Medieval times for me
The Wild West and the American 50’s would be my alternate picks.
Medieval times would be really cool, I can swing an axe like a lunatic. I’ll rob your a ship and take the entire coastline.
Sounds like an episode of The Vikings!
I think I'd stay where I am.
Life in the past was generally a lot more difficult and dangerous than it is now. So many things that either would kill you or make your life more painful are very treatable today, but nothing could be done about years ago. Then there are all the tasks that are made easier with modern technology, like getting fresh water or cleaning your clothes or traveling to the nearest town.
If it was temporary, I'd love to spend a few years in the 40s, just so I could go to a bunch see Nat King Cole live and see a lot of classic old films in theatres or at a drive-in. There's more I'd do, I'm sure, but those in particular would be great.
sharejust before Anthropocene
shareI am fascinated with a lot of historical periods, but I don't think it would be very comfortable to live in many of them.
I used to think living in the Ancient era, Medieval times, the Wild West, the age of Piracy, etc. would be great, but in all likelihood it would be a lot of boredom and drudgery interspersed with some terrifying dangers and an early death.
If I could pick any era other than the present I would like to live anywhere between the 1950s and 1990s. I firmly believe that human civilization and culture, (which is not at all the same as technological aptitude), was at its peak during those decades and has been steadly declining at an alarming rate since 2000.
...I would like to live anywhere between the 1950s and 1990s. I firmly believe that human civilization and culture, (which is not at all the same as technological aptitude), was at its peak during those decades and has been steadily declining at an alarming rate since 2000.
I agree 100%, and am glad to see someone else who is aware of this.
We were at our peak in the 1990s. Sometime between 2000 and 2010 we stopped making forward progress. I had always envisioned the 21st Century as an extension of the 1990s with continued innovations in medicine and technology. I had pictured technology being used in positive ways to solve the problems of global warming and the need for clean, renewable energy sources, among other things.
Here we are, almost a quarter of the way into the century and we have a society that is fragmented, polarized, indolent and dumbed-down. We are regressing and devolving.
Watch the movie WALL·E (2008) sometime if you want to see what the human race is turning into. What was done for comedic effect in that film is becoming reality.
We need to turn things around now.
I think Smart Phones are what happened. The Internet started off the rapid decline and when Smart Phones came along and people could be online basically 24/7 we just let everything else slide. Sometime between 2000 and 2010 as you stated surrounds the first iPhone release in 2007.
shareThat's why I refer to those devices as StupidPhones™ and idiotPhones™. Users seem to think they are so-o-o smart because they own one. The opposite is occurring as they are dumbing themselves down by becoming over-reliant and addicted to these gadgets. Some can't perform simple tasks without implementing some silly "phone app." They walk into traffic or fall down stairs because they can't divert their eyes from the screens for even a few seconds, even when their own personal safety, and that of others, is at stake.
What would happen if a solar flare or some other phenomenon knocked out the satellites? The phone zombies would be unable to function without their toys. There would be total pandemonium.
The sad part is people are doing this to themselves voluntarily.
Cell phones use satellites?
shareHow are international calls made? The terrestrial cell towers have limited range, so there must be some satellite usage involved.
If they aren't being used now, they will be in the future. See this article about the next wave in phone technology:
https://www.androidauthority.com/smartphone-satellite-connectivity-3295162/
Underwater cables. If a solar flare knocked out our technology, we'd all be fucked and phones would be the least of our worries. The grid going down has always been a devastating scenario and life as we know it would grind to a halt.
share1980s
shareThe 1990s. We were still making forward progress. Sometime between 2000 and 2010 we stopped; by 2010 the decline was firmly established and we have been regressing and devolving ever since.
share