Just a fun question

[GilpinGuy]

To give credit where its due, I heard this on the "Free Man Behind the Wall" podcast, which I listen to regularly.

Would you rather live today with 1900 technology or live in 1900 with today's technology?

[ray1970]

I have to go with option A. I yearn for simple times with fewer distractions and more interaction with the environment and other people.

Besides, living in 1900 with today?s technology would pretty much be just like living today. I mean no matter the time period if you have the same stuff you have now then how would anything be any different?

[Duman]

Option B. There were about 6-billion fewer people on the planet, and the planet was cleaner.

We know a lot more about economics, science, medicine, ecology, etc. the planet might (but not necessarily) be in better shape in 2020.

[FoxtArt]

I guess the question is confusing. I do agree with Ray, it sort of seems like asking "Would you rather live in the year 1900 mislabeled as the year 2000, or the year 2000 mislabeled as the year 1900." [panic]

[GilpinGuy]

Just assume it's 1900 but with current technology. A few things to consider:

Economics, social and racial views, political climate, etc. of the time.

And there's no right answer. Just a fun discussion.

[GilpinGuy]

The answer from Jeff Deist was "1900 with today's technology because dentistry was horrible back then." Something like that anyway.

[Irving]

Does everyone have today's technology in 1900? If not, my laptop and cell phone would be worthless and no YouTube.

There would be more freedom, but less to do. Not as many animals to hunt because that's when we were driving them to extinction. Intresting thought experiment.

[GilpinGuy]

Does everyone have today's technology in 1900? If not, my laptop and cell phone would be worthless and no YouTube.

There would be more freedom, but less to do. Not as many animals to hunt because that's when we were driving them to extinction. Intresting thought experiment.

Yes, same tech for everyone, just 1900 was the same as it was otherwise.

[Irving]

I'd pick now. Well..I don't know. Good thing this isn't a test.

[Great-Kazoo]

Just assume it's 1900 but with current technology. A few things to consider:

Economics, social and racial views, political climate, etc. of the time.

And there's no right answer. Just a fun discussion.

Oh yes there is. those new in 1900 guns are worth a lot more now. SO buying when able to and putting away for some great grand kid would be nice.
Unless my carefree ways realized too late. What we take for granted, when it comes to curing STD's was not possible, back then.

Is it me doc, or does my penis look like it's been marinated in prune juice ? ;)

[Irving]

Marinated? More like blanched.

[Great-Kazoo]

Marinated? More like blanched.

You dated her, too?

I thought her having no teeth, was a plus. Who knew, right ;)

[RblDiver]

If everyone has the same tech...probably still the 1900 with 2020 tech, but wouldn't be nearly as entertaining as 1900 with me being the only one with (and with me having knowledge of future events).

https://youtu.be/Qi7egXgYcgk?t=165

[cstone]

Without a power grid, satelites, software, etc... my 2020 tech in 1900 would be pretty much worthless. Therefore, I choose to live today with 1900 technology. Besides, I wouldn't want the world to repeat two major wars, Communism/Socialism killing hundreds of millions of people etc.. The 20th century was pretty brutal. There are lots of people around the world living today with 18th and 19th century technology. As long as we can avoid living with a 7th century theology, we should be alright.

[ray1970]

I assumed we would have all of the modern stuff in 1900- Internet, electric cars, Netflix, indoor plumbing, Starbucks, etc.

[Gman]

So...not just "technology" but also "infrastructure".

Are there any limits to this mental masturbation exercise, or are we making up the rules as we go along?

Asking for a friend.

[ray1970]

Well if you have the technology then why wouldn't you have the infrastructure?

I mean what good would technology do if you didn't apply that technology?

[Irving]

I think the point is that if you had the same tech and infrastructure today, back then, it wouldn't be the same mindset back then either.

[ray1970]

Yep. No more plowing the fields on Sunday. Gotta turn on the tube and watch sports. The women folk wouldn't have to work too hard since meal prep would be pretty quick when you could just pull frozen stuff out of the freezer and toss it in the microwave so they'd have time to keep up with their favorite soap operas. Lawmen and outlaws would be strapped with body armor and magazine fed weapons so those shootouts in the street would last way longer and many more rounds would be fired. And no need for those lengthy covered wagon trips going east or west when you could just fly.

[Duman]

So...not just "technology" but also "infrastructure".

Are there any limits to this mental masturbation exercise, or are we making up the rules as we go along?

Asking for a friend.

Thanks for taking the bullet, friend.....[Coffee]

[Duman]

Didn't mean to kill the thread.... my working assumption was 2020 technology with 2020 infrastructure, just dial the way-back machine to 1900.

[Gman]

Technology is developed over time using the application of knowledge. Is this a scenario where someone waved a wand and the technology just existed, or was it 'developed'?

If it was a natural progression, like what we have today, just change the date on the calendar and nothing changes.

If somehow you took the 1900s and *poof*, our current stuff now exists, then can you really call it "technology"? I mean, there wouldn't have been the acquired knowledge in 1900 to apply to it.

[cstone]

Harry Turtledove approves this thread. [Flower]

[Duman]

If one generation were to 'disappear', I imagine the entire economic and technical infrastructure would likely collapse.

In 1900 they were still trying to understand gyroscopes, flight, pre-quantum mechanics, etc.. Without QM, no computers, lasers, internet, chemistry would still be alchemy.
DNA was unknown, germ theory was still relatively new in the western world, no antibiotics, literacy in language, mathematics and the scientific method were still the privilege of the upper class.
The list goes on, and on, and on......

The 20th century had more technical advancement than all previous millennia combined. If we had reached that level of knowledge a century earlier, with associated infrastructure, we would still be where we're at today only sooner. It's a wash.

[BladesNBarrels]

Seems like there are a few historic gaps over time.
What did the ancient civilizations really know?
How were the pyramids built?
What are the meanings of the locations of structures in Chaco Canyon?
What was the purpose of Stonehenge?
Questions, questions, questions?
Seems appropriate on Winter Solstice.

https://i.imgur.com/6rqLpVH.jpg

[Aloha_Shooter]

Interesting question from the OP. One of the trades in my mind are the benefits of modern hygiene and dental/medical capabilities versus the omnipresent intrusion from information collection and exploitation. There's also a question of which part of the 19th century are we talking about? There was a significant change in societal structure and thinking between the early 1800s (think of Monroe and War of 1812, slavery in the South, etc.) versus the late 1800s (the good -- Theodore -- Roosevelt, emancipation, age of enlightenment, etc.). I would certainly give up the benefits of smartphones and nearly-omnipresent fast bandwidth for the relative anonymity and freedom of the later 19th century. I'd even give up sports cars and wide body commercial jets but not sure I'd want to return to needing 2-3 weeks to sail from Europe to the East Coast or from the West Coast to Hawaii. Remember that cars were seen in the early 20th century as a way to combat the air pollution of the 19th century (the omnipresent smell of horse manure).

I would prefer the 19th century common understanding of the Constitution and relatively small federal government but I wouldn't want to have to endure dental and medical practices or technology of the time. Heck, having gone camping with temperatures in the single digits, I wouldn't even want to have to resort to outhouses and bedpans from 19th century housing in the dead of winter. It really sucks waking up in the middle of the night needing to use the can and realizing it's so bloody cold outside that your pee freezes nearly instantly.

[Hummer]

So...not just "technology" but also "infrastructure".

Are there any limits to this mental masturbation exercise, or are we making up the rules as we go along?

Asking for a friend.




Interesting question from the OP. One of the trades in my mind are the benefits of modern hygiene and dental/medical capabilities versus the omnipresent intrusion from information collection and exploitation. There's also a question of which part of the 19th century are we talking about? There was a significant change in societal structure and thinking between the early 1800s (think of Monroe and War of 1812, slavery in the South, etc.) versus the late 1800s (the good -- Theodore -- Roosevelt, emancipation, age of enlightenment, etc.). I would certainly give up the benefits of smartphones and nearly-omnipresent fast bandwidth for the relative anonymity and freedom of the later 19th century. I'd even give up sports cars and wide body commercial jets but.... not sure I'd want to return to needing 2-3 weeks to sail from Europe to the East Coast or from the West Coast to Hawaii. Remember that cars were seen in the early 20th century as a way to combat the air pollution of the 19th century (the omnipresent smell of horse manure).

I would prefer the 19th century common understanding of the Constitution and relatively small federal government but I wouldn't want to have to endure dental and medical practices or technology of the time. Heck, having gone camping with temperatures in the single digits, I wouldn't even want to have to resort to outhouses and bedpans from 19th century housing in the dead of winter. It really sucks waking up in the middle of the night needing to use the can and realizing it's so bloody cold outside that your pee freezes nearly instantly.



With respect to Gilpin Guy's beginning scenario I would change the setting of the fantasy. Take me back to 1850 America in a time machine scenario with a return to the future anytime option. Give me alone the advantages of modern technology and equipment, a secure, cryptic and virtually impenetrable estate, maybe several of them with multiple escapes and a few good horses. No phone because no one else has one but maybe a GPS, electricity, hot water showers, flush toilets and washing machines. The washing machine was one of the greatest labor saving invention. Outfitted with a thermal scoped AR, a lightweight scoped highpower bolt action rifle, a suite of auto pistols and light body armor, I'll be well equipped. With the time machine I can travel back to before the indian arrow went through my thigh, then forward a few seconds after.

1850 was a time when the westward expansion was well underway but before the Civil War. Modern inventions were rapidly expanding but pollution hadn't reached the levels of the later industrialized 19th century. Indians were still regarded as savages killing hundreds of settlers every year but the course of civilization was advancing. It was the manifest destiny of western immigration. The environment, land and wildlife across the continent was still rich and relatively untouched. I would want to explore and document the land and it's wildlife like some of the early scientific explorers. Fish the rivers, take bighorn sheep on the Continental Divide and elk and buffalo on the plains, all with the modern advantages of survivability without all the trappings of an ugly and overpopulated world.


My wife and I often talk about how we have lived in the best of times due to environment, wildlife, medicine and health, security, home comfort and conveniences. But we see our world rapidly deteriorating with the concomitant population growth, shrinking natural world, the crash of the worlds wildlife species, and the growing threat of despotic governments. Take me back, country road.