====== Max's First Law ======

==== Origin of the term ====

Coined [[http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=114658|here]].

**Max's First Law:** If you **[[ISOT]]** something from the future into the past, the result is a **[[alternate history:wank]]**.

**Corollary to the above:** The greater the technological and social advantage of the changed societies in question, the greater the wank.

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==== Comments from the creator ====

Originally used in a joking context by [[offtopic:blue_max|Blue Max]] at the link posted above, Max's First Law is, while perhaps not an absolute truth, at least a //prima facie// guideline that's true in most cases.  The factors behind the wank would be:

**1.) Technological Advantage**.  A society or group from the future knows how to do more things more efficiently than people in the past do.  Even an advantage of the last 20 years would be a very serious affair.  Generally, a technological edge holds unless the ISOT is between a nation pre and post collapse.

**2.) Foresight**.  Knowing what happens in the Past, at least before the butterfly effect becomes dominant, can provide critical advantages.  In this regard, even an ISOT to yesterday can be a strong boon.

**3.) Access to Increased Resources**.  Past societies have more non-reusable resources available than are available in the present.  This means that more oil, coal, and groundwater can be used for a nation (or group, society, or relevant term.)

These three factors tend to make most ISOTs wanks; and in general, the further in the past the ISOT, the greater the wank.  This premise is perhaps simple common sense, but despite this observation, ISOTs remain common ASB threads.

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==== Criticism ====

This approach is not upheld by [[Harry Turtledove]] (in, e.g., //[[guns of the south|The Guns of the South]]//) and is also strongly objected to by [[offtopic:Thande]] as anachronic prejudice (or "time-ism" as the writers of //[[163x|1632]]// call it). [[offtopic:Thande]]'s own story series **//[[offtopic:Complete Works of Thande#There'll Always Be An England]]//** originated as an attempt to show how ridiculous this idea is by having the past defeat the present.

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==== See Also ====

**[[Alien Space Bats]]**

**[[ISOT]]**

**[[Wank]]**

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==== Navigation ====

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