Cicero

Thanks for the explication. No this was the only example that he gave as the issue was tangential to the main discussion.

Paulinus

Yes and another Briton, Joseph Swan, developed and patented the viable standard incandescent light bulb a year before Edison but that doesn't prevent most of the world believing Edison invented it.

leakbrewergator

No problem.

I think there is a good example for this discussion within Japanese history. The crossbow, especially the Oyumi were advanced technologies that were "abandoned" by the Japanese. In the Ninth century the Oyumi (which are basically huge crossbows) were used in several military engagements throughout Japan. In the 10th century it was even called a "god" among other weapons. However the weapons quickly fell out of favor and there is hardly any physical evidence of their existence today.

It's still debatable why exactly crossbows were abandoned. However, there are countless documents from the period complaining of the complexity of the larger Oyumi and the lack of suitable teachers. Also, even the smaller crossbows were seen as somewhat cumbersome on the battlefield.

DiaitaDoc

Who here can still flintknap?

Who here can still get a fire going in a rainy forest, using nothing but stone and wood?

Who here can still build a proper shelter starting with only raw, unprocessed bush materials and no ready-made tools?

Most of the world has forgotten these technologies, but for most of human history they were necessary. Their abandonment is both due to the cultural scpecialization that eventually occurred (smiths, masons, carpenters, etc) and due to the "Maslow's Hammer" phenomenon (which seems much more prevalent in the digital world - all techs are electronic/digital or they're no good.)