Re:Ancient Egyptian Stone-Drilling (1983)
by et1337 on Saturday May 11, 2024 @10:41PM
(#40331985)
The best part is the very end, where it is revealed that the study was done by two dentists.
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The whole thing reads like great literature. There should be a scientific magazine for papers that can be understood by the motivated layman. I accidentally read the whole thing in one sitting.
Re:Ancient Egyptian Stone-Drilling (1983)
by surfingdino on Sunday May 12, 2024 @02:45AM
(#40332649)
For more of excellent writing read Derek Lowe's https://www.science.org/blogs/pipeline His "Things I Won't Work With" series is particularly entertaining whilst remaining firmly scientific.
Re:Ancient Egyptian Stone-Drilling (1983)
by devilbunny on Sunday May 12, 2024 @12:43PM
(#40335759)
You misspelled “terrifying” there. I’ve never practiced chemistry, just got my B.S. and went to med school, but simply reading the names of most of those compounds made my blood run cold.
The argument between the eminent Egyptologists that opens the article is frustratingly naive to anyone who has real experience in drilling and shaping hard materials. A dentist is, oddly enough, exactly the person I'd expect to write this article - academic enough to bother writing it, but practical enough to see the tool marks and have an insight into how they were made.
... and one of them has the last name "Gorelick" [1?]. Impressive study, happy I'm not a patient of his.
Re:Ancient Egyptian Stone-Drilling (1983)
by rrr_oh_man on Sunday May 12, 2024 @08:08AM
(#40333779)
Gorelik or Gorelick (Russian: Горелик; Belarusian: Гарэлік: Harelik) is a Jewish occupational surname historically denoting a vodka distiller or trader. Its etymology is Slavic, from Belarusian harelka (гарэлка), a calque from Polish gorzałka, itself from German geprant Wein 'burnt wine'.
So what?