domesticated Swing Babe
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I remember reading That the Romans drank lots of lead in their water ( thru their aquaduct system), dumbing them down over time.
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10-03-2002, 06:05 PM | #14 | |
Elven Warrior
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10-03-2002, 06:11 PM | #15 | ||
the Shrike
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Quote:
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10-03-2002, 06:20 PM | #16 |
Domesticated Swing Babe
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Seems like we have the "tiger by tale" nowadays, but it's hard to see the forest for the trees! I wonder what fatal mistake "THEY" will talk about 1500 years from now, as our undoing. Mismanagement of nuclear power? Hopefully we won't blow it so bad, and there will be another wave of intelligence to rise up from the dust. (idealy, we'll just keep building though! )
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10-03-2002, 06:31 PM | #17 | |
Elven Warrior
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Aztecs fascinate me. Why were the temples of the sun and moon deserted, and for that matter who built/used them Their calenders that incorporated all the planets in our solar system are just amazing. How did they know of these planets and there cycles (I'm wibbling, as usual, shutting up) Lizra I think our "age" will be seen in the future as a time of great discovery, and equally great ignorance..........can just vision a human in 500 yrs time "They threw nuclear waste into the sea or buried it?................thank goodness we're out of the dark ages!!!" |
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10-03-2002, 06:39 PM | #18 | |
the Shrike
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There is a theory that the temples were abandoned because quite simply, they ran out of trees! I can't remember offhand the amount of trees they used to enable them to build, re-build, shift, burn, etc, but it was astronomical! And of course, the flora in that area is so dense, that it only takes a couple of years before things are so completely overgrown, that the temples are lost. Regarding the planetary cycles. Granted they did calculate some pretty amazing stuff, but their estimate of the venusian year was off by quite a bit. (584 as opposed to the 225 days that it actually is.)
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10-03-2002, 06:49 PM | #19 | |
Elven Warrior
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Ach another archealogical/historical mystery that will elude us for the while Finding a lost technology would be a great influence/enlightenment for the world........but I believe we have also lost an enormous amount of knowledge (herb lore, philosophy etc) If only the Celtic Druids etc had written their findings down, instead of the oral tradition they follow Last edited by osszie : 10-03-2002 at 07:06 PM. |
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10-03-2002, 07:04 PM | #20 | |
Halfwitted Queen of Lothlorien
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This is a very interesting topic, I love thinking about things like this! (At least until my head starts spinning, that is... ) Anyhoo, I think it is entirely possible for one or more ancient civilizations to have been this way. Especially the very smart ones or those we don't know much about... Just a random thought here: could the ancient civilizations have formed some kind of an alliance, very early on, that was not recorded?(As in, during prehistory) Something simillar to our UN.
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The beuatiful mind/The beautiful heart/Doesn't deserve the pain/How can I stop the rain? -How Can I Stop the Rain? by Kessid, my new favorite band +Every good thing that comes into my life is only a reflection of the greatest gift of all; the offering of yourself, dear Son of God+ Always remember, you're uniqe, just like everybody else! "The one constant through all the years has been the Trombone. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. Its been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again, but the Trombone has marked the time. This field, this section, this band is a part of our past. It reminds us of all that once was good, and could be again. Oh, people will come . . . people will most definitely come." |
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