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[Poll] Would Era rather...be forced to one-way time-travel 500 yrs to the past or future? [Topic II]
- Thread starter brainchild
- Start date
Don't forget tons of extra ammo, camping supplies so that you can avoid pretty much everyone you could potentially encounter, camouflage etc.
If I had to go to the past, I would basically need a pick up truck full of shit to ensure I can avoid everyone forever.
i prefer the "whatever happened happened" version of time travel. so i would like to think that if anyone successfully went back 500 years in time and did well, we would have heard about it. the fact that we haven't heard about someone coming in from the future to change the world means that anyone who would have tried either died immediately because of landing somewhere inhospitable, was killed quickly as a heretic before getting a chance to do anything, or went on to live a completely unremarkable life that wouldn't get recorded in the history books, only it's in the past so everything sucks. also, with a random location, language is near guaranteed to be an issue
500 years in the future, it is more likely that time travel has become more commonplace. it is possible that people popping in from the past/future in random locations is a semi-regular occurrence, which could mean they'd have developed a technology to detect and save people that pop in in the middle of the ocean which, face it, would be the most likely location you'd appear in, given that around 70 percent of the earths surface is ocean
i like my chances a lot better in the future
500 years in the future, it is more likely that time travel has become more commonplace. it is possible that people popping in from the past/future in random locations is a semi-regular occurrence, which could mean they'd have developed a technology to detect and save people that pop in in the middle of the ocean which, face it, would be the most likely location you'd appear in, given that around 70 percent of the earths surface is ocean
i like my chances a lot better in the future
Yeah, I can't go to the past because of the whole being black and wanting to live thing.
Future all the way.
Future all the way.
I know enough about the early 1500s to know that I want absolutely no part of living in that era. The 16th century is an interesting era to study, but it was tumultuous and violent. Even worse, decent medicine is still centuries away.
Also, I would absolutely love to see the future.
Also, I would absolutely love to see the future.
Lets just go 500 years in the past and write down prophesies of all the major events and wars of the next 500 years and found a new religion on it.
There are a lot of stories about people traveling to the past and becoming prominent, altering the course of History, especially doctors and nurses saving lives of important people etc. I agree with previous posts that unless you could operate without resources and found somebody who actually listened to you (we are talking about a world which still believes in abiogenesis) it would be the worst option.
Not considering it too carefully I tend to choose the future. Always had an irresistible curiosity to know how it will be like, and this would be a good way. But I think there's a chance a person in the future would be quickly spotted and taken into a facility to be studied or something. There is no way in the future you will be able to be anonymous and walk around without a proper ID or not knowing any of the current tech.
Not considering it too carefully I tend to choose the future. Always had an irresistible curiosity to know how it will be like, and this would be a good way. But I think there's a chance a person in the future would be quickly spotted and taken into a facility to be studied or something. There is no way in the future you will be able to be anonymous and walk around without a proper ID or not knowing any of the current tech.
Would it be good tho? I'm trying to think of it, and anything cool you could do would actually be lame.
Let's say you're the richest man in the world. You still can't really travel. You can't buy much nicer than a big house which takes forever to build. Nobody showers. There aren't even video games.
You're assuming we'd be in a position to change anything for the better. Yeah we know what modern technology is but how well do you think we'd be able to replicate the results of famous inventors from memory? On top of that I'm black so it's not like they'd listen to me anyway. Odds are I'd have a rough time. I'd rather go for the future where I have a chance of it turning out well than the past where I know it's not gonna go well.
Plus they had some weird shit exactly 500 years ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dancing_plague_of_1518
You're basically choosing between a certain life of ignorance, filth and brutality (unless your a 1%er) against a roll of the dice on whether or not we still exist in 500 years. I'd roll the dice and hope for the best rather than go back to the 1600s
I can't help but feel like this is a significantly less balanced choice than the last one... I'm glad the poll results seem to agree.
On any metric I can think of, the future gives you better odds, or at minimum certainly not worse odds.
- Less likely to die of disease (including actual plagues)
- With the random teleport clause, more likely to end up within reasonable distance of a settlement (or a ship, oceans are big y'know)
- More likely to be able to communicate; not only do we study past languages, you have to expect decent translation software
- More likely to be accepted into society as an interesting scientific curiosity (and not a witch)
- Less likely to be murdered or sold into slavery based on your nature
- More likely to find cool entertainment
Sure, you run the risk of appearing in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, but that's really not worse than the year 1500. Dying of radiation poisoning or unbreatheable air is functionally no different from dying of the plague or some other long-gone disease you have no immunity to. Or say the everyone was dead in the future; at least you could loot city ruins, which is a lot easier than trying to survive on your own in the past.
On any metric I can think of, the future gives you better odds, or at minimum certainly not worse odds.
- Less likely to die of disease (including actual plagues)
- With the random teleport clause, more likely to end up within reasonable distance of a settlement (or a ship, oceans are big y'know)
- More likely to be able to communicate; not only do we study past languages, you have to expect decent translation software
- More likely to be accepted into society as an interesting scientific curiosity (and not a witch)
- Less likely to be murdered or sold into slavery based on your nature
- More likely to find cool entertainment
Sure, you run the risk of appearing in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, but that's really not worse than the year 1500. Dying of radiation poisoning or unbreatheable air is functionally no different from dying of the plague or some other long-gone disease you have no immunity to. Or say the everyone was dead in the future; at least you could loot city ruins, which is a lot easier than trying to survive on your own in the past.
Not a well thought out question. You have only a 30% chance of land. And you could land in Siberia north/south pole, deserts or any inhospitable terrain.
Then assuming you somehow land next to people, you need to communicate with them. I am sure people in the past were tolerate of people who don't speak their language and dress the same.
Let's say you brought technology. If you bring a car goodluck because the gas will go bad, the tires will go bad and they aren't many viable roads. You brought water, cool how do you carry enough with you.
Oh you want to change the pass great. How do you do it without communicating with the people and each change takes a long time since assuming they don't kill you, you have to convince a lot of people to adopt to your beliefs. By the time you change the world, well more like your local town since communication doesn't go as well as it does today, you are too old.
OP the only thing you have achieved is get some poor anthropologist laughed at when they find your poor attempt at changing history of a small local town.
For me the future. I might die, but the chances of me surviving is still higher than in the past, as a black man and as a guy who is realizes that changing the past requires more resources, extremely amounts of luck and time. any change is probably extremely localized since communication takes a very long time. Assuming your knowledge doesn't get destroyed when your town gets destroyed.
Then assuming you somehow land next to people, you need to communicate with them. I am sure people in the past were tolerate of people who don't speak their language and dress the same.
Let's say you brought technology. If you bring a car goodluck because the gas will go bad, the tires will go bad and they aren't many viable roads. You brought water, cool how do you carry enough with you.
Oh you want to change the pass great. How do you do it without communicating with the people and each change takes a long time since assuming they don't kill you, you have to convince a lot of people to adopt to your beliefs. By the time you change the world, well more like your local town since communication doesn't go as well as it does today, you are too old.
OP the only thing you have achieved is get some poor anthropologist laughed at when they find your poor attempt at changing history of a small local town.
For me the future. I might die, but the chances of me surviving is still higher than in the past, as a black man and as a guy who is realizes that changing the past requires more resources, extremely amounts of luck and time. any change is probably extremely localized since communication takes a very long time. Assuming your knowledge doesn't get destroyed when your town gets destroyed.
Just to add, by the time you amassed any wealth you would be too old to enjoy it and there is a constant threat of thieves and war.
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Future
This is such an odd wrinkle to add. How does it change anything?
This is such an odd wrinkle to add. How does it change anything?
Future.
I already know how bad women are treated in the past. Future offers a chance for equality.
I already know how bad women are treated in the past. Future offers a chance for equality.
What would I need to even do to prepare for the future? I can see studying those 6 months prior to jumping to the past. Can't really study the future!
Future it is, though.
Future it is, though.
Honestly it feels like a bigger roll of the dice to go back into the past:
-Being black makes this automatically less desirable worldwide unless you end up deep in the heart of Africa or the middle east
-Being white doesn't actually offer automatic advantages and can be a disadvantage in some places
-Not being able to speak the local language could get you automatically killed
-Being a woman carriers various risks as well
-Have fun with those incurable plagues
-Trying to make a living in societies that it still agricultural by in large
-Even if you acquire a ton of money it's the fucking 1500s, there wasn't exactly a lot to spend it on
-Being black makes this automatically less desirable worldwide unless you end up deep in the heart of Africa or the middle east
-Being white doesn't actually offer automatic advantages and can be a disadvantage in some places
-Not being able to speak the local language could get you automatically killed
-Being a woman carriers various risks as well
-Have fun with those incurable plagues
-Trying to make a living in societies that it still agricultural by in large
-Even if you acquire a ton of money it's the fucking 1500s, there wasn't exactly a lot to spend it on
I'd be the cleanest person in the 1500s.
I guess I'd prefer seeing a world where I'm far away from being born, than a world where I'm long dead and all I knew is no more like I remember it. In the past I could also take advantage of my knowledge of the future, while in the future I'd have to relearn pretty much everything.
Also, I'd be terribly curious to see the past with my own eyes and check if our current knowledge of history is accurate or not. Going into the future, no matter what you know, nobody would believe your version of the past if it contradicted their studies and records. Humanity knows no less reliable witness than an eyewitness.
I guess I'd prefer seeing a world where I'm far away from being born, than a world where I'm long dead and all I knew is no more like I remember it. In the past I could also take advantage of my knowledge of the future, while in the future I'd have to relearn pretty much everything.
Also, I'd be terribly curious to see the past with my own eyes and check if our current knowledge of history is accurate or not. Going into the future, no matter what you know, nobody would believe your version of the past if it contradicted their studies and records. Humanity knows no less reliable witness than an eyewitness.
Future. I'd rather risk ending up in some creepy cyberpunk society than go to the past as a black man.
I want to know exactly what people would teach the past. It doesn't matter what you know, it matters what you can prove and teach. And good luck with that in a world that still thinks the sun revolves around the earth and lacks many of the basic foundations of modern science and technology.
500 years in the Future. No question.
The past is cool to learn about but I can't think of many times in the past that I'd like to visit, besides 80's Hong Kong.
But if I did go to the past I'd bring knowledge of clean energy and medical science. Not sure what place I'd give that knowledge to though.
The future would probably be easier than making that decision
The past is cool to learn about but I can't think of many times in the past that I'd like to visit, besides 80's Hong Kong.
But if I did go to the past I'd bring knowledge of clean energy and medical science. Not sure what place I'd give that knowledge to though.
The future would probably be easier than making that decision
How much time do I have to prepare? Give me two weeks and I'd choose past, if this is gun to your head choose now, then future.
Past. Didn't even have to think about it. I grew up on a farm, I know how to keep myself fed and warm even if all I have are sticks and stones, and with 6 months to prepare, no sweat.
We hadn't destroyed the planet 500 years ago. I have no faith we're gonna be able to solve the global crisis we're facing right now. In 500 years I fear for what the earth looks like, if the air is even breathable, and hat kind of totalitarian regimes are ruling. Don't forget, when times are hard, people will vote foolishly, and times will be much harder in the future than what they are now.
We hadn't destroyed the planet 500 years ago. I have no faith we're gonna be able to solve the global crisis we're facing right now. In 500 years I fear for what the earth looks like, if the air is even breathable, and hat kind of totalitarian regimes are ruling. Don't forget, when times are hard, people will vote foolishly, and times will be much harder in the future than what they are now.
Slavery certainly existed 500 years ago, but 500 years ago is before the start of the Atlantic Slave Trade in earnest. Anyone who's black would likely just be a foreigner wherever they went. In fact, pretty much everyone regardless of skin color would be a foreigner. That said, future's still the obvious choice (because being a foreigner is a really good way to get yourself killed or worse).
The real issue is that you've got a 80% chance of instantly dying if you choose past when you're dropped into either the ocean or some kind of inhospitable environment like the Amazon or the Arctic.
The real issue is that you've got a 80% chance of instantly dying if you choose past when you're dropped into either the ocean or some kind of inhospitable environment like the Amazon or the Arctic.