On: Creating an Institution That Lasts 10k Years

[qzw]

>It’s unclear if civilization started because we could ferment things, or we started fermenting things and therefore civilization started...

Wait, aren't those two ways of saying the same thing? I would think the alternative would be "or civilization started and therefore we could ferment things."

[valarauko → qzw]

>Wait, aren't those two ways of saying the same thing?

Yup. Both posit causality from fermentation -> civilization.

[qzw → valarauko]

I suspect the second part was supposed to read "or we started fermenting things because civilization started..."

[davidw → qzw]

Maybe we're a little fuzzy from too much fermented stuff.

[RobertoG → qzw]

It's a strange sentence anyway.

I suppose he calls civilization to the Neolithic, so civilization started with agriculture, and with agriculture you have something to ferment (and more people trying different things). Doesn't look so mysterious to me.

[SilasX → RobertoG]

You can have something to ferment before you're growing it yourself: take the fruits (or whatever) growing in nature.