The thought and civilization of ancient Sumer and Dr. Samuel Noah Kramer
Did he get it all wrong?
Dr. Kramer was the pivotal figure who translated the cuneiform writing system, the clay tablets which are the basis for our knowledge of this first civilization, epitomized in the title of his fundamental book about this civilization, “Civilization Began at Sumer,” and all we know about Sumer and it’s civilization is essentially based on his 60 years of his scholarship.
However, he always had the nagging feeling that something was wrong, and during the last couple of years of his life (he died at 93) he realized that the Western intellectual framework, world view, and viewpoint from within which he translated these writings gave fundamentally misleading meanings to these writings, and that the Sumerians actually thought in categories and in ways that we in the West do not and, thus, all of his translations were fundamentally in error; that the Sumerians were thinking and saying something entirely different from what he and we thought they were.
This realization and fundamental reframing, of course, not accepted by his colleagues, because to do so would invalidate their own research and careers. So, they preferred to think that he had “gone off the deep end” in his old age.*
Musk never ceases to amaze me. It’s like reading a science fiction novel in real time. He imagines something that most consider outrageous/impossible and sets about engineering it.
What this interview revealed to me is the connectivity of Musk’s enterprises. SpaceX will allow millions of tons of cargo to be put into space at affordable prices.
Tesla and Xai develops sentient like computing that mimics human behavior to allow machines to function as complements/replacement for human tasks.
The next big thing will be building a permanent base on the moon to mine and process minerals for production on the moon.
In the short term Optimus will allow the US to compete with China in manufacturing.
In the short term, the future of American manufacturing will need protective tariffs. China produces three times the electricity than the US, as a proxy for manufacturing, combined with China’s population being four times the US, Musk sees Optimus not as a replacement for human workers, but a supplement making US production more productive.
This is all incredibly positive, until the conversation turns to DOGE, which brings the reality back to earth.
Is Musk the ultimate futurist always grounded in the engineering that makes his vision real.
0:00:00 – Orbital data centers
0:36:46 – Grok and alignment
0:59:56 – xAI’s business plan
1:17:21 – Optimus and humanoid manufacturing
1:30:22 – Does China win by default?
1:44:16 – Lessons from running SpaceX
2:20:08 – DOGE
2:38:28 – TeraFab
I was pleased that Musk switched his Mars project to Moon first. Due to distance, radiation, gravity, and soil I’d say Mars is a bridge too far for now.
Anybody hear anything from Aesopfan?
Ditto, Barry. She said brain surgery was Tuesday last week. Perhaps this is too early to be online again. Hoping for the best for her.
Unicorns writing on clay. Just another youtube babbler.
huxley, he mentions that in the interview– though not the specifics you cite. I think he may have come to the calculations Mars is more attainable after the Moon is populated.
This realization and fundamental reframing, of course, not accepted by his colleagues, because to do so would invalidate their own research and careers.
==
Maybe they just thought he was bloody wrong.
==
You come away from that video puzzled any of them could have derived secure meaning from those tablets.
==
His son and his son-in-law were both academics, but fairly rank-and-file and not in any subject so intricate and demanding. His daughter worked on the periphery as a librarian and editor. Both he and his wife lived past 90. The son died in 2010 at age 75, the daughter last year at age 88.
Here’s a post-op Victor Davis Hanson interview. He is in good form though admits to his need to pace himself during recovery.
VDH makes a good point for Trump to moderate on ICE in Minnesota in light of the midterms. The left is pushing for more confrontation and bloodshed to strengthen its position. Trump should avoid that trap for now.
I agree.
Re: Iran
I like the Fox Business military analyst Ret. Gen. Jack Keane. From what he says Trump is building up to a major military operation combined with Israel against Iran.
Sure, Trump is negotiating with them, but no one really believes Iran will give up its quest for power. Ultimately, it will come down to the military to take the regime down while the mullahs are as weak as they have ever been.
I had hoped something more surgical were possible. I’m not surprised that it’s not. It will be a tricky business.
The Shawshank Redemption: Choice Words (Watch Shawshank in 55 minutes here) – Video
The thought and civilization of ancient Sumer and Dr. Samuel Noah Kramer
Did he get it all wrong?
Dr. Kramer was the pivotal figure who translated the cuneiform writing system, the clay tablets which are the basis for our knowledge of this first civilization, epitomized in the title of his fundamental book about this civilization, “Civilization Began at Sumer,” and all we know about Sumer and it’s civilization is essentially based on his 60 years of his scholarship.
However, he always had the nagging feeling that something was wrong, and during the last couple of years of his life (he died at 93) he realized that the Western intellectual framework, world view, and viewpoint from within which he translated these writings gave fundamentally misleading meanings to these writings, and that the Sumerians actually thought in categories and in ways that we in the West do not and, thus, all of his translations were fundamentally in error; that the Sumerians were thinking and saying something entirely different from what he and we thought they were.
This realization and fundamental reframing, of course, not accepted by his colleagues, because to do so would invalidate their own research and careers. So, they preferred to think that he had “gone off the deep end” in his old age.*
See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHIhgoDUZpA
Musk never ceases to amaze me. It’s like reading a science fiction novel in real time. He imagines something that most consider outrageous/impossible and sets about engineering it.
What this interview revealed to me is the connectivity of Musk’s enterprises. SpaceX will allow millions of tons of cargo to be put into space at affordable prices.
Tesla and Xai develops sentient like computing that mimics human behavior to allow machines to function as complements/replacement for human tasks.
The next big thing will be building a permanent base on the moon to mine and process minerals for production on the moon.
In the short term Optimus will allow the US to compete with China in manufacturing.
In the short term, the future of American manufacturing will need protective tariffs. China produces three times the electricity than the US, as a proxy for manufacturing, combined with China’s population being four times the US, Musk sees Optimus not as a replacement for human workers, but a supplement making US production more productive.
This is all incredibly positive, until the conversation turns to DOGE, which brings the reality back to earth.
Is Musk the ultimate futurist always grounded in the engineering that makes his vision real.
0:00:00 – Orbital data centers
0:36:46 – Grok and alignment
0:59:56 – xAI’s business plan
1:17:21 – Optimus and humanoid manufacturing
1:30:22 – Does China win by default?
1:44:16 – Lessons from running SpaceX
2:20:08 – DOGE
2:38:28 – TeraFab
Elon Musk – “In 36 months, the cheapest place to put AI will be space”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYXbuik3dgA&t=3265s
Brian E:
I was pleased that Musk switched his Mars project to Moon first. Due to distance, radiation, gravity, and soil I’d say Mars is a bridge too far for now.
Anybody hear anything from Aesopfan?
Ditto, Barry. She said brain surgery was Tuesday last week. Perhaps this is too early to be online again. Hoping for the best for her.
Unicorns writing on clay. Just another youtube babbler.
huxley, he mentions that in the interview– though not the specifics you cite. I think he may have come to the calculations Mars is more attainable after the Moon is populated.
This realization and fundamental reframing, of course, not accepted by his colleagues, because to do so would invalidate their own research and careers.
==
Maybe they just thought he was bloody wrong.
==
You come away from that video puzzled any of them could have derived secure meaning from those tablets.
==
His son and his son-in-law were both academics, but fairly rank-and-file and not in any subject so intricate and demanding. His daughter worked on the periphery as a librarian and editor. Both he and his wife lived past 90. The son died in 2010 at age 75, the daughter last year at age 88.
Here’s a post-op Victor Davis Hanson interview. He is in good form though admits to his need to pace himself during recovery.
–“Victor Davis Hanson: Bad Bunny Super Bowl Spectacle Was a ‘Crutch for the Lack of Talent'”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uy6HRjvRqgA
VDH makes a good point for Trump to moderate on ICE in Minnesota in light of the midterms. The left is pushing for more confrontation and bloodshed to strengthen its position. Trump should avoid that trap for now.
I agree.
Re: Iran
I like the Fox Business military analyst Ret. Gen. Jack Keane. From what he says Trump is building up to a major military operation combined with Israel against Iran.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CkU8stV2Ps
Sure, Trump is negotiating with them, but no one really believes Iran will give up its quest for power. Ultimately, it will come down to the military to take the regime down while the mullahs are as weak as they have ever been.
I had hoped something more surgical were possible. I’m not surprised that it’s not. It will be a tricky business.
The Shawshank Redemption: Choice Words (Watch Shawshank in 55 minutes here) – Video
https://commoncts.blogspot.com/2026/02/the-shawshank-redemption-choice-words.html