Equestria could easily create our technology, so why don't they?

[Lucid_Nightlight 929]

Think about it, they could easily create the same things we have.

If they wanted to, they could create the same guns, missiles, jets, tanks, ect to improve their military.

They could easily create computers and Internet. They could easily make smartphones.

They have the capability to become just as advanced as us if not more, so why don't they?

Edited August 17, 2018 by Lucid_Nightlight

[Maslovitz 122]

They do have helicopters (Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3), so it really is senseless they have no cars imo

[Jeric 46,883]

Some elements of our technology are the byproduct of a need. If magic was as ubiquitous in our world as it is in theirs, the evolution of technology would be different for us. 

[Prospekt 11,036]

I think ponies are too peaceful to make deadly weapons. When a threat does arrive, it tends to be magical, so they fight back with magic. I see what you mean, though... magic-powered weapons could potentially be useful.

As for technology like computers, smartphones, and the internet, though... we've seen the Storm King's potion spell that he uses to make a video call of sorts to Tempest. We've also seen DJ PON-3's modern-looking headphones, turntables, and high-tech speakers. And Doctor Whooves seems fascinated with advanced technology in Slice of Life.

[Will Guide 21,372]

@Jeric

You're right. In our real world where there is no magic , we built machines to do things we can't do. But because Equestrian does have magic to get things done, they don't exactly NEED our same level.of technology.

[Iam 526]

In Equestria they [ponies] go by the other line. They don't have to follow our evolution of technology. Maybe we don't know some things, maybe we don't know, that behind the scenes most of the things is powered by some sort of magic, maybe magic powder, maybe magic fuel, just magic as a form of liquid or resource with incredibly unique properties. Those types of questions can have infinite ranger of answers.

Edited August 17, 2018 by Iam
forgot one "s"

[MangoFoalix 25,058]

Ponies don't need technology because they have magic. We use technology because we are limited by what our bodies can do. We can't fly, so we built airplanes. We can't swim very good for very long distances, so we built boats. It's just how things work. Magic with technology is another topic altogether though.

[SDP40F amtrak 2,448]

10 minutes ago, TheTaZe said:

Ponies don't need technology because they have magic. We use technology because we are limited by what our bodies can do. We can't fly, so we built airplanes. We can't swim very good for very long distances, so we built boats. It's just how things work. Magic with technology is another topic altogether though.

That true

[Misty Shadow 8,200]

They already have created some of our technology. Advanced machinery has been seen plenty of times in the show, they even have video games as shown in Hearts and Hooves Day and Grannies Gone Wild.

[BornAgainBrony 2,398]

They do things out of preference instead of necessity. Theirs isn't a "need" based reality. If you want it, it's there. If you don't, that's also an option.

[Denim&Venöm 20,471]

2 hours ago, Lucid_Nightlight said:

Think about it, they could easily create the same things we have.

If they wanted to, they could create the same guns, missiles, jets, tanks, ect to improve their military.

They could easily create computers and Internet. They could easily make smartphones.

They have the capability to become just as advanced as us if not more, so why don't they?

Because they don't know what guns, missiles and jets are. Tank may actually apply to the thing that holds water. 

Computers they have kinda. But the internet was originally established as a means of communication that could survive a war. Equestria kinda has that with potion chats and dragon mail. That and it seems like wars have never gotten to the scale ours have. And smart phones? With touchscreens? Used by hooves? 

Yes, they have the capability. But not necessarily the necessity or the preference. 

[ManaMinori 4,149]

6 hours ago, Lucid_Nightlight said:

Think about it, they could easily create the same things we have.

If they wanted to, they could create the same guns, missiles, jets, tanks, ect to improve their military.

They could easily create computers and Internet. They could easily make smartphones.

They have the capability to become just as advanced as us if not more, so why don't they?

they don't need to improve their military. What they've been doing has worked fine for generations without warfare and bloodshed. Thus, the reason why they have no need to replicate our through means of magic.

 

secondly- they have no need to replicate phones and internet because they hold physical interaction of more importance, as seen by the sheer number of holidays that promote social bonding and togetherness. Whereas technology like internet creates isolation, for the most part, irl. That's counterproductive to Equestria's society and growth. As for phones...why? They have ponies that can teleport everywhere.

[BornAgainBrony 2,398]

On 8/17/2018 at 8:26 PM, Denim&Venom said:

Because they don't know what guns, missiles and jets are. Tank may actually apply to the thing that holds water. 

Computers they have kinda. But the internet was originally established as a means of communication that could survive a war. Equestria kinda has that with potion chats and dragon mail. That and it seems like wars have never gotten to the scale ours have. And smart phones? With touchscreens? Used by hooves? 

Yes, they have the capability. But not necessarily the necessity or the preference. 

The word "tank" as a term for a military vehicle actually did originate from that word, because it was something that could "take a lot," like a tank does. But we could probably easily skip that word and assume that "tank" jumped from that same origin directly to the gaming archetype for a similar reason; can't really do much damage, but can take a LOT of punishment, and that describes a turtle pretty accurately.

I think asking if they can use them with hooves is a pointless question. There's already plenty that they do without fingers that shouldn't be possible, like playing the piano.

On 8/18/2018 at 12:01 AM, Nightmare Muffin said:

As for phones...why? They have ponies that can teleport everywhere.

And at least one Pony who can fly at Mach 1, and I haven't seen evidence that Unicorns can just teleport ANYWHERE they want, like halfway across the planet. In most universes, blind teleporting is VERY dangerous unless you have clear knowledge of exactly how far you're moving to and a perfect mental image in your head of the layout of the room (pretty sure the only time Twilight did it was to go into her own library, and that was with 4X Alicorn magic). If you screw it up, you'll come out embedded in a table or something or possibly even another Pony who just happened to be standing in the wrong place - good luck surviving an accident like that. Either way, clearly magically-augmented travel is rare enough (or burns through far too much... mana?) that it doesn't suffice. Their most common form of transportation is the railroad and both Pegusi and Unicorns use it. I could see possibly a solution for rapid magic travel through the use of a variant of mirror portals, but those things aren't exactly stable to begin with.

Remote communication is at least done with spells (Twilight using the music box ballerina to talk to Starlight), and there's also Luna's ability to communicate through dreams, so is there any reason for them to NOT make phones?

Edited August 19, 2018 by bornAgainEquestrian

[Steve Piranha 29,496]

Doctor Whooves mentioned that magic slowed the technological progress in Equestria. Without magic, they’d probably be as advanced as us at least

[Windseeker 546]

I think humanity's technology (especially in the colonial and modern age at least) was driven by the incessant need to compete on a geopolitical level. I imagine Equestria has little incentive to modernize since their neighbors aren't warmongers threatening their existence.

That probably changed, I dunno, I haven't seen the show in ages, but I'm sure if the changelings had guns and were a known problem for ages, Equestrians would probably try to stay ahead of them.

[cuteycindyhoney 13,339]

The ponies very wisely limit their technological development. They sensibly pick and choose what they need. Why waste resources or thousands of pony hours on designing a machine or device for a function, when magic can already do that job?

[Cirrus. 1,093]

They do have some modern technology like us, but they don't care about or use it that much because they have

DA MAGICS!

Edited October 27, 2018 by Cirrus.

[RDDash 19,246]

What is magic if it's not some source of technology. I mean if they start to store and utilise magic the same way we do technology, then at which point their magic stops being magical, and just another form of mundane energy to them.

[Dreambiscuit 11,335]

The don't need technology when they possess wisdom. They don't need advanced weapons when over-the-top warfare isn't necessary. They don't need computers or smartphones because they don't work anyway. 

[碇 シンジン 27,440]

They don't need techn9logy when they have magic

[Black Sabbath 2,488]

1 hour ago, Oono Akira said:

They don't need techn9logy when they have magic

But not everyone can cast magic so I don't see how magic would have kept them from creating the same technology as us. 

[Midnight Solace 5,134]

49 minutes ago, Sun Wukong said:

But not everyone can cast magic so I don't see how magic would have kept them from creating the same technology as us. 

I think that's why three pony races have to depend on each other. Pegasi are like the weather control, the Earth ponies are like farmers, and the Unicorns keep the day cycle going.

Magic plays an important role in Equestria. Room lights, flashlights and ovens have been seen before in the show, and I think it must have been powered by Equestria's type of electricity: Magic.

This brings up in interesting question, is it possible for magic to be passive, or is it active only? A unicorn could zap magic at an object, and then have it still be magically working when they left and stopped actively concentrating about it? Whenever things are moving, it seems like Unicorns need to concentrate on it. But magic that modify things, like the mustache spell, Rarity's wings, the walking on clouds spell, turning the apple into a carriage, or the mice into horses, continue working even after Twilight stops working magic.

I found a good example. In Boast Busters, Snails uses some sort of light spell that keeps working after he initially casts it and stops focusing on it. So it seems reasonable that the same spell could be used on a light bulb to make it continuously glow.

So what I think is that magic is only used for some tasks. Other things like guns are replaced by magic. Planes are replaced by Pegasi. They are different from humans, so they might have evolved differently. They don't have to create things they already have, but in a different way.

[EpicEnergy 23,247]

Why should they? Our technology isn't essential to having a fulfilling life, many have had fulfilling lives in the past and they didn't have our modern technology.

[Splashee 28,599]

If we are talking about cellphones, then they are too tiny to be construed with hooves