It's a tempting idea, but I somewhat doubt it. The change from linear to exponential population growth has a limit and many of our ancestors saw the consequen

It's a tempting idea, but I somewhat doubt it. The change from linear to exponential population growth has a limit and many of our ancestors saw the consequences of this change, and it's particularly easy to imagine them "waking up" today, and with a few short "translational explanations" they'd be on their way. A story about waking up Ben Franklin would be fantastic.