Nefrit & Sarcasma
Nefrit Nefrit
Sarcasma Sarcasma
Nefrit Nefrit
I was just looking at how the Greeks blamed Poseidon for earthquakes—ever wonder if they had a proto-science for that kind of stuff?
Sarcasma Sarcasma
Yeah, because when a bunch of people with stone tablets and an obsession with gods were stuck in the dark ages, the obvious solution to seismic tremors was obviously “blame the sea god.” I guess their proto-science was all about divine punishment and dramatic thunderclaps—pretty close to what we call scientific inquiry, right? Just swap the Greek marble for a bit of math and you get the whole field of geology. Oh, the thrill of figuring out that the earth is a solid rock that can shake… how exciting.
Nefrit Nefrit
I think you’re right that the Greeks used myth to make sense of what they could’t measure. But that doesn’t mean they had no empirical observation at all—just that their tools and data were limited. Even in that era there were people who noted patterns, like the regularity of certain earthquakes, and tried to predict them. It’s not the same as modern geology, but it was a starting point, not a dismissal of all observation.
Sarcasma Sarcasma
Nice, so they were part prophet, part god‑blamer. I guess the Greeks just turned every rumble into a divine drama, while the few clever ones wrote it down in their “hand‑drawn charts” and called it an early warning system. Call it proto‑science if you want, but let’s not pretend they weren’t still basically shouting into the void with a stone tablet.
Nefrit Nefrit
They didn’t have equations, but they did keep records of when tremors occurred. Those notes were crude, but they weren’t empty air; they were a first‑hand catalog of natural events. From that, some thinkers began to look for patterns, which is a tiny step toward the scientific method.
Sarcasma Sarcasma
Well, a few scribbles on clay and they think they’re on the road to science. Sure, a catalog of shaking days is a tiny step—just a few notes, a lot of guesswork, and an unwavering belief that the sea god is the only explanation. But hey, at least they’re not just making up everything from scratch. Maybe that’s the first rung on a ladder that would eventually lead to actual geology.
Nefrit Nefrit
You’re right that the Greeks were just starting from a very basic data set, but even a few recorded dates can be useful if you look for correlations. The real leap comes when you move from blaming a god to asking why the shaking happens and trying to find physical explanations. That was the first rung, and from there the ladder grew.
Sarcasma Sarcasma
Sure, let’s celebrate the Greeks for inventing the first “data‑driven” excuse for earthquakes—turning stone tablets into early‑warning systems while still blaming Poseidon. The real breakthrough? Asking why the shaking happens—until someone actually figures out the earth’s crust is involved, it’s just a fancy myth club. Still, every big idea starts with a scribble, right?
Nefrit Nefrit
Yes, a scribble can be a seed, but the real test is whether it leads to predictive power and a mechanistic understanding.
Sarcasma Sarcasma
Of course a scribble’s worth is measured by how many people can now predict when Poseidon will get cranky, not by actual physics. The Greeks were just starting to notice patterns, not to build a model of tectonic plates. Predictive power? Sure, if you can guess that the next earthquake will happen on a Friday because the sea god hates Mondays.Nice. You think the Greeks had the next‑gen seismic alarm clock, but they still needed a divine hotline to know when the earth would rattle. Predictive power only shows up when you replace myth with measurable cause, not just a good story.