tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post7700214460359698120..comments2023-05-10T08:55:47.701-07:00Comments on Richard Carrier Blogs: From Catapults to CosmologyRichard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-77877445247543494582008-05-20T17:21:00.000-07:002008-05-20T17:21:00.000-07:00Donald said... How massive were the "bullets" or b...<B>Donald said...</B> <I>How massive were the "bullets" or bolts launched by the handheld catapults (of either or both sizes--the 3 footers and the 10 inchers). And what were the muzzle velocities? Someone upthread said 90-130 mph. I'm curious about the kinetic energy involved and how it compares to modern weapons. (Obviously not comparable to rifle bullets, but would it be similar to what a Richard Carrierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-37817617931328497042008-05-20T17:18:00.001-07:002008-05-20T17:18:00.001-07:00Agnostics_R_Us said... Although the special I saw ...<B>Agnostics_R_Us said...</B> <I>Although the special I saw of that mini-pyramid building thing ended in relative failure, I think. Maybe I didn't watch the whole thing.</I><BR/><BR/>If I recall correctly, they only "failed" in the sense that they ran out of time (which is code for "budget"), and that only happened because they had wasted so many days trying it the wrong way.Richard Carrierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-87832984915050011872008-05-20T17:18:00.000-07:002008-05-20T17:18:00.000-07:00Pikemann Urge said... Historians (or people in gen...<B>Pikemann Urge said...</B> <I>Historians (or people in general) tend to assume the worst of ancient civilised peoples but often it turns out they do know what they're doing. Except for lead water pipes. Ahem.</I><BR/><BR/>Funny you should mention. The Romans knew lead was poisonous. For that very reason Vitruvius advises against lead pipes and recommends fired clay where feasible. However, Richard Carrierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-66292402019362470252008-05-16T08:58:00.000-07:002008-05-16T08:58:00.000-07:00Darn. I got here late. In case anyone is reading...Darn. I got here late. In case anyone is reading this, how massive were the "bullets" or bolts launched by the handheld catapults (of either or both sizes--the 3 footers and the 10 inchers).<BR/>And what were the muzzle velocities? Someone upthread said 90-130 mph. I'm curious about the kinetic energy involved and how it compares to modern weapons. (Obviously not comparable to rifle bullets,Donaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17533013786618065374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-26311057295827762542008-05-09T19:51:00.000-07:002008-05-09T19:51:00.000-07:00Those guys know their shit, eh? lol Kind of like...Those guys know their shit, eh? lol Kind of like Eskimos know their snow? Don't they have like twenty plus words for the different kinds of snow we'd never notice? Not sure what that says about people who have refined terminology for poop. And I'm not sure if I can work in any of those words into my personal swearing canon. We'll see. "Triplefuck" does have a nice ring to it. That's up Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14479224236264150172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-50797379224218324782008-05-07T08:42:00.000-07:002008-05-07T08:42:00.000-07:00How does one say, "holy shit" in Gaulese?Well, my ...How does one say, "holy shit" in Gaulese?<BR/><BR/>Well, my ancient Gaulish is a little rusty, but it's a P-Celtic language (like Breton, Cornish and Welsh) so you would probably say it something like the Welsh "Cachu Cysegredig!" (which sounds more like Kah-chee Kuss-kredik) or the Breton "Kaoc'h ki du!" (pron. Cacky-due!) which literally means "Shit from a Black Dog!"<BR/><BR/>In Irish, David Fitzgeraldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04763518277065858827noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-33884205373475073732008-05-07T01:35:00.000-07:002008-05-07T01:35:00.000-07:00Richard: interesting about the wood block pump. Hi...Richard: interesting about the wood block pump. Historians (or people in general) tend to assume the worst of ancient civilised peoples but often it turns out they do know what they're doing. Except for lead water pipes. Ahem.<BR/><BR/>Personally, I like the geopolymer theory of the pyramids. This article about Coral Castle is interesting if you have time:<BR/><BR/>http://www.world-mysteries.com/Pikemann Urgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02587558012877707537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-40574019880871286622008-05-06T17:32:00.000-07:002008-05-06T17:32:00.000-07:00Agnostics_R_Us said... How does one say, "holy shi...<B>Agnostics_R_Us said...</B> <I>How does one say, "holy shit" in Gaulese?</I><BR/><BR/>Good question. David, how does one say "holy shit" in the language of the Celts?<BR/><BR/><I>I still wonder how accurate that two spring tosser was. How do you aim a thing like that?</I><BR/><BR/>Modern reconstructions would be deemed embarrassing hack work by ancient engineers (and reconstructors will Richard Carrierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-38055373462626448772008-05-06T17:27:00.000-07:002008-05-06T17:27:00.000-07:00I can add to Pikeman's examples the one in the NOV...I can add to Pikeman's examples the one in the NOVA episode called, I think, <I>Pyramid</I>, in which a bunch of archaeologists and engineers were tasked with building a small replica pyramid (I think in fact in Cairo, or in any case somewhere in Egypt) using the same tools and materials, to see how plausible different theories were. <BR/><BR/>Maybe I'm thinking of a different episode, but I Richard Carrierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-92009139196444187972008-05-05T02:51:00.000-07:002008-05-05T02:51:00.000-07:00I can only think of one example off-hand, and I ha...I can only think of one example off-hand, and I have forgotten the details. Mr. Yamamura of high-end hi-fi company Yamamura Churchill said that he got lots of his fundamental understanding of electronics from an old textbook which contained information that somehow got lost over the decades after WW2.<BR/><BR/>Also, my mechanic, when taking a client's engine to a dyno, broke the record for the Pikemann Urgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02587558012877707537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-727661546893775622008-05-04T06:42:00.000-07:002008-05-04T06:42:00.000-07:00Pike,Before I go scouring the internet to sate my ...Pike,<BR/><BR/>Before I go scouring the internet to sate my interest, do you happen to know off hand if there's a list of ancient technologies "lost and found" that we *do* happen to know of? It'd be nice to get a general feel for how some of that might go. Well...I'll probably go look anyway before you or anyone responds, but that doesn't mean I'll find what you might have in mind already. So Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14479224236264150172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-52167222301118722392008-05-04T04:17:00.000-07:002008-05-04T04:17:00.000-07:00Interesting indeed. This is noteworthy:"technology...Interesting indeed. This is noteworthy:<BR/><BR/>"technology as an inseparable part of Greco-Roman culture that has all too often been overlooked by other historians, passed off as some sort of specialization that classicists need not concern themselves with"<BR/><BR/>Technology is taken for granted as a part of our society and an influence on it. And yet there are some who suggest it was Pikemann Urgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02587558012877707537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-7228658331072981112008-05-03T00:40:00.000-07:002008-05-03T00:40:00.000-07:00Oh yeah, and forgive my anachronistic prejudice. ...Oh yeah, and forgive my anachronistic prejudice. I'm sure the "IDiots" of yesteryear deserve a little more credit than the modern ones. Although I do wonder who that bright agnostic thinker was that was able to at the very least recognize the "who created the designer" problem and the fact they really just didn't know enough about anything to really come to a decent conclusion. Although this Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14479224236264150172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-70522157546185360082008-05-02T07:28:00.000-07:002008-05-02T07:28:00.000-07:00I think I got a bit of that feeling the Gauls had ...I think I got a bit of that feeling the Gauls had given I had no idea of such Roman badassery. How does one say, "holy shit" in Gaulese? I had to google a video of it in action. Pretty cool stuff. I still wonder how accurate that two spring tosser was. How do you aim a thing like that? Do you just point it at a scene from LotR's and expect casualties? I guess the spectators crap their Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14479224236264150172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-89449939884528539682008-05-01T08:09:00.000-07:002008-05-01T08:09:00.000-07:00Thanks for such a terrific synopsis! I'm really de...Thanks for such a terrific synopsis! I'm really delighted to see you post on these excellent books; they all sound like they should be required reading. <BR/>-DFDavid Fitzgeraldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04763518277065858827noreply@blogger.com