Yesterday I got into an argument with my father about whether we, in the current era can recreate am architectural masterpiece like kailasa temple and I told him that yes we can do it, it's just that it's too expensive now. This is a big issue with modern architecture in general. Architects would love to build a Roman or Greek or any classical style but it's too expensive and there are no skilled craftsmen nowadays. But we, at large ignore this point and it sometimes creates an illusion that the ancient folks had some "mysterious powers" or maybe aliens made the pyramids.
Yes, the ancients had a power that separates us from them. It was boredom. There was no Instagram back in the day or Netflix. They literally had nothing else to do other than to hone a craft. They would spend centuries building a single cathedral. We can do it too if we really want to do it. They weren't special it's just that the world back then was not controlled by greedy billionaires who would try to hijack our brain.
Even if there were sources of entertainment, they were accessible to the privileged and they were still grounded in reality.
