First, I think your basic premise is false. If we were to assume a “normal human population” only starts at the advent of agriculture then yes you are probably correct. But why ignore the vast sweep of human pre-history?
Clark Spencer Larsen (2006).
The Agricultural Revolution as Environmental Catastrophe: Implications for Health and Lifestyle in the Holocene.
On p. 16:
“Skeletal and dental indicators demonstrate that the shift to agriculture resulted in a decline in human health in comparison to earlier foraging populations.”
On p. 17:
“Foragers generally exhibited lower levels of physiological stress, superior dental health, and greater overall skeletal robusticity relative to early agricultural peoples.”
On p. 18:
“The adoption of agriculture frequently resulted in increased nutritional stress, higher infectious disease loads, and declines in growth and development.”
Second, what else is unimaginable to medieval peasants? 8-10hr work days year around.
Hello All,
New to LW and still reading through the intro material and getting a hang of the place. I am ashamed to admit I found this place through Reddit—ashamed because I despise Reddit and other social media.
I came here because I cannot find a place to engage in long form discussions about ideas contrary to my own. I dream of a free speech platform where only form is policed, not content. Allowing any idea to be voiced no matter how fringe as long as it adheres to agreed upon epistemic standards.
Anyways, I know LW probably is not that place but it is adjacent. It seems most people here want to discuss AI research but hoping to find some communities outside of that topic.