The Library of Alexandria: What Did We Lose?

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 มิ.ย. 2024
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ความคิดเห็น • 409

  • @decodingtheunknown2373
    @decodingtheunknown2373  2 วันที่ผ่านมา +15

    👟 Embrace Summer cool splash with Vessi! Discover comfort and versatility at vessi.com/dtu for an instant 15% off your first order upon checkout!

    • @DneilB007
      @DneilB007 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +4

      I can always tell when Vessi is sponsoring the podcast by the enraptured look in Simon’s eyes.

    • @marcbeebee6969
      @marcbeebee6969 วันที่ผ่านมา

      You did make a video about this library in the past 😂

    • @harleysons-zg4xy
      @harleysons-zg4xy วันที่ผ่านมา

      Papyrus paper Simon👍

  • @MinAgust
    @MinAgust 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +245

    Rest in peace library of Alexandria, you would’ve loved wattpad and ao3 :(

    • @Sleuth23
      @Sleuth23 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +10

      Y'all better like this, this is fucking funny.

    • @Sleuth23
      @Sleuth23 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +9

      "Give me all of your dead dove don't eat"

    • @ocean-mist
      @ocean-mist วันที่ผ่านมา +1

      *Giggles as I read an ao3 au

    • @3X3NTR1K
      @3X3NTR1K วันที่ผ่านมา +15

      Alexandria Of Our Own

    • @timbrwolf1121
      @timbrwolf1121 วันที่ผ่านมา +4

      And urban dictionary

  • @user-pi7gc4wg8k
    @user-pi7gc4wg8k 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +114

    Rumor has it there were scrolls among the collection that explained how one could create content on multiple TH-cam channels so rapidly that it defies the laws of space and time.....I think they should look into where Simon was around 48 BC!

    • @longtabsigo
      @longtabsigo วันที่ผ่านมา +5

      Simon isn’t real he is pure A.I.

    • @brianmulholland2467
      @brianmulholland2467 วันที่ผ่านมา

      I mean, Simon's secret is pretty well known - he doesn't read any of his stuff in advance. No proofreading. No editing. No rehearsing. Just read it live

    • @charlesmadisonrhea
      @charlesmadisonrhea 18 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา +1

      Simonius Maximus

  • @maxwirt921
    @maxwirt921 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +62

    Simon “Birds are still in existence”.
    Me “Ha! You idiot; birds aren’t real!”😂

    • @chasebob8327
      @chasebob8327 วันที่ผ่านมา +4

      So much for "FACT"boi

    • @maxwirt921
      @maxwirt921 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

      @@chasebob8327 😂

    • @Kaos1794
      @Kaos1794 วันที่ผ่านมา

      Scrolled this as he said it... goosebumps

    • @RealElongatedMuskrat
      @RealElongatedMuskrat 17 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

      Can't believe he's still falling for that one

  • @manslaughterinc.9135
    @manslaughterinc.9135 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +24

    Skipping over Eratosthenes is kind of a disservice. He didn't get "pretty close" to measuring the circumference of the earth. He came up with between 39,060 to 40,320 kilometers. considering the earth is approximately 40,000 km, I'd say he hit the nail on the head.

    • @TheUltimateWriterNZ
      @TheUltimateWriterNZ วันที่ผ่านมา +3

      The whole piece comes off very dismissive imo

    • @isaiahach
      @isaiahach วันที่ผ่านมา +4

      i thought they put it that way as a joke. like the petty person pretending they're not impressed that you see in a lot of comedy movies

    • @benthomason3307
      @benthomason3307 59 นาทีที่ผ่านมา

      I wish he went into more detail on the guy too. most sources I've read on him say that his nickname of "beta" was intended as a compliment suggesting that he was 2nd best at everything, but Carl Sagan said he was given it by a jealous peer.

  • @christopherlopez4087
    @christopherlopez4087 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +71

    I love the Supernatural reference with the Men of Letters. And I love that Simon didn’t even notice lol

    • @djdrack4681
      @djdrack4681 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +12

      Simon doesn't believe in ghost; you think he believes in a group of people fighting Jefferson Starships and Werepires?

    • @theUglyGypsy
      @theUglyGypsy 2 วันที่ผ่านมา

      It's just a term for educated persons. I'm not sure she was aiming for that reference

    • @roborob4296
      @roborob4296 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +3

      i mean it was a fun but god awful show. it ran way too long and the stories were way too representative. just have to always keep upping the stakes because yea.... but then 20+ episode seasons so plenty of time for side quests!

    • @stevejester5658
      @stevejester5658 2 วันที่ผ่านมา

      He wouldnt- he's a Mandroid.

    • @PhenomRom
      @PhenomRom 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +6

      @@roborob4296I liked it when it was about monsters n demons. I lost interest when it was about him being the devil or god or whatever

  • @michaelpipkin9942
    @michaelpipkin9942 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +65

    Fuckin kids smoking in the back....probably tried to hide a roach in the trash.

    • @djdrack4681
      @djdrack4681 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +5

      "The Past was the Worst" example 465: Builds library in a semi-arid desert next to the sea...It burns down: nobody had invented 'firefighting' in the last 2mil years since hominids 'discovered' how to use fire.

    • @Maxtyur
      @Maxtyur วันที่ผ่านมา

      "CRINGE"

  • @Bubbaist
    @Bubbaist 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +35

    You should do a DTU about Carlos Castaneda and his cult, the members of which disappeared the day after he died. It would also be interesting to decode what a fraud he was.

    • @nmd33
      @nmd33 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +4

      Yes, please!

    • @shawnnewell4541
      @shawnnewell4541 17 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

      Yes. This dude was my high school English teacher's favorite literary figure. I was less impressed.

  • @justinbuergi9867
    @justinbuergi9867 วันที่ผ่านมา +16

    “These were the early days before they started hunting down the knights of hell”
    Good lord Simon. You really just skipped right past that supernatural reference without noticing a thing wrong with that sentence

  • @powwowken2760
    @powwowken2760 วันที่ผ่านมา +48

    I feel like the writers dismissal of how easily high end knowledge could be lost in the ancient world is a colored way too much by our modern view of the world.
    Very few people in the ancient world could even read, let alone read multiple languages, and those few people would all have their own interests and biases. It is absolutely possible and extremely likely for knowledge to completely disappear because the original book was lost or destroyed... Yes, "People who studied aerospace wouldn't forget it if they lost the book", but does that really matter if there were only 4 people interested and educated enough to study it? Would that knowledge really survive?

    • @TheUltimateWriterNZ
      @TheUltimateWriterNZ วันที่ผ่านมา +11

      Yes this irked me. Even a library that was moderate by modern standards WOULD be a wonder thousands of years ago.

    • @Scheherazade-wq1ve
      @Scheherazade-wq1ve วันที่ผ่านมา

      I imagine the ancient herbs/treatments lost due to the burning of the library. Imagine if one rare tribe found a way to treat cancer and cure it. A war hits them so they are reduced to 5 members and within one more generation they are now all dead. Their cure was written down only once and placed on an obscure shelf in the very back of the library, forgotten but safe, and then the library burns and it is lost forever. Or the lost plants and animals we will now never know about(if something went extinct 3000 years ago not likely many people would know of it today...same idea)....I also loath the vatican for committing nearly the same thing. The vatican has who knows what books/papyri/ancient medical texts/botany texts/engineering marvels of the ancient world....someday we, humanity as a whole, needs to pass a what ever it takes to make them share each and everything hidden away in their vaults, etc.

    • @AArdW01f
      @AArdW01f วันที่ผ่านมา

      Especially since artifacts like the Antycathera Mechanism are proof that the extreme high end of speculation and mythos of what Archimedes was able to achieve in his lifetime is likely real. The device alone is proof they had sophisticated clockwork technology nearly 2000 years before it was rediscovered.
      Had the knowledge accumulated during that time been recorded and heavily distributed it's entirely possible the moon landing could have happened during the Roman age.
      But it wasn't knowledge that was particularly relevant to their day to day lives and so it was lost.

    • @ItsHyomoto
      @ItsHyomoto วันที่ผ่านมา +5

      There's perhaps a missing link here: if the Greeks were so focused on the knowledge as described, it wouldn't have been full of secret technologies, it would have been full of the arts and history. A loss for sure, but not of how to farm or build rocket engines. As was said, not everyone could read and trade knowledge was passed down through individual training, not study. It's possible some math or recipe was lost, but it's just not likely it was of the substance to have stymied human progress by a thousand years.

    • @Skelath
      @Skelath วันที่ผ่านมา +1

      We still have books of ancient Roman technology, such as the autonomous vehicle that could move by itself for 10 minutes and their mechanism for automatic doors that involved lighting a fire that after 2 hours would proceed to open a door.
      We also still have books of their math equations, their study in medicine, how they exercised, and the fasting diets they used to get in shape for the Olympics.
      Even when it comes to the guy (Marcus Manilius) who invented the method for extract horoscopes from the zodiac signs using math and diagrams we still have his books in which is still used today for creating horoscopes.
      The "24 hours, 60 minutes, 60 seconds" in a day and "365 days" in the year, and our calender is all from Romen books.
      Our greatest knowledge of Socretes comes from the written works of Xenophon a Spartan General.
      Our only knowledge of Epictetus is the discourses written down by Arrian a Roman General.
      Another thing to add is in these books the authors also mention hundreds of other books that no longer exist.
      Here we are today still confused about how the pyramids were built.
      However the political structure in the US is all based on the political structure in Athens 2,400 years ago in which both Xenophon, Diodorus, Plato, Aristotle, and others wrote about.

  • @jrmckim
    @jrmckim 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +49

    Whoa... whoa... wait a minute... where did the bookshelf go? I only watch this for the bookshelf!

    • @benzomanic2972
      @benzomanic2972 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +14

      He's probably still making videos at his house. There was construction at the office, lol

    • @jonschreiners5006
      @jonschreiners5006 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +2

      This could make an episode unto itself

    • @valolafson6035
      @valolafson6035 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +8

      ​@@benzomanic2972 I thought he got a ''shared workspace'' for that. It would be tough to record that much with kids around.

    • @klaatunecktie7906
      @klaatunecktie7906 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +5

      It got burned down

    • @personzorz
      @personzorz 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +10

      The Library of Whistleria, lost to the ages.

  • @LilyGrace95
    @LilyGrace95 วันที่ผ่านมา +7

    I think there's a lot of the "known" ancient world (aka Eurasia) that was in the library, like the plans for the Colussus of Rhodes, statue of Zeus in Olympia, and I _think_ descriptions of pyramid building and ancient cities like Persepolis, that wasn't kept elsewhere. That's the knowledge I'm desperately sad we lost. Yes it's sad we lost early versions of the Illyad, but it's so much worse that we lost any and all contemporary depictions of these incredible feats of human ingenuity....

  • @Luzarioth
    @Luzarioth 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +39

    Man of Letters ? Fighting Knights of Hell ? I miss Supernatural...

    • @nharber9837
      @nharber9837 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +6

      Me too! I just really wish they hadn’t spent so much time on the boring Christian stuff.

    • @quantum861
      @quantum861 วันที่ผ่านมา

      😂 Simon didn’t even question that the men of letters are fighting the nights off hell. Love supernatural

  • @rentonfreak
    @rentonfreak 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +12

    Im surprised there was no mention of the Modern Library of Alexandria as a bonus at the end

  • @OlyChickenGuy
    @OlyChickenGuy 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +13

    Your home office makes a pretty good, nicely aesthetic backdrop. I'm especially loving the soft light from the door. :3

    • @marieseaman7855
      @marieseaman7855 วันที่ผ่านมา

      Pretty sure that's a fake background

    • @OlyChickenGuy
      @OlyChickenGuy วันที่ผ่านมา +2

      @@marieseaman7855 Possibly, but Simon did mention somewhere in the episode that he's working from home and, "that's why the background looks different." It COULD be edited in, but I also know Simon takes pride in designing his backdrops to fit specific channels, so I wouldn't put it passed him to build up his home office to also be generally aesthetic.

  • @jackvos8047
    @jackvos8047 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +14

    Alexander the Great named 70 cities after himself and one after his horse.
    The only field that may have been set back thousands of years by the "destruction" is Egyptology due to the possibility of Greek - Egyptian dictionaries that could have made the discovery of the Rosetta Stone a moot point.
    Edit spelling.

    • @tolkienfan1972
      @tolkienfan1972 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

      Moot

    • @jackvos8047
      @jackvos8047 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

      @@tolkienfan1972 I thought it looked wrong.

    • @tolkienfan1972
      @tolkienfan1972 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

      @@jackvos8047 😁

    • @phaedrapage4217
      @phaedrapage4217 วันที่ผ่านมา

      Really? His horse? I had no idea. That's cool.

    • @RealElongatedMuskrat
      @RealElongatedMuskrat 17 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

      With a statue and all! He loved that horse, bless him.​@@phaedrapage4217

  • @goober5713
    @goober5713 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +7

    Keith Richards lit a joint and accidentally threw it on some hay, and it burned down. I thought everyone knew this.

  • @hellokittysays6333
    @hellokittysays6333 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +11

    This wasn't just a library as we'd think of in modern terms. If it hadn't burned, we might know the secrets of Greek fire, Roman concrete, and whatever the hell the antikythra mechanism is or was.

    • @MrChickennugget360
      @MrChickennugget360 2 วันที่ผ่านมา

      do you have any evidence that these were all stored in the library? Or are you just assuming that they were there without evidence.

    • @wingerding
      @wingerding วันที่ผ่านมา +2

      ​@@MrChickennugget360 your answer is literally in his comment when he said "might".

    • @phaedrapage4217
      @phaedrapage4217 วันที่ผ่านมา

      Isn't the recipe for Greek fire in the Anarchist's Cookbook? Could've sworn I read it in there as a teenager. At the time, you could find all the ingredients at Menards.

    • @captainspaulding5963
      @captainspaulding5963 วันที่ผ่านมา

      ​@phaedrapage4217 you may be thinking of napalm. Greek fire, much like Roman concrete and REAL Damascus steel have yet to be replicated

    • @mj.ray0898
      @mj.ray0898 วันที่ผ่านมา

      Can't speak for Greek fire, but didn't they recently discover the secret to Roman concrete was the seawater they used to mix it? That it basically made it self-repairing, but it's too soft for many modern applications, something like that. They also have been able to use non-destructive imaging to see inside the antikythera machine and clear up a lot of the mystery. Take it with a grain of salt, I'm not sure where I saw this info, but it was within the last year or two (probably) and it very likely was one of Simon's channels 😂

  • @bboops23
    @bboops23 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +53

    A historian I enjoy put it really nicely in a video. The Library of Alexandria wasn't lost to fire, but instead was lost to time, neglect, and lack of maintenance. It was a different sort of tragedy than we want to think of and the story is not as romantic. But it's very possible that when whatever remained of the library was finally gone, no one really cared about its loss.

    • @bryanvigue8779
      @bryanvigue8779 วันที่ผ่านมา

      Idk if you're referring to Esoterica or not but this was what I got out of his episode on this. At least, I'd never really considered this perspective before seeing that episode

    • @SoManyRandomRamblings
      @SoManyRandomRamblings วันที่ผ่านมา +5

      Kinda the way we are quietly letting accuracy die nowadays. 😔

    • @bboops23
      @bboops23 วันที่ผ่านมา

      @@bryanvigue8779 I believe it was Lady of the Library. Similar content though.

    • @ALLMINDmercenarysupportsystem
      @ALLMINDmercenarysupportsystem วันที่ผ่านมา +2

      ​@@SoManyRandomRamblings Accuracy? As in accurately giving the truth, accurately using a weapon, or some other definition? You're being too vague, unless you mean in all uses of the word.

    • @SoManyRandomRamblings
      @SoManyRandomRamblings วันที่ผ่านมา +2

      @@ALLMINDmercenarysupportsystem all they lying that is allowed, even praised.

  • @tophers3756
    @tophers3756 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +14

    I feel the video seriously underplayed the likely works lost. Maybe there weren't incredibly technologies in the works, but surely many ancient writings that now only survive as passing references or titles were lost. In addition to those we know about how many histories or early mathematics and scientific works of which we know nothing about faded into history? Especially when the Christians came along.
    To say any knowledge was widespread and preserved simply ignores the repeated fact that every copy was handwritten . There may only have been a handful of copies of a particular work ever created and disseminated. One place where such precious copies were likely to be stored was Alexandria.
    Many of the ancient works of the Greek world that come down to us are thanks to Muslim scholars. And they only preserved the ones that were considered useful and not in conflict with their religion. How many of the rare gems of our heritage were lost when the library was?

    • @RandomGuy-lu1en
      @RandomGuy-lu1en วันที่ผ่านมา +2

      na not really. very important works would have likely been transferred to other libraries as it's status declined

  • @Atowntrekkie
    @Atowntrekkie 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +7

    Tangent time with Fact Boy, let's goooooo!

  • @SpikeRazzor
    @SpikeRazzor 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +21

    One of the greatest tragedies, years of collective knowledge, destroyed.

  • @baden8674
    @baden8674 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +16

    I remember as a kid whenever I was asked what super power I wanted I would say something along the lines of knowing everything that had ever been written down,, and sometimes I don’t realize how amazing that would be and how bad I want that :,(

    • @captainspaulding5963
      @captainspaulding5963 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +8

      You would have to be VERY careful with that one, depending on which wish granting situation you were in! You would indeed get all the important stuff, but you would almost certainly be overloaded with things like "do you like me, circle yes or no" notes!! 😂😂😂

    • @honestkyn718
      @honestkyn718 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +2

      You'd be filled with useless knowledge as much as profound.

    • @baden8674
      @baden8674 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +3

      @@captainspaulding5963 oh my I never thought of this😂you have given me lots to think about

    • @baden8674
      @baden8674 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

      @@honestkyn718 maybe getting everything written down that could be categorized as factual ? I would say scientific,, but I would always want spiritual, philosophical, whatever you would call stuff like Gilgamesh&gods

    • @goofoffchannel
      @goofoffchannel 2 วันที่ผ่านมา

      ​@@captainspaulding5963A UNIVERSES' WORTH OF TERMS OF SERVICE DOCUMENTS

  • @punxdoinstuff
    @punxdoinstuff 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +7

    There's a heavy thunderstorm, perfect weather for a dtu!

  • @RRbattlefield
    @RRbattlefield วันที่ผ่านมา +3

    I think the destruction of the house of wisdom in Baghdad by the Mongols was a bigger blow to humanity than what happened to the library of Alexandria.
    The destruction of the library of Alexandria by fire was an accident and its destruction was over exaggerated by some sources.
    The destruction of the house of wisdom of Baghdad was very intentional, and by all sources was utterly complete.
    Makes me sad to think what was lost in the destruction of the house of wisdom 😢

  • @andrewwatson1690
    @andrewwatson1690 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +5

    Alexander burnt down the library of Alexandria? You didn't think through that one, aye fact boy 😅

  • @RealmRabbit
    @RealmRabbit วันที่ผ่านมา +2

    If I had to guess, what was lost probably includes a ton of writings about Alexander the Great... The reason being that we don't rlly have much contemporary source material from that time about him despite him being SOOO noteworthy... Additionally, Ptolemy kidnapped the body of Alexander at one point to display and present in order to give his reign as Alexander's successor more legitimacy, this was a dude who knew his propaganda... He probably would've stacked his library full of source material on him that Ptolemy could find (many of which probably having one or few copies given that's how it was back then)... IN FACT, iirc, there's some writing we don't have anymore about Alexander the Great BUT we do have a reference to that writing from Ptolemy that is no longer around... So clearly Ptolemy had access to at least some writing on Alexander the Great, and there's a chance he put it in the Library of Alexandria when he was done with it...
    So yeah, idk about any other stuff, but I think there's a good chance a lot of writings on Alexander the Great were stored there... And probably very concentrated there because I think Ptolemy would want people to read all those books especially if they cover his close friendship with Alexander and everything (heck, he may have even wanted to commission books about Alexander that portray him favorably)...

  • @Mereinid
    @Mereinid วันที่ผ่านมา +2

    I got you Simon: The Dewey Decimal system is a classification system used by libraries to arrange books via subject. Each book is issued a shelfmark number, usually found on the spine of the book, and arranged in numerical order.

    • @Terron35
      @Terron35 7 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

      I used to have the Dewey Decimal system down. Worked as a library aid in high school and for some reason our fiction books were alphabetical but non-fiction we used Dewey Decimal

  • @dramoth64
    @dramoth64 18 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา +2

    Fun fact, a lot of the people copying the scrolls couldn't even read. But they could draw and copied the letters by drawing them instead of writing them.

  • @ericshelby8813
    @ericshelby8813 วันที่ผ่านมา +3

    If the library did exist, another way for it to be destroyed would be a natural disaster. The area Alexandria is in is an earthquake zone and sits along the coast. One strong earthquake as well as a tsunami could have easily destroy the library.

  • @buddyzilla4557
    @buddyzilla4557 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +8

    5:28 -I mean..no..its ancient greece..pay attention to what you are actually saying..the ancient Egyptians are split into dynastic periods but what Alexander the Great conquered was still considered ancient Egypt. Ptolemy was one of his generals amd close friends who was left behind to rule. He embraced the culture in many regards including the religion, so it was still considered Egypt in ancient periods long after he even died. His lineage Co tinued to rule bit there was that class devide between Greek heritage Egyptians and native Egyptians with the Ptolemys embracing the pharonic tradition if keeping it in the family. That's why Cleopatra would ahve had very little of any actual native Egyptians blood in her and would likly be less physically attractive than we belive. It's theorized that it was how she presented herself and acted that was considered attractive and she was spiritually Egyptian, embracing the mythological beliefs even more than her ancestors but was still heridtarily Greek. She also as the LAST ruler of the Ptolemeic lineage and died during the Roman age..so yes. Still ancient Egypt. Ancient Egypt is a very broad term that typically is followed by some form of qualifier (like year range or dynasty) unless it is in leave your brain at home style Hollywood media.

  • @cyberfutur5000
    @cyberfutur5000 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +2

    I'm pretty sure it's gonna get mentioned, but if we are dealing with a burned down library that was there to store all original scripts ever made, why would anyone expect find to plans or written mentions about it. It's like thinking "weird that burned down tree doesn't even have leafs"
    Where would you put your writing or plans of it? Maybe in the giant library or rather put it somewhere where it'll confiscated by... uhm... ah yes, the library? And the copies might either be regifted to it after it burned down or reconfiscated or just lost to time in one of the gazillion raids and sackings. As far as I know even in places that had better luck with fire, very little written word from roman times remains.
    Maybe plus that what Simon said, with the slow decline over a long time and thus nobody cared because it's greatness was long gone and for the last 150 yeas it just was where the ancient neck beards stored their hieroglyph hentai or wha'ever :D
    This doesn't prove or disprove anything , obviously, but this is something to keep in mind.

  • @chadfanton9994
    @chadfanton9994 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +6

    Simon is a legend!!

  • @michaelmayhem350
    @michaelmayhem350 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +3

    1:45 birds aren't real you know this Simon you've done a video on it before.

  • @Sagewinds
    @Sagewinds วันที่ผ่านมา

    I never know if I should laugh or cry listening to Simon trying to piece the eras of history together 😂

  • @djdrack4681
    @djdrack4681 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +15

    All those lost sandy memes and papyrus porn...lost forever. All those cooking recipes from before the invention of the mandolin and George-Foremen grill. All those great medical procedures before discovery of penicillin. All those records of riveting debates between the Ibex Party vs Aurochs Awaken. XP

  • @Backatitagain14742
    @Backatitagain14742 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +4

    Waiting for this one for a long time

  • @StrongDreamsWaitHere
    @StrongDreamsWaitHere 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +13

    Whoever built the Antikythera mechanism had a knowledge of gears, mathematics, and astronomy that was not surpassed for more than 1500 years. It’s hard to know what impact that knowledge would have had if it were not lost, but surely it had some impact.

  • @janzibansi9218
    @janzibansi9218 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +2

    This is why we need the internet archive!

  • @86wezza88
    @86wezza88 19 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

    Gotta love how the Supernatural reference went straight over Simon's head and he didn't even blink at it (Men Of Letters and hunting the Knights of Hell).

  • @GIBBO4182
    @GIBBO4182 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +6

    Ilze is an unusual name, at least to me anyway…cool though! I bet it gets pronounced incorrectly all the time 😂

    • @Kinzarr4ever
      @Kinzarr4ever วันที่ผ่านมา

      It's Germanic in orgin, derived from Elizabeth
      Quite common in Northern Europe (I'm Dutch myself and I can confirm it's not unusual around here at least)

  • @LostInDub
    @LostInDub 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

    "Birds still exist" 🙄😂 Haven't you heard...?

  • @ashleybowles7732
    @ashleybowles7732 วันที่ผ่านมา

    Fireworks and a new video happy Canada Day

  • @Crioten
    @Crioten วันที่ผ่านมา

    Starfishes in the stratosphere, love you

  • @Writesparky
    @Writesparky 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

    Thanks for the complete history. i love the story about it, i even did a fantasy story about it.

  • @savannahshepherd2283
    @savannahshepherd2283 วันที่ผ่านมา +2

    The book of Lucretious on Atoms shows there was some set back 😮

  • @marywright8612
    @marywright8612 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

    Love the Supernatural reference!

  • @crwydryny
    @crwydryny วันที่ผ่านมา

    This reminds me several years ago i was in my local library using their wifi and they had the HSE doing a check of the place looking for anything dangerous. After a while he bursts through the doora from the main library into the reception/sitting area and declares "this place is a fire hazard, everythibg in therebis flamable"
    The head librarian without missing a beat looks up from his desk and replies "well this is a library what did you expect"

  • @corujariousa
    @corujariousa วันที่ผ่านมา

    Thanks for another interesting video! We can speculate about what was lost from that library but in the end we'll never know. With that reality any opinion is valid. All make for a fun conversation. 🙂

  • @jammer2isme
    @jammer2isme วันที่ผ่านมา +1

    SIMON'S NEXT CHANNEL: Simon Drinks Gin & Tonic and Reads Stuff
    yeah it's not doing lines while reading but should be fun anyway.

  • @reesbritton6623
    @reesbritton6623 วันที่ผ่านมา +2

    Unless I’m missing something… a cricket is not a bird… 🤔

  • @travismurtland3257
    @travismurtland3257 วันที่ผ่านมา

    Supernatural references in a story about the Library of Alexandria wasn't on my bingo card this year.

  • @mariefrancke6868
    @mariefrancke6868 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

    Maybe the real library is the friends we made along the way. 🙂

  • @RedwoodTheElf
    @RedwoodTheElf วันที่ผ่านมา +1

    20:30 This is known in modern business parlance as "Brightsizing" - That's when incentives designed to lower workforce numbers cause all the smart people to leave, leaving the workforce with halfwits and Stooges in charge.

  • @crwydryny
    @crwydryny วันที่ผ่านมา +1

    I'd tell you what we lost but unfortunately the library's inventory list was also lost in the fire (couldn't resist)

  • @RPrice_OG
    @RPrice_OG วันที่ผ่านมา

    Simon is so lucky he has a great research and writing team.

  • @s4-bf6vp
    @s4-bf6vp 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +2

    Dating us with that Kinkos reference there Simon

  • @Zeppelin2401
    @Zeppelin2401 11 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

    It took me a solid 5 seconds to catch that Supernatural reference 😂👀

  • @mar71n32n0v1lLL0
    @mar71n32n0v1lLL0 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

    Historians *from the past* letting bias permeate all of their works... Simon, my friend, that still happens today...

  • @Mikkelltheimmortal
    @Mikkelltheimmortal 7 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

    We use the Dewey decimal system in Canada and the "Tables" sounds like a basic level precursor to what we now use. Quite interesting to me.

  • @SecretMoose
    @SecretMoose 4 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

    14:45 haha I think Simon missed that jab at Hadrians wall

  • @Makem12
    @Makem12 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

    After like the third destruction of Alexandria by Roman emperors and their enemies, I'm pretty sure there was basically nothing left of the one's Great library. After that point, I think it's pretty futile to assign guilt to the further sacks and destruction of the city.

  • @onemorechris
    @onemorechris 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

    it turns out is was a small shelf of scrolls in a really good cafe

  • @hultagertrude6905
    @hultagertrude6905 วันที่ผ่านมา

    Big brain 5star review!

  • @user-zl5bf9lu1m
    @user-zl5bf9lu1m วันที่ผ่านมา

    Big Qyburn energy in Alexandria 😂

  • @ShepherdsCreek
    @ShepherdsCreek 19 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

    I like the idea that Alexander started the building of the library as a petty F U to Aristotle and as a symbol of his own galaxy brain

  • @jwhitely7
    @jwhitely7 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

    " That was so dumb that was so long much before this "

  • @lucyst8
    @lucyst8 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

    One minute ago - perfect for bedtime!

  • @CynthiaSmitherman-fv7ri
    @CynthiaSmitherman-fv7ri วันที่ผ่านมา

    Vessi is on point for real

  • @kellylynn83
    @kellylynn83 20 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

    Lmfao its a super old beautiful library. 😂 I still love your sarcastic and knowledge about all historical facts.😂

  • @Eternalduoae
    @Eternalduoae วันที่ผ่านมา

    The lunch room thing is totally understandable. I recently visited the uk and went to a number of churches. They were all beautiful but what we spoke about to everyone we recounted the tale to was how they all had cafes....
    People mention the unusual, not the mundane.

  • @chadfanton9994
    @chadfanton9994 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +4

    Let’s go!

  • @crwydryny
    @crwydryny วันที่ผ่านมา

    When Alexander conquered Egypt it was during what we call "ancient Egypt" Cleopatra for example was a descendant of one of his generals and would last for another 300 years (he conquered it in about 331BC and it fell in 30BC)

  • @YuNherd
    @YuNherd วันที่ผ่านมา

    the library might be gone, but i request data hoarders to get all simon's yt videos and that would be the new Alexandria Library of the Future. All hail the fact boi!

  • @the-scamp
    @the-scamp วันที่ผ่านมา

    Lol@Simon: "AlexaRndria"

  • @captainhoratiobungleiii7147
    @captainhoratiobungleiii7147 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

    If you want to know about Hypatia, you could do worse than watch Agora. Great film.

  • @zeroreyortsed3624
    @zeroreyortsed3624 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +6

    Maybe we didn't get set back thousands of years, but definitely hundreds. And we'll never truly know how much was lost. Maybe we could have kicked off the industrial revolution in the 1600's instead of the 1800's. There's always the possibility that some scholar there was already tinkering with the idea of boiling water to make things move. But we'll never know. Because it was lost to history.

    • @vintagedesert
      @vintagedesert 2 วันที่ผ่านมา

      The Ancient Greeks had a steam engine!
      en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeolipile

  • @kyshreckengost
    @kyshreckengost วันที่ผ่านมา

    Glad to know Ilsa likes Supernatural, great reference

  • @williampippy1317
    @williampippy1317 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

    The start of the mech bird replacement

  • @douglasnichols6116
    @douglasnichols6116 20 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

    Whatever the library had it’s gone and no snicker will bring it back

  • @TheLittlestViking
    @TheLittlestViking วันที่ผ่านมา

    Imagine instead of Vessi, we were all forcibly still wearing gillies. That's what the loss the of the Library of Alexandria did to us.

  • @brs690
    @brs690 วันที่ผ่านมา

    I literally have employees that count ever changing numbers everyday. They are inventory control folks and they don't know what materials come and go but I do.

  • @RedwoodTheElf
    @RedwoodTheElf วันที่ผ่านมา

    There was no single Library. The stories combine 3 separate libraries in different eras as if it was one large library. The "Books" in the libraries were actually Papyrus Scrolls, which don't last all that long historically speaking anyway.

  • @julieb8730
    @julieb8730 2 วันที่ผ่านมา

    I aways look forward to decoding the unknown videos :) Is there a discord server for this channel?

  • @victoriabilton2463
    @victoriabilton2463 2 วันที่ผ่านมา

    Just found this channel few days ago... I was thinking after just looking at names and thumbnail on videos that it's same as all info videos... But I was wrong.. Iv lurnt(actually few things I dint know I needed to) and more than that laughed my head off.. Watch almoat 20 so far.. 😂 Thanks for the info and more so a light(yet respectively done in some videos) differnt way of wat is a person sat in room talking to him self(well tell me im wrong) 😊 👍

  • @sarahcoleman5269
    @sarahcoleman5269 วันที่ผ่านมา

    Simon: "Maybe you [audience] should know more about this."
    Me: "Simon, I'm watching these videos to see if you remember anything about the topic. Usually one you already did a video on at some point. Starting by questioning if Alexander burned down the library that was named after him isn't a great start."

  • @jmanj3917
    @jmanj3917 2 วันที่ผ่านมา

    23:50 COULD HAVE?!?
    ...
    🤣

  • @greenturtle0101
    @greenturtle0101 วันที่ผ่านมา

    Chears to an afternoon Gin & Tonic Simon.

  • @ShepherdsCreek
    @ShepherdsCreek 5 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

    I wonder if the library's lunch room just had one hell of a chef that overshadowed the library itself? That, or the guy who raved about the lunch room was just more of a foodie than an academic

  • @kenyonmoon3272
    @kenyonmoon3272 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +2

    What the loss should really be seen as is a delay of massive proportions. Once western Rome collapsed, the Church was the only game in town in terms of a commonly shared influence or power, and they were very anti-academic in any question that did not advance the interests of the pope or the bishops at a given moment. Once that political shift was complete, it wasn't just Alexandria but academics everywhere. That level of brain drain effectively brought inquiry and innovation to a halt. Well, dragged it to a glacial pace.
    It wasn't until the late medieval that political and financial support for thinkers and tinkerers would become a societal expecation again rather than a one off curiosity of some lord or king.
    What if we had never had that long pause of nearly a millennium?

    • @MrChickennugget360
      @MrChickennugget360 2 วันที่ผ่านมา

      philosophy had generally always been connected to religion. The idea of them being separate is a modern concept. It was not only during the Middle Ages that "academic" became popular again it was well recorded during the early Middle Ages.

    • @MrChickennugget360
      @MrChickennugget360 วันที่ผ่านมา

      The reality was the fall of the Western Roman Empire was not simply political but also economic. This is both due to the fall of Rome but also due to rise of Islam. Because Christianity and Islam were ideologically opposed the region that had encompassed the Roman Empire (specifically its trade routes) would never be reunited. This slowed the recovery of Western Europe, as Islamic trade routes tended to be antagonistic toward Europeans. Generally speaking, the richest parts of the Roman Empire would be captured by Muslims over time, (Carthage, Alexandria, Asia Minor and ultimately Constantinople)
      Western Europe's rise to world dominance as well as the scientific revolution were the result of circumnavigation of the globe and the following trade dominance that followed.

    • @kenyonmoon3272
      @kenyonmoon3272 วันที่ผ่านมา

      @@MrChickennugget360 Islam did not even exist for another two hundred years after the fall of the western Empire, and it was a bit longer before the concept of a Caliphate could be acted on.
      What are you talking about?
      Also, I very specifically said that academics on any topic *not of immediate interest to the church leadership* was eschewed if not harassed. Not that there was no academics at all. Some exceptions for daily life, obviously, but a feudal lord sponsoring a better beer brewer or sword technology is not on the same level with putting steam engines to work, for instance. The former you can do if you have an estate, but the latter requires a society.

    • @kenyonmoon3272
      @kenyonmoon3272 วันที่ผ่านมา

      @@MrChickennugget360 it is also worth pointing out that many of the results of Alexandria and other Classical era institutions like it were preserved by the eastern and, later, Islamic worlds but in a much less curious way. More rote than inquisitive or experimental. And eventually, of course, Islam entered a period similar to that of the Christian world in which advancement of any non-theologocal esoterics or academia was persecuted.
      The west in some sense began to try and awaken a few times, but it didn't take off until the late Medieval period. I would point to Charlamagne as one example of an attempt, Oxford was founded after the Norman invasion, and so on but it wasn't really until the 12th century that the ice began to thaw into what we might start to recognize as efforts at modern ways of viewing the world.

  • @kimwelch4652
    @kimwelch4652 วันที่ผ่านมา

    Copying was done with two or more people. One person would read the scroll out loud while one or more scribes would write what was read onto new rolls. This way they could multiply the copying process (as well as the errors) as quickly as possible.

  • @markmorris7123
    @markmorris7123 วันที่ผ่านมา

    Its not just alexandria..Persias libraries, the library of Carthage etc etc...The wonders that have gone up in flames

  • @hansdegroot652
    @hansdegroot652 8 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

    Simon just needs a vessi cap or hat now 😂

  • @nobody2655
    @nobody2655 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

    You very much, pretty please need to do a video about Hypatia. She was incredible, and tragic.

  • @UniquePerspective
    @UniquePerspective วันที่ผ่านมา

    Hypatia is an episode on her own!

  • @wtfpwnz0red
    @wtfpwnz0red 21 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

    1:20 HAH! Simon thinks all birds aren't mechanical

  • @zinussan50
    @zinussan50 2 วันที่ผ่านมา

    If they invented toilet paper during that time, they won't need travel to Alexandria to get one.

  • @mistywolf312
    @mistywolf312 วันที่ผ่านมา

    When I was a teenager we'd discuss what if's (like u do) , one of the ones was What would you do if you could travel back in time, most said kill Hitler (we were teenagers and not really thinking through), I would say save the great library at Alexandria, either got told I was a weirdo or they'd never heard of it :)
    I think I still stand by that decision.

  • @michellecoleman5577
    @michellecoleman5577 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

    19:51 wait we're actually NOT blaming the Jews this time? Wow, what a novel concept!

  • @crwydryny
    @crwydryny วันที่ผ่านมา

    Fun fact Alexander the great was so ego tistical he named 100s of cities "Alexandria" one point his advisors got so annoyed at the confusion it was causing they asked him to name the new city something else... So he named it translated Alexandria into the native language 😂