dannnex

Sometimes i like to think about how utterly useless we are as individuals 

reminder: you are no better than prehistoric man. they were equally as intelligent, we just have years of compounded knowledge

like, look around you right now, choose any random object. now imagine you were instantly transported to a gazillion years ago. lets assume you can't die of starvation or illness and nothing is trying to kill you. do you think you could make an exact replica of that object before you die of old age? \

99.9999999% of cases, no you can't.

i wouldn't be able to make a pencil. think about all the design that's gone into something like that. the exact type of wood, the yellow paint coating, the composition of the rubber tip. all the machining and technique required to do even the simplest thing.

i can look around right now, and i don't think there is a single object that i would be able to replicate in this hypothetical scenrio

bottle cap: no
wooden baseboard: almost, but no idea how to make paint or nails
a nickel: noooo way
shoelace: wouldn't even know where to start

and the thing is, i don't think anyone alive today would be able to either
sure, plenty of people would be able to thrive in scenarios like this, some survivalist people are insane
like you could definitely make substitutions for all of these. a crude pencil or shoelace wouldn't be that tough if you know what you're doing
but nobody would even come close to accurately replicating them. 

we are standing on the shoulders of millions of giants