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by haZard_OS 3094 days ago
I think that this sort of perspective is (at best) a-historical. I have absolutely no clue how difficult it would be to actually conceptualize "rope" or "wheel" without any of my modern knowledge.

The saying that 'hindsight is 20/20' would seem to be particularly true at the scale of early human invention and civilization.
2 comments
fastball 3094 days ago 

  Good luck with making your own wheel or rope from scratch (i.e. alone and naked in the woods)!
This comment (by my interpretation) implies that the process is difficult. I agree with other comments stating the concept is difficult, but the process for those two inventions is quite manageable - even if you are "alone and naked in the woods".
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TheOtherHobbes 3094 days ago
Exactly. The invention isn’t the physical object, it’s the idea - the realisation that a certain class of objects/processes can be useful in unexpected and open-ended ways.

Wheels are almost useless in dense forests that have no roads, for obvious reasons. So why would anyone waste a day or two making one?

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