Master -> disciple learning.

They probably had a lot more time on their hands, with a culture where sitting to watch tv was an unavailable form of avoidance entertain.

I can’t imagine this would be too difficult to figure out. Heat with a consistent supply of fuel should burn at about the same temperature, right? So, if you can create separate chambers where heat must travel through a medium like stone before it can heat the next chamber, you can somewhat control the heat… meaning you’ll have chambers of different temperatures, each decreasing as the chamber gets further from the fire source.

There’s probably ways to test the temperature without a thermometer, too. For example, how long does it take a small cup of water to start boiling? If you touch a weed to the side of the chamber, does it instantly light aflame or simply char? Etc.

That is actually an advantage. Our massive advantage though is modern analytics and modern industry.

anyone watching anything on Japanese production will know this is totally doable

As a scientist, that’s one of my favorite quotes ever. There are so many things that I understand at a deep level and still find that their working is magic. How all the pieces combine just so to make the process smooth and effective… (my personal favorite is the Fourier Transform, the theory behind it took centuries to fully develop, but its usefulness was clear from the get go, then Fast Fourier Transform came and made in the cornerstone of signal processing)

Always upvote Terry Pratchett, especially The Wee Free Men, the best bedtime story ever. (And it doesn't matter that I mangled the accent, pronouncing Crivens! with a long I. I got the energy right. Besides, Feegles run on Narrativium, free of Roundworld constraints.)

The article refers to the gold and silver particles acting like a rainbow. Rainbows are simple science and yet they're also magical, every time.

GNU Sir Terry Pratchett <3