Those rocks up top there, yeah – 1.76 million years old, yo. We have found the oldest examples yet of pre-human Homo erectus tool use. That’s some vintage tech.
Doing This:
As my 6 loyal readers know well, the purpose of www.anthrobotic.com is to share the idea that literally absolutely totally completely everything around us is a representation of our technology. It is primal, it is innate, and it is a singular trait of our species. Our technology precedes all else defined as “human.” Love, organized religion, high school, gay pride parades, NASCAR, and coffee – none of it is possible without our technology.
Human Tools Win:
We use tools, the precursors to all subsequent technological achievements – we manipulate our environment to serve our own ends, and we do it in a particularly human way. Sure, other animals use tools too, but I don’t see any chimpanzees with space programs or global shipping lanes managed by dolphins and crows.
Check this out:
The above rocks: ~1,760,000 years ago
Spears as weapons/tools: ~400,000 years ago
Metallurgy: ~7,000 years ago
Industrial Revolution: ~200-300 years ago
Humans on the moon: July 21, 1969
iPhone: June 29, 2007
The Watson A.I. wins Jeopardy!: February 14-16, 2011*
Ummm… anybody else see a rather profound pattern here?
*You can Wikipedia all this stuff if you like.
[VIA GIZMODO VIA NEW YORK TIMES]
