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Post by paranger on Jan 2, 2021 11:49:13 GMT -7
"If one principle could be genetically implanted into future historians, it should be: Don't figure out what they must have done, or what is reasonable to assume they did, or what logic says they did---find out what they actually did."
Spence
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That's a great quotation and I heartily agree with it. At the risk of stating the obvious, the trouble begins when the documentary evidence runs out. Sometimes the blanks must be filled in to do what we aspire to do, so we connect the dots as best we can, fully acknowledging (hopefully) that we may have to "disconnect" them or "reconnect" them differently when new evidence emerges.
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Post by Black Hand on Jan 2, 2021 12:36:39 GMT -7
I believe the hardest part for some is learning to think at a pre-industrial revolution level. With the entire body of knowledge at our fingertips via the internet, our thinking can be easily polluted and lead to a profusion of fantasy items or "if'n they would'a had it, they would'a used it" approaches. To shamelessly borrow the "aim small, miss small" statement, figure out what they did using what they had. That isn't to say a little "license" is inappropriate, but if you limit yourself to the technology they had, it is more likely you will reasonably replicate the results they got...
Enough philosophical musings on my part. Let's see where this goes...
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Post by spence on Jan 2, 2021 13:48:03 GMT -7
BH, that's my basic approach. Wear what they wore, carry what they carried and do what they did, and, if you are very lucky, you may experience a little of what they did.
Spence
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Post by hawkeyes on Jan 3, 2021 7:38:44 GMT -7
A good example of the fact that just because it's possible a thing could have been done, that doesn't mean it ever was done. An opinion well expressed by Winfred Blevins in the introduction to "The River of the West, The Adventures of Joe Meek", by Frances Fuller Victor: "If one principle could be genetically implanted into future historians, it should be: Don't figure out what they must have done, or what is reasonable to assume they did, or what logic says they did---find out what they actually did." Spence Boy ole boy that's a good quote that encompasses everything I'd say.
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coot
City-dweller
Posts: 152
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Post by coot on Jan 3, 2021 11:16:17 GMT -7
An experience that I had involved a pierced tin lantern. When I got it, like any new toy, I had to try it out. Dark night in a back room I lit the candle. Could hardly see 12 inches. This is no good I thought - the maker must have made the piercings too small. I used a small knife blade to gently pry the (over 100) slits a bit wider & tried the candle again. Now it was good for 18 inches, maybe 24. I finally figured out what was wrong & it was me & not the lantern. The name "lantern" made me think of and compare this tin goodie to what we think of as a (modern) lantern today. It is in reality a "lit candle transport device". If say living on a farm, one does not need a light to walk from the house to the barn - a thousand trips back & forth have imprinted every root & stone along the way - but once in the barn, a bit of light is needed to find the scissors or whatever one is looking to retrieve. Open the lantern door & use as a flashlight. Remove the candle if all round illumination is desired. The lantern made it possible to transport the lit candle thru wind & rain - that was its job, not to read by. It is a lantern - just not quite what we tend to associate with the word today.
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Post by spence on Jan 3, 2021 17:26:45 GMT -7
I remember taking quite a while figuring that out, too, Coot. Barked shins ain't in it. A little visual aid with my pierced tin lantern to accompany your tale, if you don't mind. From above, door closed. From the side, door closed. From the side, door open. Fun gadget, I like them. A neat fire carrier, for sure. Spence
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Post by lenapej on Jan 12, 2021 19:03:18 GMT -7
Thank you all for your input, and sorry for the late response, I have been really busy of late. It seems no one has come across a reference to this being done, as someone mentioned above, it may be that it was not done after flint and steel, the only thing I could see it being used for is in a more civilized setting, for instance the guy that went around lighting street lamps, or a neighbor that lost his flint and steel
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