Prehistoric Inventions
Jan. 21st, 2022 12:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithPrehistoric 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: Well ...
Date: 2022-01-21 07:25 pm (UTC)There are a lot of instances of cross-species help-seeking behavior.
...imagine what could be made by combining different kinds of tech!
Re: Well ...
Date: 2022-01-21 07:28 pm (UTC)Re: Well ...
Date: 2022-01-21 08:22 pm (UTC)https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4mbu2ueMe2E
Here's an art variant with air-bubbles:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QseWXpkaGTY
While watching this:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lJfqgmbiqnQ
... I saw another link about vortexes in water and got to thinking: couldn't there be other forms if ethereal, biodegradable tech? I mean, I've heard of:
- martial artists extinguishing candles with a breeze from their swords
- it is possible to squirt water at things with one's body; humans mostly use it to play but some animals use it to hunt
I was looking up methods of hunting with fire and found this:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.nine.com.au/article/a6f2efdc-25b1-4ff9-b50e-5b9a79ef86a3
Use of sound gets it's own section:
- sonic attacks (screaming, sudden loud noise, annoying music - also some cetaceans can stun prey)
- signals (cats mimicking crying babies, languague)
- coomunication (infrasound, ultrasound, talking drums, signal whistles)
- echolocation
- modifying one's environment (i.e. deliberately setting off an avalanche)
- medicine (ASMR, purring, calming music)