If 500,000 years ago a hominid sits by the fire they lit and is working on sharp... | Hacker News

Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit

		Aardwolf on June 18, 2024 \| parent \| context \| favorite \| on: Humans began to rapidly accumulate technological k... If 500,000 years ago a hominid sits by the fire they lit and is working on sharpening a stone tool, would you say: "someone / a person is sharpening a tool" or "it / a hominid is sharpening a tool"?

Dgrin on June 18, 2024 [–]

I personally would call them a human, but this seems like a false equivalence unless you believe that personhood is something exclusive to humans. “Someone / a hominid” is perfectly valid and could at the same time be “someone / a person”.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact