I’ve read a few of those arguments and they all seem rather strained and under the surface to boil down to “we don’t really know.” The more widely acknowledged points that “strangely accurate pre-Columbian maps of parts of the Atlantic exist, as well as the biological evidence of pre-Columbian Old and New World contacts” seem like especially strong points to hang one’s hat on, given that the Western world cares much more for history than China.

I’ll have to try 1434: The Year a Magnificent Chinese Fleet Sailed to Italy and Ignited the Renaissance by Menzies next.

This sort of idea that we should simply conclude on the side of “500 years of (Western) history” in the face of newer evidence when the West never has had (and still doesn’t have) access to much of what input China might offer on the subject is misplaced to me. But I’ve always argued against the acceptance of a single narrative, which happens to be your, my, and most people’s major issue with what reddit has become today.