@newt@stereophonic.space
@matrix funny enough, but seafaring was banned in China for several centuries.
SantaSnekFriend 
Far Easterners (at least in the distant past) don’t have the Western drive to conquer the world, seeing nature as a friend instead of an enemy as Abrahamic teachings have hammered into the Indo-European world for 3-4 millennia.
Think of those guys as the high elves from Lord of the Rings: just sitting on their asses for centuries, painting and playing their flutes and drums trying to be at one with everything.
@matrix When creativity is the exception, rather than the goal, no one thinks how different acts of creativity might go together.
There are few compound effects.
High IQ is important, but how it's employed is just as much so.
There are few compound effects.
High IQ is important, but how it's employed is just as much so.
Lack of competition.
Europe was comprised of many states constantly fighting with one another and any new technology that might have provided a potential advantage over competitors was exploited to the max.
@jcbrand @matrix generally yeah. if you've got several other national powers trying to one up another in arms races, you'll have a higher need to innovate and have better tech than the other guys and it'll trickle down to civilian use.
The wright brothers were credited with the invention of the first motor-operated airplane and just over a decade later planes have been improved and fitted into use for war and reconnaissance, eventually trickling down to commercial and economic use. Adversity prompts growth.
The wright brothers were credited with the invention of the first motor-operated airplane and just over a decade later planes have been improved and fitted into use for war and reconnaissance, eventually trickling down to commercial and economic use. Adversity prompts growth.
Hyperhidrosis 
