Who would you rather be, anyone born before 1700 or a recent college grad today?

I'd be Mohammad. Kill, loot and fvck all my life, then enjoy my eternal 72 virgins in Heaven for all eternity.

long run thoughts wrote:

1.) Be a Roman emperor, Genghis Khan, King Louis XIV, or anyone you can think of that was born before 1700.

Primitive health care without painkillers wouldn't be fun, even if you lived to be 70+. And while I can live without planes, cars, and the Internet, I don't think I could handle living without air conditioning.

OTOH, there were lots of things you could get away with in those days even if you weren't ultra-rich or powerful. Stuff like having multiple 17 year old mistresses, for example.

If you watch House of Cards, you'd know the obvious answer.

Mo > Jeebus wrote:

I'd be Mohammad. Kill, loot and fvck all my life, then enjoy my eternal 72 virgins in Heaven for all eternity.

The "72 virgins" turn out to be letsrun type virgins, not hot ones.

From a running-related perspective:

Pre 1700:

You could be the fastest guy in the world, but you'd have no or very few people to show it off to. No Olympics, no major competitions, no TV, and no radio. There's no accurate timekeeping, rubberized tracks, or spikes either. Training methods would be primitive.

On a positive note, you'd have plenty of places to run that wouldn't be affected by traffic or pollution.

Recent college grad:

You can brag about your 16 minute 5K on Facebook/Instagram/other social media account. Your times will probably be better than the pre-1700 guys, but you'd still have no chance of winning a major competition.

Not sure about your pollution comment.

Air pollution in large cities svcked big time in the past.

long run thoughts wrote:

Option 1 gets you lots of power and fame.

Option 2 lets you enjoy all the modern conveniences.

Which would you choose?

My first thought was picking option 1 if I didn't know anything about how things would be in the future.

But now I'm wondering how much modern knowledge could be brought over to the 16th century. It's impossible to teach them how to build a computer, but if you're a king, you might be able to introduce sanitation practices, provide maps for explorers, and possibly kick start the industrial revolution.

Heck, you might even be able to develop a machine gun and use it to take over the world.

I'd rather be alive than dead. Who cares how famous I was?

long run thoughts wrote:

Suppose you have two options:

1.) Be a Roman emperor, Genghis Khan, King Louis XIV, or anyone you can think of that was born before 1700.

2.) Be a somewhat well-off recent college grad today. You won't have any debts and will be guaranteed a decent job that pays a starting salary of 60K/year (with the potential to make 100K within the next 10 years).

Option 1 gets you lots of power and fame.

Option 2 lets you enjoy all the modern conveniences.

Which would you choose?

Choose option 1, and you'll always have to watch your back for anyone that may overthrow you. You may even be executed like those monarchs in the French Revolution.

Choose option 2, and you'll still face an uncertain future. Nuclear war, pandemics, or even rogue AI may be right around the corner.

long run thoughts wrote:

Suppose you have two options:

1.) Be a Roman emperor, Genghis Khan, King Louis XIV, or anyone you can think of that was born before 1700.

2.) Be a somewhat well-off recent college grad today. You won't have any debts and will be guaranteed a decent job that pays a starting salary of 60K/year (with the potential to make 100K within the next 10 years).

Option 1 gets you lots of power and fame.

Option 2 lets you enjoy all the modern conveniences.

Which would you choose?

I'd like to be anyone born before 1700 simply because I could have sex with my cousins and not be hassled by society over it. Totally worth it.

I'd chose William Wallace, 1295 circa. He kicked ass on the English, became the Guardian of Scotland & got in good with the pretty Scottish lassies. 👍

Aye.....

Mo > Jeebus wrote:

I'd be Mohammad. Kill, loot and fvck all my life, then enjoy my eternal 72 virgins in Heaven for all eternity.

The post-1900 era ain't so bad.

You can be L Ron Hubbard, create your own religion, and party with Xenu.

Don't look under my Kilt wrote:

I'd chose William Wallace, 1295 circa. He kicked ass on the English, became the Guardian of Scotland & got in good with the pretty Scottish lassies. 👍

Aye.....

He also died at 33. Way too short for me.

Mo > Jeebus wrote:

I'd be Mohammad. Kill, loot and fvck all my life, then enjoy my eternal 72 virgins in Heaven for all eternity.

Mohammad married a six year old. But it's ok because he waited until she was nine to consummate their union. 👳🏾🙅🏼‍♂️

I'd rather be a nobody today than a somebody yesteryear. I'm into personal comfort like letsrun, flush toilets, hot showers, lack of parasites, etc.

no way! wrote:

Don't look under my Kilt wrote:

I'd chose William Wallace, 1295 circa. He kicked ass on the English, became the Guardian of Scotland & got in good with the pretty Scottish lassies. 👍

Aye.....

He also died at 33. Way too short for me.

https://www.geni.com/people/Sir-William-Braveheart-Wallace-Kt/6000000003646008347

Hard pass on being "hanged, disemboweled, beheaded (drawn & quartered)".

neutered wrote:

no way! wrote:

He also died at 33. Way too short for me.

https://www.geni.com/people/Sir-William-Braveheart-Wallace-Kt/6000000003646008347

Hard pass on being "hanged, disemboweled, beheaded (drawn & quartered)".

You forgot castrated.

long run thoughts wrote:

Suppose you have two options:

1.) Be a Roman emperor, Genghis Khan, King Louis XIV, or anyone you can think of that was born before 1700.

2.) Be a somewhat well-off recent college grad today. You won't have any debts and will be guaranteed a decent job that pays a starting salary of 60K/year (with the potential to make 100K within the next 10 years).

Option 1 gets you lots of power and fame.

Option 2 lets you enjoy all the modern conveniences.

Which would you choose?

The first guys had access to modern conveniences as far as they knew.

There should be a third option. Something like "be in the bottom third of society, but you get to be born in 2500". Maybe even the bottom 10% at that time could afford flying cars, occasional trips to Mars, and enjoy a 200+ year lifespan.