Grok Project: Living the history of human advancement

Ian Schleifer is on a mission to fully experience the history of science and technology and is starting his quest in the Paleolithic era.

Thu, Jan 07 2010 at 1:14 PM EST

Photo: Wikipedia Commons

The Grok Project is one man's attempt to experience as much of the history of human development as possible firsthand. For the next few years, Ian Scleifer will fully immerse himself in the history of science and technology, or as Ian writes:

"Instead of just studying and summarizing this history, I am going to try to experience it in any way I can. I will smelt iron, perform the oil-drop experiment, build motors, etc …. This will go from the dawn of civilization through the present and <reverb>BEYOND</reverb>!"

In November he spent a week trying out the Paleolithic diet, which cuts out grains, legumes, refined sugars, dairy, and fermented beverages in favor of all meats and fish along with some fruits and veggies. Not too long after that he spent a weekend learning how to twist his own rope and then how to flintknap.

Ian is bringing in the new year by building and learn to throw a spear.

I really hope Ian keeps the Grok Project going. He's an engaging writer and a smart guy, and this thing could get really fun. Is it just me, or does this seem like the perfect premise for a Discovery Channel show? I'm subscribed and will be following along as it goes. You can grab the Grok Project RSS feed here. You can also follow Ian on Twitter.

Are you on Twitter? Follow me (@sheagunther) there, I give good tweets.

And if you really like my writing, you can join my Facebook page.

Previous Post
Rumble in the Antarctic: Japanese whalers ram the Ady Gil

Next Post
99% of climatologists agree global warming is manmade