Liso comments on Superintelligence 26: Science and technology strategy - Less Wrong

8 Post author: KatjaGrace 10 March 2015 01:43AM

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Comment author: Liso 12 March 2015 08:56:51AM *  0 points [-]

Jared Diamond wrote that North america had not good animals for domestication. (sorry I dont remember in which book) It could be showstopper for using wheel massively.

Comment author: [deleted] 12 March 2015 09:02:16AM *  1 point [-]

Wheelbarrows, hand carts are still massively useful. I used to help out with construction. It is hard enough with wheelbarrows. We did not use them on roads, just around the site.

Comment author: Lumifer 12 March 2015 03:18:50PM 0 points [-]

Wheelbarrows, hand carts are still massively useful.

If you construct things out of bricks or stone, yes. If you live in a wigwam or a hut of sticks and dry leaves, no.

Comment author: CAE_Jones 12 March 2015 03:53:47PM 2 points [-]

I'd still expect carts to be useful in cultures that use loads of wood, or maybe to transport larger quantities of materials for trade. For example, this Seneca story has a man burning logs down to a size he can easily carry. Some northern peoples used dogs as pack animals, but the only land vehicles I'm aware of were sleds.

Comment author: Lumifer 12 March 2015 04:10:55PM 1 point [-]

I'd still expect carts to be useful in cultures that use loads of wood

Wood generally comes from the forest and carts are not all that useful in a forest...

Comment author: [deleted] 12 March 2015 03:21:51PM 1 point [-]

Absolutely, I had Tenochtitlan in mind, not Winnetou.