re: Circles don't actually exist. At best, they are tubes.

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Plato's theory of forms

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According to this theory, Forms—conventionally capitalized and also commonly translated as "Ideas"—are the non-physical, timeless, absolute, and unchangeable essences of all things, of which objects and matter in the physical world are merely imitations.


Under this theory, a circle does exist, in fact, a perfect circle exists, the most circley circle that ever was and ever will be exists as the form or essence of the Circle. Not only that but this form is more real than anything in our world because our world is crippled by physical limitations. Meaning an object does not have to be physically perceptible in order to exist . Whatever circle a man draws would therefore merely be an approximation of what a circle is, the one true circle

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Man, I came in here to talk about Plato's theory of Forms. A circle is an abstract idea, and anything we draw/make that looks like a circle, is merely a concrete symbol of the abstract idea of the perfect circle. Same with all things, like chairs. A chair is not a chair, it is simply a physical representation of the idea of a chair.

It's an interesting concept to consider, an interesting though exercise to ponder, but it's a lot of semantics, and I'm not sure how much real world value that theory provides. Although I'm sure people built on it. I think you can see a lot of Plato's influence in quantum mechanics and physics, astronomy, mathematics, etc... I'm not smart enough to articulate the direct links, though. But just about every field of study today can be traced back to the Greeks somehow. That civilization was incredible and really pushed mankind forward.

Where would we be if they had been wiped out early on? Or was it just the right time in human development that another similar civilization would have simply stepped up and taken their place. Was it more about mankind finally being in a place where they weren't as worried about just surviving, and their societies finally had time for their best thinkers to look up into the heavens (and around them on earth) and just observe and ponder and think. Or was it something about them specifically that they embraced those thinkers and allowed them do just that? They were fascinating, regardless.