Much of the decipherment of Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics was due to the discovery and the analysis of the Rosetta Stone. An accurate translation was made by Jean-François Champollion in 1822.
I very much like to see this type of pseudo-science on HN. I read the article a few weeks ago and was pretty iffy about it, but I didn't really have a venue to converse about it. The comments that are already here, yours included, have got some cogs turning in my brain and I see some good thought and discussion to be had about the article.
It's entirely possible that I'm being biased as an American, but I've never really felt this way. I love public transportation whenever I'm in cities like Chicago or New York City. My issue is that my state (and sometimes my commute) is bigger than most European countries. I've never felt a deep cultural barrier between public transportation and me, it's personally just incredibly inconvenient. I would very much love to see more public transportation options in America, though. But your argument is quite interesting, so thanks!
[1]: https://oi.uchicago.edu/research/publications/assyrian-dicti...