A very disappointing movie. |
Last night my wife and I were relaxing in the office / media room / play room / bonus room (we haven't figured out a good name for it yet) after our son had gone to bed, and decided to watch a movie neither of us had seen before, but both wanted to, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter was actually a book first, written by Seth Grahame-Smith, the same author of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Explaining Today's Technology to a Time Traveler
As the credits rolled, we came to the realization that we had wasted two hours of our life and decided to get some sleep. While going through my normal night time routine, my mind inevitably started to wander onto a topic I always think about whenever I see a historical movie or show, or read about a historical figure: How would I explain all the technological advancements that have occurred between when the person was alive and today? Is there a way I could bridge that huge gap of technological and societal differences that would actually help the person in question function in today's society? If so, how would I do it? Is it better to explain the technology itself, or explain the societal changes that have occurred, and ignore much of the actual technology?I don't know why, but I grapple with these questions all the time. It is an interesting thought experiment, and forces you to think about science and technology in a new light. At least a couple different movies and television shows have touched on this subject; Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
The Real Problem is Societal Changes
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Abraham Lincoln would likely have trouble trying to understand and adapt to the society of today. |
I think the technology is easy to explain, as long as you bridge the gap from what the person knows to what exists today. Societal behavior today, however, would be considered disgusting by the standards of the 1860s. The way we dress, talk, think, and act are all behaviors that get ingrained into our psyche as we grow up, learning how to properly behave so that society accepts us. To experience such a cultural shift in an instant would probably shock most people to the point where they would be very uncomfortable interacting with anyone. I don't know if societal behavior is something that is teachable and adaptable on such an immediate time frame.
If you are like me and have ever imagined what it would be like to travel to the future, or to meet technologically advanced aliens, you probably think you could adapt. Sure, the technology would be far advanced and perhaps beyond your comprehension, but otherwise you would get by. I don't think this is the case. Whenever I think of future humans, I think of people who think and act like me, but with fancier, cooler gadgets. A far more likely scenario, however, is that people of the future will behave in ways that we would consider crazy, bizarre, and possibly downright gross. It is impossible to say, but this has been the case throughout history, so I see no reason why it would change now.
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