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jibo82
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2008
- Messages
- 211
In my other thread which was derailed by ogres and eventually shut down when I went Ogre hunting, the general consensus seemed to be that necessity is the mother of invention and that the primitive tribes of Southern Africa never had the necessity to develop written language or their own alphabet. Its a pity we never got to conclude that thread. I want to apologize for my rudeness in that thread.
This got me thinking, is necessity really the mother of invention? Were all of the eminent scientists through history compelled to innovate for survival of were the inventions realized while they were at ease and their minds freed from worries about survival?
I am not saying necessity is not needed for invention, most inventions and innovation probably came out of some necessity. But a lot of advancements in the last few centuries would probably not have been possible had the societies in which they occurred not advanced to a point to which the capacity for such inventions could flourish in its individuals.
My "opinion" is that the assertion that the people of Southern Africa would have developed advanced technologies and inventions if compelled to by necessity is incorrect. The development of a sophisticated and advanced society is not constrained by necessity but rather by intellectual curiosity. I conclude that such a society which seems to have show very little if any progress for millennia is unlikely to suddenly show it because necessity demands it. What necessity forces one group of people to develop more advanced and refined cuisine? perhaps a more refined sense of taste which requires the development of more sophisticated methods of food preparation, while another group never ever develops such advanced food preparation methods. Why do some societies have sublime architecture and art and some have none? what necessity drove them to create such architecture and art?
It seems that invention is dependent on the sophistication of the society and the enablement of the individuals within that society to be invent.
I will not respond to trolls or attempts to derail the thread.
"Where necessity ends, curiosity begins; and no sooner are we supplied with everything that nature can demand than we sit down to contrive artificial appetites." Samuel Johnson
I don't think necessity is the mother of invention. Invention, in my opinion, arises directly from idleness, prossibly also from laziness - to save oneself the trouble. - H. Arendt
This got me thinking, is necessity really the mother of invention? Were all of the eminent scientists through history compelled to innovate for survival of were the inventions realized while they were at ease and their minds freed from worries about survival?
I am not saying necessity is not needed for invention, most inventions and innovation probably came out of some necessity. But a lot of advancements in the last few centuries would probably not have been possible had the societies in which they occurred not advanced to a point to which the capacity for such inventions could flourish in its individuals.
My "opinion" is that the assertion that the people of Southern Africa would have developed advanced technologies and inventions if compelled to by necessity is incorrect. The development of a sophisticated and advanced society is not constrained by necessity but rather by intellectual curiosity. I conclude that such a society which seems to have show very little if any progress for millennia is unlikely to suddenly show it because necessity demands it. What necessity forces one group of people to develop more advanced and refined cuisine? perhaps a more refined sense of taste which requires the development of more sophisticated methods of food preparation, while another group never ever develops such advanced food preparation methods. Why do some societies have sublime architecture and art and some have none? what necessity drove them to create such architecture and art?
It seems that invention is dependent on the sophistication of the society and the enablement of the individuals within that society to be invent.
I will not respond to trolls or attempts to derail the thread.
"Where necessity ends, curiosity begins; and no sooner are we supplied with everything that nature can demand than we sit down to contrive artificial appetites." Samuel Johnson
"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves." W. Pitt
I don't think necessity is the mother of invention. Invention, in my opinion, arises directly from idleness, prossibly also from laziness - to save oneself the trouble. - H. Arendt
