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Qanat

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Re: Qanat

#51

Post by justsaysmthng »

Such (ancient) technologies plus state-of-the-art computing and communication systems is prime material for science fiction novels about highly advanced civilizations.

I think we should strive towards that - use the wisdom of our ancestors to build zero-energy systems, powered by naturally occurring energy, controlled and enhanced by computers.

There are lots and lots of things that have already been invented in the past, we should just listen to our grand grandparents a bit closer.. After all, they built them for future generations, including us..

Re: Qanat

#52

Post by neito »

My first thought (even though it's a bit of an overused meme) is that these look exactly like the holes in Japanese horror manga master Junji Ito's /The Enigma of Amigara Fault/ (don't look that up if you're claustrophobic or not cool with body horror).

Re: Qanat

#53

Post by talideon »

infinite8s wrote: post #47
ptaipale wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This one btw doesn't include the one that is strangest to me: that Chinese for mom or momma is 妈妈 "mama" and pop , pappa is 爸爸 "baba".

The 'ma' and 'pa' sounds are some of the easiest sounds to make by babies since they just require the lips and don't involve the tongue.

You might be interested in the article by Larry Trask linked to here: http://languagehat.com/trask-on-mama-and-papa/

Re: Qanat

#54

Post by talideon »

ptaipale wrote: post #24
schoen wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a great list of these at https://web.archive.org/web/20070227031854/http://members.ao...

This one btw doesn't include the one that is strangest to me: that Chinese for mom or momma is 妈妈 "mama" and pop , pappa is 爸爸 "baba".

There's nothing even slightly strange about it. The terms are self-recapitulating because parents mistake children's babbling for first words. If anything, it'd be strange if they weren't the same. Take a read of this: http://languagehat.com/trask-on-mama-and-papa/

Re: Qanat

#56

Post by ricksplat »

ricksplat wrote: post #32
ptaipale wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This one btw doesn't include the one that is strangest to me: that Chinese for mom or momma is 妈妈 "mama" and pop , pappa is 爸爸 "baba".

I always presumed these were universal because they are the easiest sounds for infants to make.

I'm not sure why that was downvoted. It's a reasonable assertion.

Re: Qanat

#57

Post by mercer »

justsaysmthng wrote: post #51

Such (ancient) technologies plus state-of-the-art computing and communication systems is prime material for science fiction novels about highly advanced civilizations. I think we should strive towards that - use the wisdom of our ancestors to build zero-energy systems, powered by naturally occurring energy, controlled and enhanced by computers. There are lots and lots of things that have already been invented in the…

I'd add nature to that 'list'. There's so much we can - and have - learned from what sometimes appear to be dumb or primitive processes.

Re: Qanat

#58

Post by jwilk »

mootothemax wrote: post #35
karlb wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And just because two words sound similar doesn't mean they have similar roots. The word for “dog” in the Australian Aboriginal language Mbabaram happens to be “dog,” not because they have the same root but by coincidence. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=UtFqXQosVP0C&pg=PT283&lp...

Just to add to the fun, the etymology of the word "dog" itself is completely unknown. There's a single documented mention of the Old English "docga" - and then nothing. How this word took over pretty much well entirely from "hound" is a mystery. If that's not enough, the Polish word for dog - "pies" - has exactly the same issue! (and I believe, but can't say with any certainty, that other Slavic languages may have th…

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/p...

Re: Qanat

#59

Post by ptaipale »

talideon wrote: post #54
ptaipale wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This one btw doesn't include the one that is strangest to me: that Chinese for mom or momma is 妈妈 "mama" and pop , pappa is 爸爸 "baba".

There's nothing even slightly strange about it. The terms are self-recapitulating because parents mistake children's babbling for first words. If anything, it'd be strange if they weren't the same. Take a read of this: http://languagehat.com/trask-on-mama-and-papa/

Then why isn't aunt "gaga" in all languages?

Re: Qanat

#60

Post by ars »

505 wrote: post #26

I first encountered this word reading Frank Herbert's Dune, so it was a bit odd when I encountered it in other literature. Later I realised one of the great things about Herbert's SF - he uses many real-world cultures as sources for his world building

> he uses many real-world cultures as sources for his world building

Yup, like Kwisatz Haderach which is in Hebrew.

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