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I will use memories of folks in my grandparents' generation (who were kids/teens in 1912) expressing their feeling of society in the 1960s/70s (when I was a kid/teen) as a yardstick. In general they thought that the music/entertainment was pretty lame (this seems to happen every generation. After all, didn't they look down their noses at ragtime in 1912?). The increase in civil rights for certain ethnic minorities and blurring of gender roles was a source of irritation for some. They certainly were not big fans of the fashion at the time, especially if it had anti-establishment connotations. Technology is a tough call. We have made great progress in some areas, and not so much in others. Given that gender roles have blurred to a greater degree in the last 40-50 years, it's a pretty safe bet that someone from 1912 would view many of the women of 2012 as trashy and many of the men of 2012 as feminine. Another huge change is how we treat kids. Today kids are treated like they are the center of the universe, while in 1912 they were treated more like property. Finally, I don't think that many folks gave much thought to conservation or environmental issues in 1912.
the journalist Russell Baker once wrote: "if someone could step from 1940 New York into New York today he would be shocked and horrified. It would be like a futuristic nightmare come true." So what would someone from 1912 think. It would be off to the nut house.
the journalist Russell Baker once wrote: "if someone could step from 1940 New York into New York today he would be shocked and horrified. It would be like a futuristic nightmare come true." So what would someone from 1912 think. It would be off to the nut house.
Could I get information of where you got this article?
It would be funny to see how they would react to dubstep.
Or how they would react to an iPhone, touchscreen or videogames.
Arthur C. Clarke, distinguished writer and the developer of radar during the early days of WW2 once said that any technology sufficently advanced will be seen as magic. Give someone an IPhone, and they would be in awe. They don't to know how it works, but it is a thing unimagined. It would be 'magic'.
But would it remain something they brought on feelings of awe? If their world was one where you were grounded to your home, and it was yours, and when you ventured out into the world, you chose to do so, maybe not. That kind of technoloby has fundamentally changes how we communicate. People don't buy answering machines since they always have a phone ready to answer. To someone from 1912, that your Sunday stroll could be interrupted by a phone call would not be a *good* thing and they would not understand why the phone would even be answered.
Our kids won't have any problems accepting future technologies since they are all building on the fundamental changes which have and are happening. Its us who remember when you missed a call, they could jolly well try later that have an ambivilance about it.
Could I get information of where you got this article?
Ja
The article was in the New York Times editorial section about 10 or 12 years ago(or maybe more). Russell was writing about the day the Japanese bombed pearl harbor and what he was doing. He wrote that on that Sunday he took a trolley downtown NY for 15cents and saw a movie for 25cents. No one was out and about because it was Sunday and everyone was at their homes with their families. He wrote that after the movie he took a trolley back to his neighborhood and as he was walking home a neighborhood kid ran up to him a said that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor. He didn't know where Pearl Harbor was so he went home and looked it up. Anyway it was in the context of that editorial that he wrote that. I wish I would have saved it now and it would be hard by any means probably.
If a Time Travler were to show someone in 1912 what life was like in the year 2012 from his laptop what would they think of it? Or if a person from 1912 were brought into the year 2012 what would they think of it in terms of:
Society
Well if you got somebody from an northern industrial city like say Rochester, NY, Youngstown, OH, or Cleveland, OH, or Erie, PA, or Toledo, OH, etc., etc., etc. they'd probably wonder why socialism is denigrated in favor of this hands off (although it never really is hands off) approach to capitalism.
Moreover, rural Americans from the South or Midwest would probably wonder why there are no more small, family-run American farms and why agricultural produced is shipped so far from its source to be sold. In addition, they too would probably wonder why the government doesn't own major industries like transportation, communications, banking, etc.
They would likewise wonder why so very few Americans actually participate in off-year elections when a presidential contest is not in the offing because this generation of Americans of the early 1900s worked tirelessly for popularly elected Senators and the Austrialian secret ballot that a vast majority of Americans ignore during off-year election cycles.
1912 was essentially a transition year from the old world
to all the events that led to today so.......
I think they would be suprised at certain things and
comfortable with others in 2012
They would probably be most shocked at just how
far women have come in 2012. Today they do
alot of things they would not do in 1912
They would also think our globalized world is
weird. Back then it took days
to learn about a event that occurred on the
other side of the world. Now all you need is a
computer or watch a 24 hour news network and
you can keep up on current news events.
Most of our tech would be familiar to them, just
more advanced than they were used to.
Another question to ponder is what would
someone from 2012 think about 1912, young
people more so than someone born before 1970.
Last edited by Ninetails; 10-21-2012 at 06:58 PM..
Reason: Writing
If a Time Travler were to show someone in 1912 what life was like in the year 2012 from his laptop what would they think of it? Or if a person from 1912 were brought into the year 2012 what would they think of it in terms of:
Society
Fashion
Technology
Arts
Music
Arcitecture
Entertainment
It would sound like this:
"Upon my arrival in the year 2012 I was shocked to discover the world which awaits our progeny. My dear Lord, all the women there are nude! And, they vote! Women even lord over the menfolk like Amazons of ancient times. Men likewise posses no common decency, even venturing out into public without a hat! To imagine such things were possible in civilized lands!
And please let me off this horseless carriage, for I have soiled myself from fright! How could one travel so fast and remain alive?!
As for the pleasures of existing in such an age? Perhaps that is why the majority suffers from mental retardation? I find no pleasure in watching women eat insects or observing barbarians attempt to kill one another, nor engage in lewd acts... it is as if everyone kept the Circus Maximus of Caligula contained within a picture box in their own homes! How shameless, how vulgar!
And art... it seems the artists have fled the world in fear... forcing the masses to accept formless, meaningless shapes in their stead. The only art is that of our own age, treasured and guarded and often careless replicated like a marionette sideshow acted out in full scale.
Why, our children's children have taken our grand civilization and corrupted it. Even the savage man looks down upon them and laughs, for most of God's chosen children are too obese to walk even a mile due to their morbidity, while others run for many miles when they have all manor of mechanical conveyances at their disposal! What madness prevails in such an age? How can man hope to survive such a predicament?
... but despite my shock it was pleasant indeed to be free from smoke and foul air, to eat fruit in the dead of winter, drink clean water from the tap, have several indoor WCs at my disposal under a single roof and to see many nude women on a daily basis. Perhaps I shall tarry here for a while longer..."
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