CULTURAL QA 09202412
TECHNOLOGY- BASE QUORA QA-COMPILED
Q1 Why can't our advanced technology explain ancient mysteries?
KR Notorious Raspberry, Sep 5 astonishes on Roman concrete:
and our compiler also thinks it is so because he would believe all without
researching since I am always there!. (advancd technology so far did not
explain?)
Roman cement, also known as "opus caementicium," is an ancient
building material used by the Romans. It’s different from modern Portland
cement in its composition. Roman cement is made from a mixture of volcanic
ash (known as pozzolana), lime (calcium oxide), and water. The volcanic ash
used in Roman cement contains silica and alumina, which react with the lime
and water to form a strong, durable material. The reaction between the
volcanic ash and lime produces a chemical bond that makes the cement
particularly strong and resistant to cracking, even under harsh conditions.
This composition contributed to the longevity of many Roman structures,
such as the Pantheon and the Colosseum, which still stand today. {So, tech
explained it as notorious also said it differently}
How were Indian cements in ancient times made? In TN it is made of?
In ancient Tamil Nadu, the construction of forts often utilized a
combination of local materials and techniques suited to the region's
geography and climate. One notable construction method involved the use of
*"granite"* as a primary material. The region's abundance of granite made
it a preferred choice for fortifications due to its durability and strength.
*Key aspects of ancient Tamil Nadu fort construction include:*
1. *Granite Blocks*: Large granite blocks were cut and shaped to form
walls and other structural elements. This stone was abundant in the region
and provided excellent fortification due to its sturdiness.
2. *Cyclopean Masonry*: This technique involved the use of massive,
roughly hewn stones that were fitted together without mortar. The weight
and tight fit of the stones provided stability and strength.
3. *Fortified Walls*: The walls of these forts were often thick and
reinforced to withstand attacks. They sometimes included features like
battlements and watchtowers.
4. *Moats and Ramparts*: Some forts had moats or ramparts as additional
defensive features, helping to protect against sieges and invasions.
5. *Strategic Placement*: Many forts were strategically located on
elevated terrain or rocky outcrops to enhance their defensive capabilities.
Notable examples of ancient forts in Tamil Nadu include the *Gingee Fort*,
known for its robust granite construction and extensive fortifications, and
the *Vellore Fort*, which showcases the use of granite and complex
defensive structures. These forts reflect the sophisticated engineering and
architectural skills of the time
The use of special mortar incorporating eggs and other organic
materials is indeed a fascinating aspect of ancient construction techniques
in various cultures, including in regions like Tamil Nadu.
In ancient Tamil Nadu, there is historical evidence that builders
used a unique form of mortar made from a mixture of lime, sand, and egg
whites. This type of mortar is known for its exceptional binding properties
and durability. Here’s a breakdown of how it worked:
Lime and Sand: The primary components of the mortar were lime
(calcium oxide) and sand. Lime was often derived from burning limestone,
and it acted as the binding agent.
Egg Whites: Egg whites were added to the mix as a natural binder.
The proteins in egg whites helped improve the cohesion of the mortar,
making it more resilient and effective at holding stones or bricks together.
Other Additives: In some cases, additional materials like animal
fats or plant extracts might have been used to further enhance the
properties of the mortar.
Benefits of This Mortar:
Strength and Durability: The inclusion of egg whites contributed to the
mortar’s strength and flexibility, which helped in maintaining the
integrity of the structures over time.
Workability: The mortar was easier to work with and could be applied more
smoothly, allowing for more precise construction.
Resistance to Weathering: The organic additives helped the mortar withstand
environmental conditions and reduced the likelihood of cracks and erosion.
This technique reflects the ingenuity of ancient builders who utilized
available resources to create highly effective construction materials. It’s
a testament to the advanced engineering knowledge of the time, which
allowed for the creation of durable and enduring structures.
Lime mortars are conventionally made by combining the lime,
water, and aggregate with a range of optimum organic additives (0.1-10%) to
alter the qualities of the blend. Organic additions to lime mortar (oils,
fatty acids, plant extracts, animal glues, eggs, blood, beer, casein, fruit
juices, and sticky rice) influence the pore structure and setting time of
the mortar . Polysaccharides (found in mucilage and other plant extracts)
affect the pore size distribution of lime pastes and mortars, as well as
their strength and carbonation rate . Proteinaceous materials (such as
animal glue and blood) improve the mechanical strength and carbonation
rate, and oils affect the microstructure of lime pastes and mortars by
altering the carbonation pathway. ...(Padmanabhapuram palace isa n example;
Raja raja chozhan and karikalan constructions are made up of strong lime
mortars mixed with extra natural products)
---------------------------------------
Q2 If you could live in a world where technology no longer existed,
would you want to?
KR: Did not we have technology then 5000 years back? Inm India?
Technology is today defined as applied science, but early humans developed
technologies such as stone-working, agriculture, animal husbandry, pottery,
metallurgy, textile manufacture, bead-making, wood-carving, cart-making,
sailing, etc. with hardly any science to back them up. If we define
technology as a human way of altering the surrounding material world, we
find that the first stone tools in the Indian subcontinent go back more
than two million years! (That was long before the advent of modern man in
India, which is thought to have occurred some 70,000 years ago.) Jumping
across ages, the ―Neolithic revolution‖ of some 9,000 years ago saw the
development in agriculture in parts of the Indus and the Ganges valleys,
which in turn triggered the need for pots, water management, metal tools,
transport, etc.
The Indus or Harappan civilization (2600–1900 BCE for its urban or ―Mature‖
phase), which flourished in the northwest of the subcontinent, saw the
rapid growth of an efficient agriculture that adapted itself to very
diverse climates and conditions, from the water-rich Indus valley to
semi-arid areas of today’s Rajasthan. The Harappans grew wheat, barley and
millets, and practised not only plough-based agriculture but also
intercropping in places. Their wheel-turned pots came in various shapes and
sizes, and some were glazed and painted in addition. Metal smiths extracted
copper from ore available in the Aravalli hills, Ambaji (Gujarat) or Oman,
and, alloying with tin, produced bronze. Mixing (deliberately or
accidentally) various impurities into it, such as nickel or arsenic,
hardened it to the point where bronze tools could be used to dress stones.
Harappans invented the true saw, with teeth and the adjoining part of the
blade set alternatively from side to side, a type of saw unknown elsewhere
until Roman times. They left us a few bronze figurines, which were cast by
the ―lost-wax‖ process.
The Harappans also developed advanced grid-based town-planning, sanitation
that collected used waters from individual bathrooms into municipal drains
that were regularly inspected and cleaned. They realized that bricks of
proportions 1 : 2 : 4 (width equals two heights; length equals two widths)
permitted alternating courses and therefore stronger walls — the so-called
―English bond‖ of masonry, which should properly be called the ―Harappan
bond‖! Baked or mud bricks were not the only building material: at
Dholavira (in the Rann of Kachchh), stone was also used on a huge scale.
Harappan craftsmen used a number of minerals for ornamental, cosmetic and
medicinal purposes; they excelled at bead-making, and their long beads of
carnelian (a semiprecious stone), in particular, were highly prized in
royal families of Mesopotamia. India’s love for bangles is traceable to the
Harappans’ manufacture of large numbers of gold, bronze, conchshell, glazed
faience or humble terracotta bangles. Weavers used wheel-spun thread and,
besides the widely-used cotton, evidence of silk has recently come to light
at two sites. Other crafts included stone and ivory carving, carpet-making,
or inlaid woodwork.
*Later Pottery *After the Harappan age, innovations in pottery shifted to
the Ganges valley. The Painted Grey Ware (PGW), late in the second
millennium BCE, is associated with iron-based cultures. A few centuries
later, from around 700 BCE onward, the Northern Black-Polished Ware (NBPW)
was first found in today’s Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and is associated with
the emerging cities of the Ganges valley. Both pottery types were produced
on fast-spinning wheels using fine clay and fired to a high temperature in
kilns under controlled conditions. Other regions of India eventually
developed many other types and styles of pottery, and pottery sherds remain
a major source of information for archaeologists, who have meticulously
documented all those types and worked out their chronologies and regional
spreads.
*Metallurgy after the Harappans *As we have seen, the Indus civilization
was essentially bronze-based, while the later Ganges civilization was
iron-based. But it is now known that iron was produced in central parts of
the Ganges valley right from 1800 BCE. Its use became widespread by about
1000 BCE, and we find in late Vedic texts mentions of a ―dark metal‖ (
*krishnāyas*), while the earliest texts, such as the Rig-Veda, only spoke
of *ayas, *which, it is now accepted, referred to copper or bronze.
Whether other parts of India learned iron technology from the Gangetic
region or came up with it independently is not easy to figure out. What
matters is that the dates for copper, bronze and iron in India correspond
broadly with those in Asia Minor (modern Turkey) and Caucasus. Let us note
that an old theory according to which India learned iron metallurgy from
those regions is now discredited.
Moreover, Indians invented two highly advanced types of iron. The ―wootz
steel‖, produced first in south India from about 500 BCE, was iron
carburized under controlled conditions. Exported from the Deccan all the
way to Damascus, it was shaped there into swords renowned for their
sharpness and toughness; later, the Arabs fashioned it into swords and
other weapons. A Roman historian, Quintius Curtius, recorded that among the
gifts which Alexander the Great received from Porus of Taxila (in 326 BCE),
there was some two-and-ahalf tons of wootz steel — clearly it was as highly
prized as gold or jewels. From the 18th century onward, savants in England
(Pearson, Stodart and Faraday), France and Italy tried to master the
secrets of wootz; their researches led to the understanding of the role of
carbon in steel and to new techniques in steel-making. {KR SOMEONE WROTE
EARLIER ROMAN TECH WAS THE GREATER ONE; BUT ROMANS BORROWED THE GREATNESS
FROM INDIA!}
The second advanced iron is the one used in the famous 1,500-year-old Delhi
Iron Pillar, consisting of six tons of wrought iron (there are a few other
such pillars in other parts of India). Its rust-resistant properties were
only recently understood, and are due to the presence of phosphorus in the
iron: together with iron and oxygen from the air, phosphorus forms a thin
protective coating at the surface, which gets reconstituted if damaged by
scratching. Indian iron-smiths would not have known the chemistry at play
here, but it goes to their credit that through patient trial and error they
were able to locate and process the right type of iron ore for such
monumental pillars. The same technology was used to manufacture huge iron
beams used in some temples of Odisha, such as Jagannath of Puri.
It is interesting to note that most of India’s production of iron was
controlled by specific communities, most of them from the lower rungs of
Indian society. For instance, the Agarias of U.P. and M.P. are reputed
metal workers, and there are other communities scattered across Jharkhand,
Bihar, West-Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
In the late 1600s, shipments of tens of thousands of wootz ingots would
leave the Coromandel coast for Persia every year. India’s iron and steel
industry was intensive till the 18th century and declined only with the
British selling their own products into India while imposing high duties on
Indian products.
Iron technology did not put an end to the earlier bronze metallurgy,
however. The two were used for different purposes. An eloquent testimony of
the further growth of bronze metallurgy is found in a huge bronze statue of
the Buddha made in Sultanganj (Bhagalpur district, Bihar), between 500 and
700 CE; at 2.3m high, 1m wide, and weighing over 500 kg, it is the largest
bronze figure of its kind in the world, and was made by the same lost-wax
technique that Harappans used three millenniums earlier (it is now at the
Birmingham Museum). So were thousands of bronze statues made later in Tamil
Nadu, such as the beautiful Natarāja statues. Similarly, highly polished
bronze mirrors are still made in Kerala today, just as they were in
Harappan times.
*Chemistry and Alchemy *Although chemical practices were in use much
earlier, a theory of chemistry took shape in the first centuries CE,
especially during the Gupta Empire. The discipline was variously
called *rasashāstra,
rasavidyā *or *dhātuvāda*. Its foundations were basically esoteric: *rasa *or
mercury, one of the most important elements, was identified with the male
principle (Shiva), while sulphur was associated with the female principle
(Shakti). Transmuting base metals into gold and the pursuit of the ―elixir
of life‖ would today be categorized as ―alchemy‖ more than chemistry.
his connection with concepts from Tantrism was not, however, devoid of
practical applications, since Indian chemistry evolved practical methods to
refine and produce medicines and other substances. The *rasashāstra *texts
discuss many chemical substances categorized as *mahārasas*, *uparasas*,
*navaratnas*, *dhātus*, poisons and plants, and also describe various types
of apparatus, which were ingeniously developed and used for processing
these substances. A detailed study of these texts reveals how skilled
the *rasavādins
*(chemists) were at performing purificatory processes in order to remove
the toxic effects of metals and minerals and make them fit for internal
use. For instance, although mercury compounds are regarded as poisonous,
cinnabar (mercuric sulphide) went through eighteen complex processes called
*samskāras*, including rubbing with various medicinally efficacious plant
juices and extracts, incorporation of sulphur, mica, certain alkaline
substances, etc. The resulting mercury compound was then declared fit for
consumption and believed to lead to the body’s rejuvenation. Similar
processes existed in Tamil alchemy and the Siddha system of medicine, which
developed special techniques in connection with various naturally occurring
salts.
*Other technologies *The first appearance of glass in India goes back to
the second half of the 2nd millennium BCE. At Taxila (ancient Takshashila,
now in northern Pakistan), the Bhir mound yielded numerous glass beads of
several shapes and colours dated to the 5th century BCE or so. Glass
objects and ornaments have also come to light at places like Kopia, Ujjain,
Nasik, Ahicchatra, Sravasti, Kolhapur, Kaundinya, Brahmagiri, and at
several sites of Tamil Nadu (such as Arikamedu, Kodumanal and Porunthal).
The early Indian glass-makers were skilled at controlling the temperature
of fusion, moulding, annealing, blotching and gold-foiling, the last done
in an exquisite manner.
>From antiquity this land has been renowned for the quality and dazzling
variety of its production of textiles with fine skills in weaving and
dyeing. The art of paper-makingwas introduced into India probably in the
11th century CE, perhaps from China through Nepal. Before the introduction
of paper, the ancient literature was preserved on palm-leaves in south
India and birch-bark in the north. By the latter half of the 15th century,
Kashmir was producing paper of attractive quality from the pulps of rags
and hemp, with lime and soda added to whiten the pulp. Sialkot, Zafarabad,
Patna, Murshidabad, Ahmedabad, Aurangabad and Mysore were among the
well-known centres of paper production.
*Pyrotechnic Practices *(or fireworks) appear to have been current in India
in the 13th or 14th century. Gunpowder was an article of warfare at the
beginning of the 16th century: the Indian craftsmen were quick to learn the
technique from the Mughals and to evolve suitable explosive compositions. A
16th- or 17th-century Sanskrit treatise contains a description of how
gunpowder can be prepared using saltpetre, sulphur and charcoal in
different ratios for use in different types of guns.
>From the 16th century, rockets began being used in wars waged in India, as
testified by military annals of the period. The Mahrattas are reported to
have fired rockets at the 1761 Battle of Panipat which they lost to the
Afghans. Hyder Ali, the 18th-century ruler of Mysore, and his son and
successor, Tipu Sultan, used rockets to great effect in the Anglo-Mysore
Wars against the British East India Company, with a ―rocket corps‖ of
thousands of men. The rockets consisted of a tube of soft hammered iron
about 20 cm long and 4 to 8 cm in diameter, closed at one end and strapped
to a shaft of bamboo about 1 m long, with a sword often fitted at the other
end. The iron tube contained well-packed black powder propellant. Though
not very accurate, when fired en masse they could cause damage as well as
panic among the troops. The British lost no time in taking a few rockets to
England for closer study, which ended up boosting rocket technology in
European warfare.
*Cosmetics and Perfumes *were an article of trade with the Romans (along
with textiles, spices and timber) and are described at some length in
Varāhamihira’s *Brihat Samhitā*: scented water for bathing, scented hair
oil, perfume for cloths, for the mouth, scented tooth sticks are among the
described items. This art became increasingly popular and some new
compositions catered to the needs of the royal baths and religious
ceremonies, particularly during the Mughal period. The *Āin-i-Akbarī *speaks
of the ―Regulations of the Perfume Office
of Akbar‖; the *āttar *of roses was a popular perfume, the discovery of
which is attributed to the mother of Nurjehan.
In many fields, especially metallurgy, India perfected advanced
technologies centuries before Europe, which occasionally practised ―reverse
engineering‖, as in the case of wootz steel, zinc distillation, Sushruta’s
rhinoplasty and Tipu Sultan’s rockets. Some of the ancient technologies
remain useful even today: metallurgical techniques, ecological and
agricultural traditions, Ayurveda and various local health traditions,
water management (see Module on Water Management), among others. They are
part of what has been called India’s traditional knowledge systems. Even
the technologies that have lost their relevance today remain interesting
from a historical point of view. And there remains considerable scope for
documenting, testing, assessing, and sometimes streamlining India’s
enormous traditional technological wealth.
KR ENOUGH?
K RAJARAM IRS 12 9 24
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: 'gopala krishnan' via iyer123 <[email protected]>
Date: Thu, 12 Sept 2024 at 18:57
Subject: [iyer123] CULTURAL QA 09-2024-12
To: Iyer <[email protected]>
CULTURAL QA 09-2024-12
TECHNOLOGY- BASE QUORA QA-COMPILED
Q1 Why can't our advanced technology explain ancient mysteries?
A1 Notorious Raspberry, Sep 5
It’s because the exercise is an academic one. We don’t really need to know.
We just want to know.
It’s like… Roman concrete:
This stuff is still around. It’s still strong. Buildings made with this
stuff are still standing. And just recently we’ve managed to figure out
why. And we could make it so that it’s not only stronger and harder than
concrete we have now but it’s self-healing. But we don’t. And do you know
why? It’s because it takes too long to set and cure. Modern concrete will
literally set in almost no time and within 24 hours will be solid enough to
continue building. Roman concrete would take a week. And sourcing some of
the materials like volcanic ash would be expensive and time consuming. So
it’s difficult to make stuff with it.
In the end the question is do we need to know why because we could use that
knowledge today. Or do just want to know why and then carry on with other
things?
Q2 If you could live in a world where technology no longer existed,
would you want to?
A2 Matt Riggsby, MA Archaeology, Boston University Mon
You may want to look up dictionary definitions of technology. It’s
basically any artificial means of modifying or extending our capabilities.
Clothing is technology. Houses are technology. Agriculture is technology.
Stone tools are technology. Fire is technology. Without technology, we’d
live short, uncomfortable lives and then probably die and be happy to avoid
further suffering. So, no.
Now, some people use “technology” to mean whatever looks like “high
technology” to them, the most recent waves of inventions. As someone who
grew up before the internet and smartphones were a thing (the first web
browsers appeared when I was in grad school, and I had a house and a kid by
the time iPhones came on the scene), I gotta say I don’t care to go back.
Living in the future like this has its annoyances, but I like easy access
to information. I like being able to do my job from my office at home. I
like being able to order anything and everything I need off the net. And I
really like the recent innovations in medical technology like tomographic
scanning and genetic medicine. I do have quibbles, mind you; I also like
physical media, because I don’t trust streaming services to consistently
offer movies and TV shows I want to watch. But on balance, more technology
is good. Besides, the world of the late 20th century was not a golden age
where people had deep relationships and talked to each other all the time
because they weren’t distracted by their phones. We had other ways of
ignoring each other.
Q3 What is the greatest scientific fraud of the past 50 years?
A3 Ross Akram, To teach is to learn twice. Aug 24
In 2022, news broke that a critical, ground breaking Alzheimer's research
paper had allegedly been a fraud.
The paper, which found that a specific protein built up in the brain and
caused Alzheimer's disease, included manipulated data. And the media began
to speculate on how many billions of dollars and thousands of hours of
scientists' time had been wasted.
But then nothing.
The news article stopped and the research continued, and now there are two
potentially helpful Alzheimer's disease drugs on the market.
Since then, the evidence for fraud in that paper has piled up. But so has
evidence for protein buildup in the brain causing Alzheimer's. Did
fabricated scientific results accidentally set us on the right path toward
a breakthrough?
Also spoiler alert, we still don't know what Alzheimer's is, so we need to
talk about that too. Researchers have some hypotheses based on how your
brain processes clotting, but again, we're still a little bit in the dark
here.
So, did alleged fraud throw us down a path toward wasting millions of
dollars? No.
Did it lead us right to a cure for the disease? Also no.
It did lend some support towards the therapies that are currently our best
bet, but not only is that not a good justification for manipulating data,
but the picture is still very complicated and it's not like our current
best bet therapies are home runs either.
Q4 Which inventors have invented something useful without registering
the rights to their invention because they thought it was too useful for
mankind?
A4 Ori James, Tutor and enthusiast for math, physics, and philosophy
Tue
Dan Bricklin invented the computer spread sheet in 1978–79. He conceived of
and co-created the first spread sheet program, VisiCalc, which was the
“killer app” that transformed the personal computer from a curiosity for
hobbyists into an indispensable tool for businesses practically
overnight. (Today
we know spread sheets best through Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets.)
According to Wikipedia, Bricklin and his co-creators were actually unable
to register his invention as the law didn't provide for patents on software
at the time, so this might not be the best answer to the question. However,
I think it’s worth mentioning as an enormously useful and influential
invention which was freely and widely reproduced and improved upon by
others.
If someone sees this answer and thinks it deserves a more thorough
treatment, feel free to write me an extensive comment or, in the spirit of
the answer, write an answer of your own.
Q5 For a British person who has travelled to the United States, which
technological advances impressed you the most?
A5 Nelly Guntherson. Marine Survey Engineer (2016–present)Mon
Old fashioned Radios are so cute. You have to listen out or guess the music.
We have DAB radios in Europe and it takes all the fun out of guessing.
Drive in banks with vaccume tubes. I never used one but they look fun as we
hardly use cash any more in My part of Europe.
My dad calls your internet dialup as it's so slow but I guess it must be
full fibre in some places.
Hospitals when can bankrupt you, we don't get that in Europe for sure.
And school gun attack drills must be exciting for the kids to learn how to
dodge bullets or apply pressure to wounds. Our fire drills are a bit boring
after that.
And must be great having the freedom to think everything is a conspiracy.
It's boring in Europe as everyone thinks we live on a globe.
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