Dan Brown
I suspect history is influenced as much by
Sat Feb 04, 9:20

biology as it is memory. The evidence of learning from the past clearly lies in technological advances, often in, or stemming from, weaponry. Whereas, the plot as it were in history comes from either erections or erectile dysfunctions. One or the other. I am not altogether sure if Mark Twain actually said this or not, but he might well have: 'History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme.'

  • Indeed. — olds, Sat Feb 04 9:09
    The best we have and the best we can do with what we have. Unfortunately, the best is never good enough, is it? Or maybe not unfortunately. Maybe if we knew everything it wouldn't matter anyway. I'm not... more
    • I suspect history is influenced as much by — Dan Brown, Sat Feb 04 9:20
      • Spot on. — olds, Sat Feb 04 10:00
        Historical human progress, a squishy concept that I remain of two minds about, definitely expresses itself most apparently in technological advances, many if not most of them offshoots of weaponry research.... more
        • Two guys talking... — Sarah Stegall, Sun Mar 05 0:01
          This is clearly a discussion between/among man children: it's all about historical advances = better weapons. Seriously? Real "progress" or "advance" in human society is founded on things like FARMING,... more
          • Bless you, Sarah, but — olds, Sun Mar 05 9:46
            both as a student of history and a 71-year-old still possessed of a goodly portion of his waning wits--I see absolutely no reason to believe that the ultimate culmination of our so-called progress--a concept... more
            • I should add, Sarah, — olds, Sun Mar 05 11:10
              that whether we are talking about "advances" in species-ending weaponry, or in AI--as you are aware, the two are clearly closely connected--I fail to understand how focusing on such "progress," which is... more