Is this the anthropological equivalent of cultural relativism? “Yeah maybe we got to mars but Grog figured out how this berry makes him shit a lot and that’s an equivalent accomplishment!”
I don’t know if you’re being sarcastic or not, but I believe that either:
Yes, they are equivalent accomplishments
The environments are so drastically different that even comparing doesn’t make any sense
I believe we shouldn’t underplay the “over the shoulder of giants” effect, if you are able to engineer a rocket without worrying about starvation/diseases/etc it is because your ancestors have figured all of that out (and it is absolutely not simple to figure things out without someone holding your hand and teaching you)
The distinction is outcome vs intent. No one is arguing Grog didn’t have the best of intent when he conducted his cross-country dissertation in shit berries. He shit his little heart out. But no matter how many unstable berries he sampled, his accomplishment pales in comparison with reaching Mars. And one day, sending a rover to Mars will pale in comparison to faster than light travel.
Is this the anthropological equivalent of cultural relativism? “Yeah maybe we got to mars but Grog figured out how this berry makes him shit a lot and that’s an equivalent accomplishment!”
I don’t know if you’re being sarcastic or not, but I believe that either:
I believe we shouldn’t underplay the “over the shoulder of giants” effect, if you are able to engineer a rocket without worrying about starvation/diseases/etc it is because your ancestors have figured all of that out (and it is absolutely not simple to figure things out without someone holding your hand and teaching you)
The distinction is outcome vs intent. No one is arguing Grog didn’t have the best of intent when he conducted his cross-country dissertation in shit berries. He shit his little heart out. But no matter how many unstable berries he sampled, his accomplishment pales in comparison with reaching Mars. And one day, sending a rover to Mars will pale in comparison to faster than light travel.