[OT] [I mean totally OT] Re: What can you "new"

[Christopher Wright]

Walter Bright wrote:
> Andrei Alexandrescu wrote:
>> My list:
>>
>> - wheel
>> - fire
>> - smelting metals
>> - writing
>> - arithmetic
> 
> But humans had fire 20,000 years ago! I think fire goes back a lot 
> longer than that. I also suspect that simple arithmetic is innate, 
> although a numbering system is not (see Mayan and Roman number systems).
> 
> Wouldn't the wheel be useless to a hunter-gatherer tribe?

If they are nomadic, wheels allow an individual to carry much more 
equipment. This allows them to store up surplus food more easily and 
safely. This in turn safeguards them from famine and allows for excess 
food to diversify roles in the community to a greater degree. 
Additionally, it means that the writing equipment that you supplied gets 
used, and the texts don't get tossed as soon as they move.

This does require a lightweight wheel, but you might be able to make do 
with wicker on fair terrain with light loads, or with bent wood.

In a sedentary society, it's much more efficient to move things using a 
wheelbarrow than by hand. It means that your gatherers can stay out 
longer, it doesn't take so many hunters to bring back an animal, fewer 
people are needed to fetch wood to build or burn... For a lot of tasks, 
it doesn't matter. For some, it's a small optimization. For a few, it's 
huge.