Ludwig reckons he could build a pyramid, not an iPhone
A family-lunch disagreement becomes a busy discussion about ancient ingenuity, modern technology and what ordinary people could actually build.
Ludwig
Story of Why this story? The video drew 1,560 comments in its first day, 14 times a normal first day on this channel (114).
Like let’s just think about this for a second…
Ludwig's family had an argument for ancient civilizations being smarter than us: how else do you explain the pyramids? He had a counterargument sitting in his hand.
In "Like let's just think about this for a second…", the streamer holds up his smartphone and asks, "Do you know how hard it is to make this?" To him, the everyday object is the more astonishing achievement. Give him enough people, he argues, and a pyramid would be possible. "But if we had to make an iPhone, it's not happening."
The clip drew roughly 1,600 comments in its first day, almost fourteen times the usual response to a Ludwig Short. Its views were ordinary for the channel; the unusually busy part was the conversation underneath.
Viewers take the comparison in several directions. Some contrast moving stone with making electronics, joking about humanity persuading rocks to think. Others distinguish not knowing precisely how an ancient monument was constructed from being unable to construct one today. A commenter identifying themselves as a teacher emphasizes accumulated knowledge: ancient people did not need to be less intelligent for modern people to have more sophisticated tools.
There is also a useful complication to Ludwig's thought experiment. One viewer imagines being dropped into the Ice Age with unlimited time and an assignment to make an iPhone alone. That changes the question from which achievement is more impressive to how much of modern ingenuity any individual could reproduce.
Published on Trari
Where next?
What viewers say
I always explain to my students that ancient civilisations were exactly as smart as us, we’re not better and they weren’t helped by aliens, we just have the benefit of having their knowledge passed on to us.
@AleValens26See it on YouTubeThey stacked rocks, we tricked rocks into thinking
@andrewkeiser8427See it on YouTubeImagine you could live forever and your end goal was to make a iPhone by yourself
Edit: your placed at the ice age@maverickog7See it on YouTube
2 more comments
We don't know how THEY build the piramids, that doesn't mean we couldn't build the piramids
@CorruptedMPSee it on YouTubeThe people during that time couldn't comprehend technology today. And tbf, many people today can't comprehend technology today. They know it works and maybe have a loose sense but..
@TrekyhunterSee it on YouTube
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- Channel
- Ludwig
- Subscribers
- 7,090,000
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 42,844,625
- Channel views, pace per day
- 5,849,892 (on a normal day: 5,415,555)
- Video published
- October 17, 2026
- Video views so far
- 2,032,406 (2 days online)
- Video views, pace per day
- 752,656 (on a normal day: 1,413,590)
The numbers
The standout here is the first-day comment count, not an unusual surge in views.
💡 Test your knowledge
In which country are the pyramids of Giza?
The Giza pyramid complex stands near Cairo in Egypt.