[afarrell]

The Romans were not as smart as us because they did not have the tools to understand the neurological effect of lead poisoning.

[falcolas]

They realized they were being poisoned, but they had the cause confused - they blamed it on acidic foods, since non-acidic foods wouldn't leech much lead out of their utensils.

[ablob]

The Romans would be less smart than us, if they had the tools to understand the neurological effect of lead poisoning but couldn't do it anyway.