ysabetwordsmith (
ysabetwordsmith) wrote2022-01-21 12:14 pm
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Prehistoric Inventions
Prehistoric inventions abound. Most of these are one-shot gizmos that one genius invented and other people copied, without modification, sometimes for millions of years.
It's not the occasional, isolated super-genius that uplifts a species. It's the ability to produce multiple genii close enough together that they can interact, which is how you get that explosion of innovation as other people try to mimic them at their own level of ability.
I have a flint flake tool on my desk that I found in my yard. It's an ancient super-gizmo. Doesn't look like much until you pick it up and realize that it can be held in several different ways, each activating a different area of the tool with a different use. Kind of like a Swiss Army knife, but with no moving parts. Impressive, and much harder to make than a simple flake.
The non-human species I've seen throw multiple genii? Snow monkeys. Imo invented the sand-free sweet potato and the quick-rice snack. Someone else discovered the use of hot springs. Someone else started riding deer, the first step in domestication. When those sparks start appearing close together, you've got the makings of a species bootstrapping itself from lower to higher levels of sentience. \o/
It's not the occasional, isolated super-genius that uplifts a species. It's the ability to produce multiple genii close enough together that they can interact, which is how you get that explosion of innovation as other people try to mimic them at their own level of ability.
I have a flint flake tool on my desk that I found in my yard. It's an ancient super-gizmo. Doesn't look like much until you pick it up and realize that it can be held in several different ways, each activating a different area of the tool with a different use. Kind of like a Swiss Army knife, but with no moving parts. Impressive, and much harder to make than a simple flake.
The non-human species I've seen throw multiple genii? Snow monkeys. Imo invented the sand-free sweet potato and the quick-rice snack. Someone else discovered the use of hot springs. Someone else started riding deer, the first step in domestication. When those sparks start appearing close together, you've got the makings of a species bootstrapping itself from lower to higher levels of sentience. \o/
Re: Thoughts
However, occasionally you'll see another version: plants that reach out and grab something, then drag themselves along. Imagine a Venus flytrap closing on a branch or something to drag itself in that direction.
Re: Thoughts
Re: Thoughts
The ones you want to watch out for are the carnivorous vines, and I don't think Earth has those, yet. The danger there is they tend to be heat-seekers who hunt larger prey at night, asleep. The vines are constrictors like a snake, and can strangle quite large prey. So they don't need to feed very often to thrive.
Re: Thoughts
(Anonymous) 2022-01-22 12:34 am (UTC)(link)https://cryptidarchives.fandom.com/wiki/Cryptobotany
Also, a slime mold not a plant, but:
https://the-future-is-wild.fandom.com/wiki/Slithersucker
If we're talking about species on other planets, are 'plant' and 'animal' the right terms? You might get something wit odd mix-and-match tendencies... or completely different ones.
(I.e Mobile things that fly after the suns to eat radioactive energy, and have a mixture of walled and wallless cells?)