How would the present be viewed by the past?

How would civilization 500 years ago view civilization of today, as far as technology, government, and religion? Would the present seem ASBish or realistic and attainable given the 500 year gap?
 
How would civilization 500 years ago view civilization of today, as far as technology, government, and religion? Would the present seem ASBish or realistic and attainable given the 500 year gap?
500 years ago?

They'd burn us all and call our inventions heresy :D
 
They would really envy our food production, medicine, and instant communications. They probably wouldn't like our casual attitude (and downright dislike, for some people) towards religion.
 
Afghan's attitude toward Western influence (fear and loathing, although they're not shy to adopt medicines and certain consumer goods) is pretty close approximation.
 
I remember a Star Trek (OS) where Kirk and the gang were captured by an alien who had been observing the Earth all his life and had become sort of a "terraphile", adopting the clothes and manners of Earth-people. But because of light years and all that, he was observing the Earth of the 16th century. He was most surprised by the Enterprise crew's gender relations and their attitudes toward dueling, among other things.

In the end, I believe he turned out to be a child-alien and was scolded by his parent-aliens.

I think that social norms would be more shocking than any individual technology. We have adapted ourselves to life in a huge, world-spanning culture unit where you don't know everyone in town, you don't know where your food came from, you don't know the difference between men's and women's work, and you may not even know what will happen when you die.
 
They would really envy our food production, medicine, and instant communications. They probably wouldn't like our casual attitude (and downright dislike, for some people) towards religion.

Don't be so sure. The people of Montaillou, frex, might not be surprised at all.
 

DISSIDENT

Banned
Depends on who you show and from where, I'd say. Speculative reactions:

Aztec priest, Tenochtitlan, 1488:

"Maybe if we sacrifice some more people, we can stave this off...I mean...if we slaughter some more Tlaxcalan prisoners, maybe the age won't end and Quetzalcoatl won't enslave us and take our treasuries and make us worship two sticks...I mean...no...no...we sacrifice prisoners to stave off the end of the age, but...what the hell was Moctezuma thinking? And if our tributaries and caciques are that unreliable in the crunch...yikes. Just...yikes. I'm going to eat a prisoner's heart just thinking about that one..."

Ming dynasty bureaucrat, 1506:

"You lost me. So...merchants...merchants, mind you, not hostile nomads or feuding warlords like most times that kind of thing happens around here...are going to buy several small islands from us...rip off our technology and weapons...and then secretly control our government? That sounds kind of far fetched. It makes no sense...why wouldn't they just ride in on horseback and slaughter people or try to become Emperor themselves? And Japan? Those backwater Chung Kuo wannabe rubes on those islands on the other side of Korea? The part about the fat pedophile emperor who writes books of wisdom and has great posters of himself in every room and his battle to overthrow the unjust and corrupt thin bald usurper who worships barbarian gods and chases him to Formosa sounds a little fabricated too. And rockets with men in them being launched to the moon? You made this up to scare people in my province. Send this liar onward to Fujian or lock him up."

A Mughal courtier, Dehli, 1588:

"I knew there was something kind of fishy about those Portuguese merchants..."

King Philip of Spain, 1500s:

"I guess I figured it would be Moors or the English, not too much silver...sad. At least we keep Cuba and the Phillipines until that fat guy with glasses owns us in 400 years."

Tsar Ivan of Muscovy, 1552:

"Wait...why are you all getting so angry about this Stalin fellow? Right...but when people plot against you or disobey the boyars, you send them to Siberia. Its common sense. Yes, yes, but anyone who is ruler of Russia would be alert to such things, it is not paranoia. It sounds like he read some encyclopedia entry on me and just renamed a few things. The NKVD sound like my Oprichnicks and Beria sounds like a dead ringer for Malyuta Skutarov. Frankly, he sounds like my kind of man."

Sultan Suleiman of the Ottoman Empire

"Ouch. Electrodes? There? I guess that's the hard way to make a Janissary. Usually someone like this Saddam fellow doesn't make it past the first round of assasinations when a Padishah dies these days."

Christopher Columbus

"THEY NAME IT AFTER HIM?!! THAT LYING SACK OF SHIT! IT SHOULD BE NORTH AND SOUTH COLUMBIA! AW, MOTHERFUCKER. I WASTED DECADES OF MY LIFE SOLICITING MONARCHS, FIGHTING OFF MUTINIES AND IT WASN'T EVEN CHINA??!!! GOD DAMN IT!
 

DISSIDENT

Banned
Depends on who you show and from where, I'd say. Speculative reactions:

Aztec priest, Tenochtitlan, 1488:

"Maybe if we sacrifice some more people, we can stave this off...I mean...if we slaughter some more Tlaxcalan prisoners, maybe the age won't end and Quetzalcoatl won't enslave us and take our treasuries and make us worship two sticks...I mean...no...no...we sacrifice prisoners to stave off the end of the age, but...what the hell was Moctezuma thinking? And if our tributaries and caciques are that unreliable in the crunch...yikes. Just...yikes. I'm going to eat a prisoner's heart just thinking about that one..."

Ming dynasty bureaucrat, 1506:

"You lost me. So...merchants...merchants, mind you, not hostile nomads or feuding warlords like most times that kind of thing happens around here...are going to buy several small islands from us...rip off our technology and weapons...and then secretly control our government? That sounds kind of far fetched. It makes no sense...why wouldn't they just ride in on horseback and slaughter people or try to become Emperor themselves? And Japan? Those backwater Chung Kuo wannabe rubes on those islands on the other side of Korea? The part about the fat pedophile emperor who writes books of wisdom and has great posters of himself in every room and his battle to overthrow the unjust and corrupt thin bald usurper who worships barbarian gods and chases him to Formosa sounds a little fabricated too. And rockets with men in them being launched to the moon? You made this up to scare people in my province. Send this liar onward to Fujian or lock him up."

A Mughal courtier, Dehli, 1588:

"I knew there was something kind of fishy about those Portuguese merchants..."

King Philip of Spain, 1500s:

"I guess I figured it would be Moors or the English, not too much silver...sad. At least we keep Cuba and the Phillipines until that fat guy with glasses owns us in 400 years."

Tsar Ivan of Muscovy, 1552:

"Wait...why are you all getting so angry about this Stalin fellow? Right...but when people plot against you or disobey the boyars, you send them to Siberia. Its common sense. Yes, yes, but anyone who is ruler of Russia would be alert to such things, it is not paranoia. It sounds like he read some encyclopedia entry on me and just renamed a few things. The NKVD sound like my Oprichnicks and Beria sounds like a dead ringer for Malyuta Skutarov. Frankly, he sounds like my kind of man."

Sultan Suleiman of the Ottoman Empire

"Ouch. Electrodes? There? I guess that's the hard way to make a Janissary. Usually someone like this Saddam fellow doesn't make it past the first round of assasinations when a Padishah dies these days."

Christopher Columbus

"THEY NAME IT AFTER HIM?!! THAT LYING SACK OF SHIT! IT SHOULD BE NORTH AND SOUTH COLUMBIA! AW, MOTHERFUCKER. I WASTED DECADES OF MY LIFE SOLICITING MONARCHS, FIGHTING OFF MUTINIES AND IT WASN'T EVEN CHINA??!!! GOD DAMN IT!
 
My historyteacher during the basic course in History at the university said that they would portray us like this "Hedens, dont care about the older people and greedy lonly people"
 
Depends on who you show and from where, I'd say. Speculative reactions:

Aztec priest, Tenochtitlan, 1488:

"Maybe if we sacrifice some more people, we can stave this off...I mean...if we slaughter some more Tlaxcalan prisoners, maybe the age won't end and Quetzalcoatl won't enslave us and take our treasuries and make us worship two sticks...I mean...no...no...we sacrifice prisoners to stave off the end of the age, but...what the hell was Moctezuma thinking? And if our tributaries and caciques are that unreliable in the crunch...yikes. Just...yikes. I'm going to eat a prisoner's heart just thinking about that one..."

Ming dynasty bureaucrat, 1506:

"You lost me. So...merchants...merchants, mind you, not hostile nomads or feuding warlords like most times that kind of thing happens around here...are going to buy several small islands from us...rip off our technology and weapons...and then secretly control our government? That sounds kind of far fetched. It makes no sense...why wouldn't they just ride in on horseback and slaughter people or try to become Emperor themselves? And Japan? Those backwater Chung Kuo wannabe rubes on those islands on the other side of Korea? The part about the fat pedophile emperor who writes books of wisdom and has great posters of himself in every room and his battle to overthrow the unjust and corrupt thin bald usurper who worships barbarian gods and chases him to Formosa sounds a little fabricated too. And rockets with men in them being launched to the moon? You made this up to scare people in my province. Send this liar onward to Fujian or lock him up."

A Mughal courtier, Dehli, 1588:

"I knew there was something kind of fishy about those Portuguese merchants..."

King Philip of Spain, 1500s:

"I guess I figured it would be Moors or the English, not too much silver...sad. At least we keep Cuba and the Phillipines until that fat guy with glasses owns us in 400 years."

Tsar Ivan of Muscovy, 1552:

"Wait...why are you all getting so angry about this Stalin fellow? Right...but when people plot against you or disobey the boyars, you send them to Siberia. Its common sense. Yes, yes, but anyone who is ruler of Russia would be alert to such things, it is not paranoia. It sounds like he read some encyclopedia entry on me and just renamed a few things. The NKVD sound like my Oprichnicks and Beria sounds like a dead ringer for Malyuta Skutarov. Frankly, he sounds like my kind of man."

Sultan Suleiman of the Ottoman Empire

"Ouch. Electrodes? There? I guess that's the hard way to make a Janissary. Usually someone like this Saddam fellow doesn't make it past the first round of assasinations when a Padishah dies these days."

Christopher Columbus

"THEY NAME IT AFTER HIM?!! THAT LYING SACK OF SHIT! IT SHOULD BE NORTH AND SOUTH COLUMBIA! AW, MOTHERFUCKER. I WASTED DECADES OF MY LIFE SOLICITING MONARCHS, FIGHTING OFF MUTINIES AND IT WASN'T EVEN CHINA??!!! GOD DAMN IT!

:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D
 
I remember a Star Trek (OS) where Kirk and the gang were captured by an alien who had been observing the Earth all his life and had become sort of a "terraphile", adopting the clothes and manners of Earth-people. But because of light years and all that, he was observing the Earth of the 16th century. He was most surprised by the Enterprise crew's gender relations and their attitudes toward dueling, among other things.

In the end, I believe he turned out to be a child-alien and was scolded by his parent-aliens.

I think that social norms would be more shocking than any individual technology. We have adapted ourselves to life in a huge, world-spanning culture unit where you don't know everyone in town, you don't know where your food came from, you don't know the difference between men's and women's work, and you may not even know what will happen when you die.


Actually it was the 18th or 19th Century.

http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/The_Squire_of_Gothos_(episode)
 
Remember that 500 years ago they really didn't have any science fiction. In those days the rate of technological and other change was so slow that people couldn't see it, and so the basic idea of science fiction that in the future there will be new technologies was incomprehensible.

Everything about our lives would be ASB to the people of 500 years ago.

KEVP
 
I don't know how I missed this one in the OP, but what about gender and race relations? I gotta figure they would be surprised about how generally (especially in the West) women are more or less equal to men, at least more than they were 500 years ago. Also, how do you think they would feel about democracy as the overwelming governmental structure?
 
Neither Leonardo da Vinci nor the master clockmakers who constructed the very intricate renaissance town hall clocks like the one in Prague would be too surprised by computers. They would easily recognise them as what they are, highly sophisticated tools, made by men, not daemons. Leonardo might even be disappointed, that it took mankind so long to build working automobiles, airplanes and helicopters, after all, they had his sketches to inspire them, and that, after landing on the moon, mankind has hesitated so long to take the next logical step, a manned mission to Mars.
 
I don't know how I missed this one in the OP, but what about gender and race relations? I gotta figure they would be surprised about how generally (especially in the West) women are more or less equal to men, at least more than they were 500 years ago. Also, how do you think they would feel about democracy as the overwelming governmental structure?

This would depend on whom you would ask. For a citizen of one of the many city republics, then still in existence, democracy was the most natural, logical and traditional form of government, dating back to the time of the ancient greeks, and seeing its future successful use on a nationwide basis would surely embolden his attitude towards the feudal petty lords of the countryside who were, from his point of view, standing in the way of both commerce and progress anyway.
 
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