Friday, September 08, 2006

Past and Present Knowledge

When you look at the monuments that the ancient Egyptians left behind you wonder how they erected those huge structures. What tools did they have? I don't think it is known up to this day how they did it. In adddition to those enormous structures, they chiseled intricate details with vivid colors that remain until today for over three thousand years! But what really is mind-boggling the mumification process that they perfected, that kept their mummies in good condition for over two thousand years. How did they test their chemicals to make sure they would hold up over the ages? I don't know about you but I have many unanswered questions on how they did all that. Did they have technology that we don't have today? Certainly they had advanced knowledge, but what happened to it? Was it kept secret or did it simply get lost?
We tend to think today that our technology is far advanced than any previous time in history. Didn't we split the atom and release dreadful energy? We even landed on the moon and are on our way to conquer Mars and other planets too. We seem to understand better than ever before how the universe started and how it keeps evolving. We figured out how matter was formed after we examined its tiniest constituents. We have sophisticated machines and electronic devices that could not even be imagined a hundred years ago.
But in spite of all that it seems that there is a different kind of knowledge that was lost somehow along the ages. A kind of knowledge that could rival if not exceed our present day technology. One scenario comes to mind is that a nuclear war erupted and destroyed civilization on this planet once before, like in Planet of the Apes movie. There is an uncanny resemblance to our present day situation, as such a scenario is not too far fetched at all. What do you think?