Why does popular culture perceive ancient humans (apart from

>>2957934

Every generation thinks itself more sophisticated than the one before, and wiser than the one that follows.

>>2957934
Because we want to feel special. That's why we get surprised when it's mentioned time and time again that non-English internet is a thing, that Asians that aren't East Asian and Africans have access to modern communication devices, that memes existed before the internet.

>>2957934
>Why does popular culture perceive ancient humans (apart from very few notable exceptions) as stupid, bumbling fools?

>It seems as though people can't comprehend humans in 4000 B.C. or 1500 B.C. or 30 A.D. essentially had the same intelligence as ours.

Why do you think those are muturally exclusive beliefs?

>>2958335
>memes existed before the internet.
What?

>>2958715
Yeah it's just a part of human nature dude.

>>2959146
>human nature
Talking about memes

>>2957934
People living subsistence lifestyle with no education are unsophisticated on many issues because they are more interested in survival

>>2959179
Look up the written messages around pompey. The wrote a lot of crude stuff and other things all around the town.

Actually at least half of the people we worship the ancients. From greek philosophers and generals to biblical figures.

>>2957942
what is there to support this claim? any sources making it?

>>2957934
My perspective for a while now has been that this is an artifact of progressivist ideology coming ultimately out of the movement of modernity (scientific revolution, political liberalism, all around anti-traditionalism, etc.).
Many people (like >>2957934) attribute it to a perennial fact of human psychology, for example Richard Dawkins opens one of his books talking about "the conceit of hindsight," where supposedly humans just have an innate tendency (bias) to view the past as something inferior leading up to the proper state of things embodied in the present.
But there are enclaves of the exact opposite view in popular culture today, for example spiritual communities (esoteric, New Age) which elevate "ancient wisdom" above all else, and politically reactionary communities (like /pol/) which also view our time as "fallen" compared to the past.
The view that people in the past were stupid seems to be confined to the social spheres of typical modernists and their champions like secularists, humanists, atheists, scientismists, etc.
I don't know how right this is though.

>>2959372
>Many people (like >>2957934 (OP))
meant to link to >>2957942, not OP

File: Richard_of_Wallingford.jpg (335KB, 708x750px) Image search: [Google]

335KB, 708x750px

>>2957934
Because people won't get to feel special if they acknowledge that they're no more rational than their ancestors and are merely standing on their shoulders.

>>2959342

I don't think you understand what a meme is

>>2959353
Cherhill

>>2959381
A 'meme' or a 'Meme'?

Jk, I am not the other anon. Still the literal definition of meme includes so many things that is ridiculous.
>tfw democracy is unironically a meme
there must be some way to define 'it' better: the the internettian concept of meme is almost the one of the inside joke, the dawkins' one includes every cultural concept that can be passed down on generations. Call me stupid but there must be something in between, or at least there must be way to actively differentiate the two

>>2959381
NTG, but a meme is basically ANY idea that spreads through a culture/population.
From sad Pepe's to concepts like "God".

and as a bonus, the man who came up with the term,.. I leave that up to you to google.

>>2958715
>>2959381
"Kilroy was here", "Andre the giant has a posse", the 3 hares, abacadraba.
All of these are memes.