Cicero

In 1543 the Portuguese introduced guns into Japan where they were rapidly adopted such that by the end of the 16th century there were more guns in Japan than anywhere else in the world with over 300,000 arquebuses in use there. Yet at the height of their popularity, they were abandoned and within a century there were none in use in Japan. The best explanation that I have heard of this is that the new technology was antithetical to the samurai spirit cultural aspect of Japan. A warrior could spend his whole life perfecting his skill and yet with a gun could be dispatched with ease by the lowliest peasant with a gun.


This thread is to discuss this event in Japan more or to give other examples of cultures intentionally abandoning seemingly advanced technology.

gaius valerius

Well for the classic world it is often said that many technologic advancements were not put to good use because of the use of slave-labour.

Jhangora

Nice thread.

One example I can think of this - denuclearization of Central Asian countries.

Read about

Cicero

Good example. I would wonder though how capable those countries would be in startting their own or maintaining Soviet nuclear sources.

Interesting in that the US had an exagerated adverse reaction to a civilian nuclear power disaster in the three mile island event in 1989. Afterwards, the construction of new nuclear plants effectively stopped, although there was a a decline in new construction due to perceived over capacity.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_M...power_industry

Gaius Septimus Severus

you know Japs....
their Just Japs

Lawnmowerman

EERRR Gaius WTF, was reading your first posts and thinking, this is a knoweldgable intellegant guy who i look forward to speaking/learning from and you post something like that. Don't make me change my opinion of you.

Jhangora

I don't think any of these nations would have the resources or expertise to develop or even maintain Soviet nuclear arsenal. That most probably would have been the primary reason they abandoned them.

I think a very good decision for the citizens of Central Asia, or Al Qaeda and other such groups would be there looking to get the technology and close on their heels - the Western world.

Another example of abandonment of advanced technology would be China's Great Leap Forward. One can argue that the intention was to make China a more industrialized and robust nation but the implementation was all wrong and it resulted in millions of deaths.

Cicero

That certainly is true. They had backyard smelters to make steel most of which was worthless.

Gaius Septimus Severus

Romans can change time to time. at least their smell doesn't change. |Just try to get used to it

~Sev

blacksmit049

To be specific, there was a man who invented a steam engine (not quite sure) that when it is heated the boiling water spins the machine. It was the time of Ptolemy's rule in Egypt, and recorded in the Library of Alexandria. I don't know what is his name, anyone?

Edit: Okay nevermind I got it, his name was Hero of Alexander, and his invention was Aeolipile.