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I know this sounds trite and stupid, but I have a recurring fantasy of travelling back in time and using my modern knowledge to change history. My greatest [im

I know this sounds trite and stupid, but I have a recurring fantasy of travelling back in time and using my modern knowledge to change history. My greatest [imagined] downfall has always been a lack of access to Wikipedia, and how to get around it. This solves my hypothetical problem perfectly.

pjscott 15y ago
It's much more interesting to try to actually learn enough about how things work that you could, theoretically, reconstruct some of them. Take gasoline, for example: could you work out how to refine oil by partial distillation? If you needed to measure the temperature, could you make a basic thermometer and calibrate it? Do you know how to make metals from ore? If you go back to before the bronze age, being able to mix copper and tin could be a big deal. This is really fun stuff to learn about. Plus, this way you won't have to worry about battery life.
- redthrowaway 15y ago
  It is, but we run into the barrier of expected utility. What is a better thing for me to learn: how to scale rails apps, or how to construct a solar panel from iron age technology? Don't get me wrong, both are awesome. Absent a working time machine or the ability to leap into a novel or Z-Day, however, only the former will have any benefit for me.
  - evincarofautumn 15y ago
    Time travel could be impossible, but the end of the world could be right around the corner. I’m not a doomsdayer, but I do think it’d be fun to contribute my brains to a survival group. Better than contributing them to a zombie’s maw, wouldn’t you say?
    - redthrowaway 15y ago
      How far down the rabbit hole do we go, and how much of my irredeemable nerdiness am I willing to admit to? If we're talking Z-Day, then the most economical solution seems to be either to buy and convert an old mine, or to grab an old nuclear silo[1]. Either way, one could reasonably assume that a full, automated backup of Wikipedia and other helpful sites would be stored on local servers. If you're not a member of the "I can buy Minuteman silos, whatever bro" club, then your currency is best spent on ammunition and the pre-determination of likely gathering points. If, in the unlikely event that you're just a nerd putzing around on the Internet when you should be doing Real Work, you have access to none of these, then I suggest you move quickly towards a zombie-proof survival plan. [1] http://www.missilebases.com/properties http://www.missilebases.com/properties
  - pjscott 15y ago
    Learning to make charcoal in bulk or blow glass are valuable purely for entertainment: it's not likely to be useful to you, but you'll have fun doing it. On the other hand, this was also my motive for learning about things that later turned out to have really high expected utility, like the concept of "expected utility".
- arctangent 15y ago
  You might enjoy reading about the difficulties Thomas Thwaites had in building something as simple as a toaster from scratch: http://www.thetoasterproject.org/ http://www.thetoasterproject.org/
  - gosub 15y ago
    I've seen the TED presentation about this and there is one thing I particularly disliked: all the energy and effort spent molding the plastic enclosure. I think it wasn't faithful to the concept of "recreating civilization from basic premises" that appeals more to me.
thret 15y ago
I have the same fantasy. I guess Ryan North does too, he produced this t-shirt http://www.topatoco.com/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=TO&Product_Code=QW-CHEATSHEET&Category_Code=QW http://www.topatoco.com/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_C... Which is semi-helpful. By wearing it I've discovered this fantasy is not uncommon.
- redthrowaway 15y ago
  sigh Ordered.
Androsynth 15y ago
me too! I've thought a lot about when would be good times to do great things and which paths would be easy and which would be hard. Unfortunately it usually ends up with me realizing that going back to 2004 and starting youtube would be the greatest reward per time and difficulty. :(
- redthrowaway 15y ago
  I'd prefer going back to '97 with $10MM and buying Apple stocks, then sitting on my ass. My reverie could possibly be interrupted by getting in on Google's IPO. I'd also offer to buy each viral video from the last decade before it went big for $1k, then pop ads on it and let the money roll in.
  - Androsynth 15y ago
    but you could go to 2004 and make > $1B in 18 months without needing any initial capital. Im not sure theres ever been a 'if only I had know this then' get rich quick plan quite like that in history.
omaranto 15y ago
Then I recommend Lester del Rey's novel Lest Darkness Should Fall. It's about someone from the 20th century who suddenly and inexplicably gets transported to ancient Rome, after a while he accepts he can't get back to his time and decides to do something worthwhile where he is: keep the middle ages from occurring.
- jgeralnik 15y ago
  Also, 1632 by Eric Flint (and its numerous sequels) about a Virginian town circa 1999 that suddenly and inexplicably gets transported to 1632.

pjscott 15y ago

It's much more interesting to try to actually learn enough about how things work that you could, theoretically, reconstruct some of them. Take gasoline, for example: could you work out how to refine oil by partial distillation? If you needed to measure the temperature, could you make a basic thermometer and calibrate it? Do you know how to make metals from ore? If you go back to before the bronze age, being able to mix copper and tin could be a big deal. This is really fun stuff to learn about. Plus, this way you won't have to worry about battery life.

redthrowaway 15y ago
It is, but we run into the barrier of expected utility. What is a better thing for me to learn: how to scale rails apps, or how to construct a solar panel from iron age technology? Don't get me wrong, both are awesome. Absent a working time machine or the ability to leap into a novel or Z-Day, however, only the former will have any benefit for me.
- evincarofautumn 15y ago
  Time travel could be impossible, but the end of the world could be right around the corner. I’m not a doomsdayer, but I do think it’d be fun to contribute my brains to a survival group. Better than contributing them to a zombie’s maw, wouldn’t you say?
  - redthrowaway 15y ago
    How far down the rabbit hole do we go, and how much of my irredeemable nerdiness am I willing to admit to? If we're talking Z-Day, then the most economical solution seems to be either to buy and convert an old mine, or to grab an old nuclear silo[1]. Either way, one could reasonably assume that a full, automated backup of Wikipedia and other helpful sites would be stored on local servers. If you're not a member of the "I can buy Minuteman silos, whatever bro" club, then your currency is best spent on ammunition and the pre-determination of likely gathering points. If, in the unlikely event that you're just a nerd putzing around on the Internet when you should be doing Real Work, you have access to none of these, then I suggest you move quickly towards a zombie-proof survival plan. [1] http://www.missilebases.com/properties http://www.missilebases.com/properties
- pjscott 15y ago
  Learning to make charcoal in bulk or blow glass are valuable purely for entertainment: it's not likely to be useful to you, but you'll have fun doing it. On the other hand, this was also my motive for learning about things that later turned out to have really high expected utility, like the concept of "expected utility".
arctangent 15y ago
You might enjoy reading about the difficulties Thomas Thwaites had in building something as simple as a toaster from scratch: http://www.thetoasterproject.org/ http://www.thetoasterproject.org/
- gosub 15y ago
  I've seen the TED presentation about this and there is one thing I particularly disliked: all the energy and effort spent molding the plastic enclosure. I think it wasn't faithful to the concept of "recreating civilization from basic premises" that appeals more to me.

thret 15y ago

I have the same fantasy. I guess Ryan North does too, he produced this t-shirt http://www.topatoco.com/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=TO&Product_Code=QW-CHEATSHEET&Category_Code=QW http://www.topatoco.com/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_C... Which is semi-helpful. By wearing it I've discovered this fantasy is not uncommon.

redthrowaway 15y ago
sigh Ordered.

Androsynth 15y ago

me too! I've thought a lot about when would be good times to do great things and which paths would be easy and which would be hard. Unfortunately it usually ends up with me realizing that going back to 2004 and starting youtube would be the greatest reward per time and difficulty. :(

redthrowaway 15y ago
I'd prefer going back to '97 with $10MM and buying Apple stocks, then sitting on my ass. My reverie could possibly be interrupted by getting in on Google's IPO. I'd also offer to buy each viral video from the last decade before it went big for $1k, then pop ads on it and let the money roll in.
- Androsynth 15y ago
  but you could go to 2004 and make > $1B in 18 months without needing any initial capital. Im not sure theres ever been a 'if only I had know this then' get rich quick plan quite like that in history.

omaranto 15y ago

Then I recommend Lester del Rey's novel Lest Darkness Should Fall. It's about someone from the 20th century who suddenly and inexplicably gets transported to ancient Rome, after a while he accepts he can't get back to his time and decides to do something worthwhile where he is: keep the middle ages from occurring.

jgeralnik 15y ago
Also, 1632 by Eric Flint (and its numerous sequels) about a Virginian town circa 1999 that suddenly and inexplicably gets transported to 1632.