RetroFed Forum
Your home away from modern life.
Hate it when this happens
Post Reply
AuthorMessage
cm0002 suppo.fi cm0002@suppo.fi
Joined: 2025-11-10
Quote

523   Original
sad_detective_man sopuli.xyz sad_detective_man@sopuli.xyz
Joined: 2024-11-24
#2 · (edited) Quote Reply

So it was that asshole's fault

26
the_q piefed.social the_q@piefed.social
Joined: 2026-08-04
#3 · Quote Reply

I genuinely struggle with how humanity got to where it is. I sometimes question whether aliens are actually real because we're too stupid to be this advanced.

8
Sibshops feddit.cl Sibshops@feddit.cl
Joined: 2026-08-20
#4 · Quote Reply

I feel like we grossly underestimate the intelligence of our ancestors.

51
Tylerdurdon lemmy.world Tylerdurdon@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-16
#5 · Quote Reply

This is inaccurate. We got here because of women. If men didn't need to impress women to get nookie, they would have never left the trees.

5
FlihpFlorp piefed.zip FlihpFlorp@piefed.zip
Joined: 2025-07-09
#6 · Quote Reply

This is inaccurate. We got here because of women. If men didn't need to impress women to get nookie, they would have never left the trees.

So what I’m hearing is fleshlights were too little too late

5
Tylerdurdon lemmy.world Tylerdurdon@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-16
#7 · Quote Reply

So what I’m hearing is fleshlights were too little too late

They are like the wheel, but you put your penis in them.

3
ladicius lemmy.world ladicius@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-07-16
#8 · Quote Reply

I genuinely struggle with how humanity got to where it is. I sometimes question whether aliens are actually real because we're too stupid to be this advanced.

We are the aliens. We took over the planet, destroyed it and will soon be gone. Classic hard sci fi trope.

12
OpenStars discuss.online OpenStars@discuss.online
Joined: 2023-12-31
#9 · Quote Reply

I feel like we grossly underestimate the intelligence of our ancestors.

They were pretty much as smart as we are - many of them more so than many of us today.

17
Boomer Humor Doomergod lemmy.world Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world
Joined: 2024-03-15
#10 · Quote Reply

I genuinely struggle with how humanity got to where it is. I sometimes question whether aliens are actually real because we're too stupid to be this advanced.

We’re both that advanced.

1
wopalopa lemmy.world wopalopa@lemmy.world
Joined: 2025-12-17
#11 · Quote Reply

They were pretty much as smart as we are - many of them more so than many of us today.

there not as book smart as we are but a lot def more street smart than most of us today. different generation different kind of knowledge but same hardware

6
OpenStars discuss.online OpenStars@discuss.online
Joined: 2023-12-31
#12 · Quote Reply

there not as book smart as we are but a lot def more street smart than most of us today. different generation different kind of knowledge but same hardware

Well said.

4
threeonefour piefed.ca threeonefour@piefed.ca
Joined: 2025-06-07
#13 · Quote Reply

I feel like we grossly underestimate the intelligence of our ancestors.

Tibees has a video about the Rhind mathematical papyrus, a writing of math problems used for educating Egyptian scribes from 1650 BCE.

It describes finding volumes for cylinders using a formula similar to the modern one but with 256/81 (~= 3.16) as the stand-in for π.

It also has questions on finding concentration of valuable ingredients in finished product. 100L of beer made from 1kg of grain has a lower concentration of grain in the final product than 50L of beer made from the same amount. If you add water to the 50L of beer, it's value would change and scribes would be expected to calculate the exact change in value.

Just like there's a large overlap between the smartest bears and the dumbest humans, there's an overlap between the smartest ancient people and dumbest people today.

33
arctanthrope lemmy.world arctanthrope@lemmy.world
Joined: 2025-11-25
#14 · Quote Reply

They were pretty much as smart as we are - many of them more so than many of us today.

what's even crazier to think about is that there were likely several thousands of years where our ancestors were about as cognitively evolved as we are now, with language and society and culture, and simultaneously living alongside other now-extinct hominin species, like neanderthals and denisovans, who were likely similarly cognitively capable. makes me wonder if stories were still have from mythology about elves or dwarves or fae are cultural remnants of a time when we actually did live alongside not-quite-human sapient creatures

16
schmorp slrpnk.net schmorpel@slrpnk.net
Joined: 2023-07-12
#15 · Quote Reply

They are like the wheel, but you put your penis in them.

Instructions unclear, penis mangled in spokes

4
bampop lemmy.world bampop@lemmy.world
Joined: 2025-03-12
#16 · Quote Reply

Tibees has a video about the Rhind mathematical papyrus, a writing of math problems used for educating Egyptian scribes from 1650 BCE. It describes finding volumes for cylinders using a formula similar to the modern one but with 256/81 (~= 3.16) as the stand-in for π. It also has questions on finding concentration of valuable ingredients in finished product. 100L of beer made from 1kg of grain ...

256/81 (~= 3.16) as the stand-in for π.

Interesting choice, it suggests they didn't have any way to verify the accuracy of that approximation, since 22/7 is way closer, but (4/3)^4 is really cute and elegant.

18
bampop lemmy.world bampop@lemmy.world
Joined: 2025-03-12
#17 · (edited) Quote Reply

I feel like we grossly underestimate the intelligence of our ancestors.

They had the same intelligence as us. What they didn't have is the same education. That's how important education is.

27
untorquer quokk.au untorquer@quokk.au
Joined: 2025-12-03
#18 · Quote Reply

256/81 (~= 3.16) as the stand-in for π. Interesting choice, it suggests they didn't have any way to verify the accuracy of that approximation, since 22/7 is way closer, but (4/3)^4 is really cute and elegant.

Also the volume of the sphere is then (4/3)^5 r^3 so i wonder if it had something to do with trying to unify that

16
Almacca aussie.zone Almacca@aussie.zone
Joined: 2025-02-06
#19 · Quote Reply

Technology is basically crushed up rocks made into shapes.

11
bampop lemmy.world bampop@lemmy.world
Joined: 2025-03-12
#20 · Quote Reply

Also the volume of the sphere is then (4/3)^5 r^3 so i wonder if it had something to do with trying to unify that

That's so neat, we should resurrect the Indiana Pi Bill with this value!

12
untorquer quokk.au untorquer@quokk.au
Joined: 2025-12-03
#21 · Quote Reply

That's so neat, we should resurrect the Indiana Pi Bill with this value!

LMAO learned something new!

4
SourDragon lemmy.world SourDragon@lemmy.world
Joined: 2026-07-21
#22 · Quote Reply

I don't blame them. I blame that one particular fish that got a little too curious about what lies beyond the water.

15
OpenStars discuss.online OpenStars@discuss.online
Joined: 2023-12-31
#23 · Quote Reply

what's even crazier to think about is that there were likely several thousands of years where our ancestors were about as cognitively evolved as we are now, with language and society and culture, and simultaneously living alongside other now-extinct hominin species, like neanderthals and denisovans, who were likely similarly cognitively capable. makes me wonder if stories were still have from m...

The Neanderthals even had music! And larger brains than sapiens, iirc. We were more brutish and savage hence won out in the end. The TV series Sense8 explores and popularizes some of what you are saying.

6
JustPlainDave lemmy.zip JustPlainDave@lemmy.zip
Joined: 2026-09-09
#24 · Quote Reply

They were pretty much as smart as we are - many of them more so than many of us today.

For example, I think it's the Chaco Canyon civilization that managed to perfect the math necessary to track the stars, moon, and sun, but as far as we know had no system of writing. Which means they were just memorizing that shit.

3
cRazi_man europe.pub cRazi_man@europe.pub
Joined: 2025-06-04
#25 · Quote Reply

I don't blame them. I blame that one particular fish that got a little too curious about what lies beyond the water.

This is why I love whales. They came out of the water, saw what life was like and said "nope, back to the water".

6
Lumisal lemmy.world Lumisal@lemmy.world
Joined: 2024-03-16
#26 · Quote Reply

For example, I think it's the Chaco Canyon civilization that managed to perfect the math necessary to track the stars, moon, and sun, but as far as we know had no system of writing. Which means they were just memorizing that shit.

People underestimate what the human mind is capable of when INCREDIBLY bored.

4
Colloidal programming.dev Colloidal@programming.dev
Joined: 2025-02-26
#27 · Quote Reply

Post-nut clarity.

8
Rubanski discuss.tchncs.de Rubanski@discuss.tchncs.de
Joined: 2025-06-26
#28 · Quote Reply

They are like the wheel, but you put your penis in them.

The cylinder must remain unharmed

2
cro_magnon_gilf sopuli.xyz cro_magnon_gilf@sopuli.xyz
Joined: 2023-07-07
#29 · Quote Reply

They had the same intelligence as us. What they didn't have is the same education. That's how important education is.

The first ones to crack a nut with a stone definitely did not have the same intelligence as us. That was (likely) 2+millions of years ago, and they were not "human".

1
Seth Taylor lemmy.world SethTaylor@lemmy.world
Joined: 2025-04-06
#30 · Quote Reply

Wanted to use a hammer

Accidentally became the sharpest tool in the shed

1
samus12345 sh.itjust.works samus12345@sh.itjust.works
Joined: 2023-07-03
#31 · Quote Reply

develops ability to predict where deer will be later and remember which berries are poisonous

accidentally has side effect of being able to conceptualize the nature of existence

5
meathorse lemmy.world meathorse@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-07-08
#32 · Quote Reply

Geez is that Grok's prolapsed anus in the third pic?

2
Axolotl feddit.it Axolotl_cpp@feddit.it
Joined: 2025-10-10
#33 · Quote Reply

I feel like we grossly underestimate the intelligence of our ancestors.

Yeah, they were as smart as us it's just that they had less knowledge, homo sapiens are called like that not because they are smart but because they share knowledge with the future generations

1
Post Reply
Back to top