Let’s say we left one single very smart guy (not necessarily with the knowledge: they may be able to understand hard stuff when taught it, but not know it already) alone on a copy of the earth. That person is also immortal. Could that person, by themselves, gain back all knowledge, maybe also experimental, or even surpass that is already available to us right now, before the planet gets inevitably engulfed by a sun turning red giant?

  • NeoNachtwaechter@lemmy.world
    15·
    2 years ago

    One person alone on a planet is quite busy with feeding himself and all personal needs.

    Not enough time for doing science.

    • Royal_Bitch_Pudding@lemmy.world
      5·
      2 years ago

      He didn’t specify what kind of immortality, so let’s assume it’s the kind where you don’t have to worry about food, water, sleep, or dying

      • NeoNachtwaechter@lemmy.world
        2·
        2 years ago

        you don’t have to worry about food, water, sleep, or dying

        that could make it even worse, bc such a person has no motive to explore and research anything.

  • livus@kbin.social
    13·
    2 years ago

    If they are just reinventing stuff they already know about, then possibly.

    If the have to start from scratch and with no prior knowledge then definitely not. Two significant drivers of invention are necessity and interactions with/observations of environmental factors and those will likely be missing.

    Eg the role of cowpox in the smallpox vaccine.

  • Lauchs@lemmy.world
    6·
    2 years ago

    By themselves? I’m not entirely sure. Some manufacturing processes would be so difficult or physically demanding that they’d require someone to help. But those would be necessary to advance to the next stage of tech…

  • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world
    5·
    2 years ago

    No. Think of how big the category of technology involved in keeping the human body alive. Ok our immortal wants to recreate the pacemaker but there is no one else but them around. How would that work exactly? Presumably as an immortal they wouldn’t need one. So how would they test it?

    Then you add in things that only make sense if there are multiple people in the world. You don’t exactly need passenger side airbags if there are no passengers. Tandem bicycles would be strange for this lone immortal to make. Everything involved in childcare from the simple (how to swaddle a baby) to the surprisingly complicated (breast milk pumps) to the obvious (diapers).

  • feedum_sneedson@lemmy.world
    3·
    2 years ago

    Special productive power of cooperative labour. So, even if intellectual ability was not a limiting factor, I don’t believe it would be possible. Can’t prove it, though.

  • Tetra@kbin.social
    3·
    2 years ago

    Did you just start watching/reading Dr Stone?
    If not, give it a shot, it’s obviously not realistic but it’s basically an anime answer to your question lol

  • MrJameGumb@lemmy.world
    2·
    2 years ago

    I think it’s possible given an infinite amount of time that they could recreate any previous human technology, but would they want to?

    It might get kind of boring spending every day for thousands of years just trying to recreate old technology.

    Are they the last person on earth? If so I can’t see anyone wasting too much time building tech meant to assist people who don’t exist anymore.

    I guess what I’m saying is it’s pretty certain they could do it, but only if there were some motivation like saving humanity after an apocalypse

    • wolfpack86@lemmy.world
      5·
      2 years ago

      Good point. If there aren’t other people, why would you need a printing press?

      Or those fire trucks where someone from the rear will steer.