What would people in the 18th century think of us?
- Thread starter Civ001
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Amaris
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I think about things like this all the time. Personally, I figure someone from 1714 would be overwhelmed at first. While they would probably be able to accept a horseless carriage, showing them that you could talk to someone on the other side of the planet would be akin to magic, and I'm not so sure they would handle that well at first.
That's not to say the people of 1714 were backwards, or stupid, just that the leap forward in communications has to be one of the hallmarks of the last 100 years. It would have been simply unheard of 300 years ago.
In short, the culture shock would be significant. The technology shock would be out of this world.
I think they'd be okay, once they were over the initial culture shock People are really adaptable.
As recently as the 1980s a small, isolated group of indigenous Australians joined the modern world. They had never seen a white person before they met some guy who drove his Toyota into the desert. Here we saw people living as they had not just three centuries ago, but thousands of years ago, suddenly thrust into the modern world. I don't know how trustworthy the Australian Herald Sun is, but they reported them as being happy.
With the 18th century we're talking about the end of the Renaissance and beginning of the enlightenment in Europe -- you've got people just about just about ready to delve into science fiction...they might actually be pretty cool with the time travel!
Brendan Fraser was a caveman, and he was eventually able to assimilate.
As recently as the 1980s a small, isolated group of indigenous Australians joined the modern world. They had never seen a white person before they met some guy who drove his Toyota into the desert. Here we saw people living as they had not just three centuries ago, but thousands of years ago, suddenly thrust into the modern world. I don't know how trustworthy the Australian Herald Sun is, but they reported them as being happy.
With the 18th century we're talking about the end of the Renaissance and beginning of the enlightenment in Europe -- you've got people just about just about ready to delve into science fiction...they might actually be pretty cool with the time travel!
Brendan Fraser was a caveman, and he was eventually able to assimilate.
A
Amaris
Guest
I think they'd be okay, once they were over the initial culture shock People are really adaptable.
As recently as the 1980s a small, isolated group of indigenous Australians joined the modern world. They had never seen a white person before they met some guy who drove his Toyota into the desert. Here we saw people living as they had not just three centuries ago, but thousands of years ago, suddenly thrust into the modern world. I don't know how trustworthy the Australian Herald Sun is, but they reported them as being happy.
With the 18th century we're talking about the end of the Renaissance and beginning of the enlightenment in Europe -- you've got people just about just about ready to delve into science fiction...they might actually be pretty cool with the time travel!
Brendan Fraser was a caveman, and he was eventually able to assimilate.
If he could adapt to Pauly Shore, then truly, he was a god among men.
Happily, there's a great documentary available on this very issue.
That said, the question as asked is kind of unanswerably broad, as humans lived in wildly varying degrees of technological and cultural sophistication both in 1714 and today, not to mention the near-infinite varieties of personalities. It might be more helpful to consider someone specific.
That said, the question as asked is kind of unanswerably broad, as humans lived in wildly varying degrees of technological and cultural sophistication both in 1714 and today, not to mention the near-infinite varieties of personalities. It might be more helpful to consider someone specific.
I'd be more interested in how a person from 2014 would fare in 2514 
I suspect it wouldn't be that hard to adapt. Lots of basic things would still be relatable: people still live in houses, we travel on roads, we communicate through speech and writing (although the language would take some getting used to), etc.
It's just that now we ride in (as mentioned) horseless carriages, and we don't have to send letters because we have technology that lets us communicate with anyone on the planet instantly. The existence of indoor plumbing would probably appear as one of our greatest marvels.
I think they would be impressed by the sheer wealth of the modern world: how healthy we are, how long we live, the sorts and quantities of possessions we accumulate, the amount of leisure time we have, how educated we are, how much food we have available, clean drinking water, etc. The fact that so few people have to be farmers would also be pretty striking, I think. People today have a lot fewer children because they almost always survive to adulthood, which was certainly not the case in the 18th century.
I suspect anyone brought here from a few centuries ago would be thrilled by all the possibilities of modern life, once they got over being intimidated by it.
It's just that now we ride in (as mentioned) horseless carriages, and we don't have to send letters because we have technology that lets us communicate with anyone on the planet instantly. The existence of indoor plumbing would probably appear as one of our greatest marvels.
I think they would be impressed by the sheer wealth of the modern world: how healthy we are, how long we live, the sorts and quantities of possessions we accumulate, the amount of leisure time we have, how educated we are, how much food we have available, clean drinking water, etc. The fact that so few people have to be farmers would also be pretty striking, I think. People today have a lot fewer children because they almost always survive to adulthood, which was certainly not the case in the 18th century.
I suspect anyone brought here from a few centuries ago would be thrilled by all the possibilities of modern life, once they got over being intimidated by it.
I think about this a lot. My lifelong dream has been that Benjamin Franklin would show up on my doorstep one day, having just arrived from the past, and I would be the one to take him in and introduce him to the modern world. I actually sometimes look at an object and think "how would I explain this to him?" and then have whole conversations in my head...like I said, I think about it a lot.
Well, Napoleon loved water slides.
I wonder what Ben Franklin would think of internet porn. He was a randy old bugger.
Indoor plumbing had existed in ancient Greece and Rome and other civilizations. Its true that the technology was largely "lost", leading to shit in the streets of London and the French almost literally bathing in perfume to cover up their BO, but the concept itself shouldn't be that foreign to any moderately informed denizen of the seventeen hundreds.
I wonder what Ben Franklin would think of internet porn. He was a randy old bugger.
Oh man, have you read the letter he wrote advising one to patronize old hookers, because they're more discrete and you can't tell the difference between an old hooker and a young hooker once you've put a basket over her head? I can't stop laughing just thinking about it.
He might not be impressed by women's lib.
Well, they grew up in a world where they were told that some mystic creature ruled the world with its magical powers... not so different from the powers of modern government and electricity 
I think they'd think it stinks around here -sure not like excrement and old sweat, but like exhaust fumes and cheap perfume...
Or maybe not.
I think they'd think it stinks around here -sure not like excrement and old sweat, but like exhaust fumes and cheap perfume...
That show could have been so much better if they'd done more of the person out of his time-situations.
I completely agree! This is the main reason I stopped watching the show. They made a comment here or there about his adjustment to modern life and then completely dropped it in favor of the wacky supernatural plot.
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