Some people think that there is nothing new under the sun, the book of Ecclesiastes also states this, this is the basic idea, there is nothing new, everything changes, and the old information/knowledge, is reformatted to some other type. We can see this in books that we read, Harry potter is a good example, all the creatures in these books, the characteristics of the main characters, and even the writing style is much like that of other authors, particularly of the old Greek and Romans. Many of the ideas, seemingly new to us, can be found quickly once you start reading the ancient writers. While reading Pliny the elders natural history the other day, I came upon many mythical creatures mentioned in Rowlings books, that I thought she had originated. The incantations she uses all are understood with even the slightest knowledge of Latin and Greek language. In every chapter I think I might be able to find at least one obvious thing that is nearly identical to another writer.
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English: A multi-volume Latin dictionary (Egidio F...
Pliny the Elder: an imaginative 19th Century portr...All this to say, I am not trying to bash Rowling or her books, but am merely trying to point out that this is what the world is made up of, in the lord of the rings, you find a classic mythical, science fiction story, written with all the elements most stories have, and you can see many things in that story that are found in other books, like Beowulf.
You might be thinking that technology is excluded from this, I would say that the knowledge behind the technology has always remained the same. Many of the ancient peoples made architecture that we with our technology cannot replicate, and they did it with their brains, and hand tools. Technology does change, although elements in it often can be traced...
Good point
I would have to agree, You are a product of your environment's knowledge base.
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