by mondu_the_fat » Mon Mar 19, 2012 4:59 pm
Ancient people are as smart as modern ones.
The difference is that ancient people 1) tend to be more ignorant (education was not a big thing and reserved for the upper crust of society) 2) less tech to work with; tech including _ways_ of thinking, such as various philosophies, including the scientific method.
I'm pretty sure Da Vinci would do great things had he lived today.
Which is something I hate about fiction sometimes, especially time travel/ISOT ones, where the time traveller from the future is almost always portrayed as superior, especially ethically. I'm sorry, beating the head of a monarch in and insisting "democracy1!!1!" (or other government type, depending on the author) is _obviously_ better is very, very annoying.
"So Igor wasn't kidding. Most people just ensure they won't die cold and alone by making friends...I gain superpowers and have mysterious voices tell me I did a good job. My life is a goddamn mess."
-- Minato Arisato, My Life is a Goddamn Mess