Survive and Get Rich/Famous/Powerful in History: Time Travel Test

[micromass]

Assume that you are being sent back in time. You can choose the exact time period, but it has to be more than 200 years ago. You cannot bring anything with you.

How would you use your current knowledge in order to survive? Would you be able to get rich/famous/powerful? Note: you cannot learn anything new before going, you'll have to rely on everything you know right now.

Assume that language barriers won't be an issue.

 

[Joyal Babu]

Since I already know the history of how things are to be,I will use this knowledge of mine to become rich/famous/powerful you name it.

 

[beamie564]

Since I already know the history of how things are to be,I will use this knowledge of mine to become rich/famous/powerful you name it.

If you happen to know things before time, they'll probably persecute you for black magic!

 

[Joyal Babu]

I don't think people are stupid enough to believe in black magic 200 years back(atleast in the developed countries).Even if they do they will probably try to use me rather than get rid of me.

 

[micromass]

I don't think people are stupid enough to believe in black magic 200 years back(atleast in the developed countries).Even if they do they will probably try to use me rather than get rid of me.

So you're transported to a village in 1816. What would you predict exactly to impress the people?

 

[Joyal Babu]

Maybe there's not much I can do in a village,but certainly if I can share with them knowledge,and some of the designs or ideas in weapons,I would get in touch with the higher ups and hopefully I could put to use the history card!

 

[micromass]

Maybe there's not much I can do in a village,but certainly if I can share with them knowledge,and some of the designs or ideas in weapons,I would get in touch with the higher ups and hopefully I could put to use the history card!

And I assume you know how to design and construct weapons?

 

[Joyal Babu]

Lets assume I know how to create simple types of explosives which are fashioned from day to day stuffs

 

[Joyal Babu]

At the very least I will show them how to make soaps!

 

[micromass]

Lets assume I know how to create simple types of explosives which are fashioned from day to day stuffs

Do you know it, since this thread is strictly about things you do know! And you don't think that people in 1816 knew about explosives?

 

[micromass]

At the very least I will show them how to make soaps!

Soap was invented in 2800 BC.

 

[Joyal Babu]

Not every place in the world has access to soaps even today,so certainly not 200 years back.Even if I lose the soap card I could get in touch with the scholars there and tell them about some of the scientific stuffs to get in touch with the higher ups

 

[beamie564]

Would you be able to get rich/famous/powerful?

That would be secondary. Given that I don't know anything about hunting/chopping wood or any other such basic thing, I wonder if I'd actually survive. Also, I don't know anything much about the lifestyle in previous times so I'd be heavily dependent on someone else.

 

[micromass]

Not every place in the world has access to soaps even today,so certainly not 200 years back.Even if I lose the soap card I could get in touch with the scholars there and tell them about some of the scientific stuffs to get in touch with the higher ups

Sure, not every place knew about soaps. But then you'll have no advantage over somebody born in 1816 who knew about soaps and who spreads it to a different place.

I could get in touch with the scholars there and tell them about some of the scientific stuffs to get in touch with the higher ups

Like what?

 

[Joyal Babu]

Depends on where you want to be 200 years back.You don't really need to know chopping/hunting to live

 

[Joyal Babu]

Special relativity

 

[micromass]

Special relativity

OK.
1) You know all the details about special relativity?
2) You think you can prove them that special relativity is true?
3) You think they would care in 1816 when electricity wasn't even invented or well understood and Newtonian mechanics would not have been challenged?

 

[Joyal Babu]

Proving the theory would be difficult but that isn't the only card I have is it.I can show them maxwells laws(would be difficult to do will have teach them vector calculus and stuff).The point is I have a good chance to getting in touch with the higher ups,then its the history card

 

[Joyal Babu]

Actually what was your intent behind the question?

 

[micromass]

Proving the theory would be difficult but that isn't the only card I have is it.I can show them maxwells laws(would be difficult to do will have teach them vector calculus and stuff).The point is I have a good chance to getting in touch with the higher ups,then its the history card

Sure. But at 1816, electricity was just an intellectual curiosity. So unless you can make some useful applications with electricity, I don't think many people outside of some scientists would care for discoveries of electricity. But sure, I guess teaching them about Maxwell's laws would be a valid possibility, and I'm sure it will impress some people.

 

[Joyal Babu]

You seem to have gone a bit sarcastic:/. Well it was an interesting question and I am glad to have talked over this with you.Just out of curiosity what would you do

 

[micromass]

You seem to have gone a bit sarcastic:/. Well it was an interesting question and I am glad to have talked over this with you.Just out of curiosity what would you do

Nono! I'm not sarcasting at all! I'm just pointing out possible flaws in your plan. I do honestly agree that teaching them Maxwell's equations might impress some top scientists, provided you get in touch with the right people.

 

[Bandersnatch]

That's tough. The only thing I can come up with, is to get transported to early 1680s, get a job as a carpenter (I know me some rudimentary carpentry) or if that fails - a beggar, and start writing letters to Newton whenever I can afford it (heck, literacy wasn't all that common among lower classes back then, so maybe I'd get a job as a scribe).
I'd write some few tasty bits of what little I know about physics, astronomy, chemistry, etc., restate his own laws, maybe dress it all up in some mysticism, since he apparently liked it - all to get his attention, and hope he'd reach out wanting more. At that point I'd have a British lord as a patron, and spend my days talking physics and the meaning of life with Newton, which is as good a prospect as once can imagine. Heck, maybe I'd even manage to publish some of the anachronistic knowledge myself (yep - getting credit for somebody else's work).
Also, I'd probably try to write to other people than just Newton, trouble is, I kinda only remember Leibniz as his contemporary that might be interested in what I know.

edit: heh, basically just what micromass said in the post above :)

 

[Jonathan Scott]

We had a thread on this in December 2014: https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/time-travel-thought-experiment-game.788691/
As I mentioned in that thread, I think I could probably build a DC electric motor using materials available at the time, as I did that at school (although that time I already had a horseshoe magnet and a battery, which I'd probably have to make myself at that time).

 

[micromass]

We had a thread on this in December 2014: https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/time-travel-thought-experiment-game.788691/
As I mentioned in that thread, I think I could probably build a DC electric motor using materials available at the time, as I did that at school (although that time I already had a horseshoe magnet and a battery, which I'd probably have to make myself at that time).

The cutest thing about that thread is that people thought Jeb Bush would have a good chance of becoming the new president. Oh, the innocence of those days!

 

[micromass]

The cutest thing about that thread is that people thought Jeb Bush would have a good chance of becoming the new president. Oh, the innocence of those days!

I'll tell you one thing, if I could, I would travel to 2 years ago, I would gather as much money as I can and bet it all on Donald Trump becoming the republican nominee.

 

[Pepper Mint]

I'll tell you one thing, if I could, I would travel to 2 years ago, I would gather as much money as I can and bet it all on Donald Trump becoming the republican nominee.

In your area, do people also bet on nominees or winners of local or global elections like they usually do on car or horse racing ?

For the OP, I can travel to the point of 200 years ago and live my life with the knowledge I have had of 200 years ago, nothing new is being used to "survive". I think I know in advance what'll happen next then after the year 1816.

 

[Pythagorean]

It would really depend on where I landed - wilderness, rural, or city? I imagine a lot of us would be disgusted with the drinking water and hygiene in a big city. I have survival training experience, and hunting and fishing experience being raised Alaskan for base survival needs. But if I don't know the local animal and plant lore, and I don't land in a good spot, I could be toast right away.

Then there's etiquette. Will my mannerisms and behaviors be considered too weird for people, will I be able to adapt to their modes of communication, will I know enough about current events that were prominent public knowledge of the time but not so well recorded in history?

If I can survive the basics with this skillset, climbing the social ladder will require impressing the right people. Being able to read and write and do mathematics is already a huge advantage. I don't know how people got into labs or research positions back in the day. I'd have to shop around and see what was being offered and what fit my skill set. Once I'm a runt in a lab and have some resources, I can try to impress people with what is standard scientific knowledge today, I can start inventing. Some kind of air conditioning using water as a heat transport was my first thought. There's seemingly benign inventions, like the paper clip, that would be easy to produce (not sure how vibrant the paper industry would be at that point though). Knowing the appropriate shape and angle for an airplane wing might help me do some small proofs with wood models of air flight that would impress people. I could also sell my soul and do propaganda - we could get focus groups going to find out what people want to hear, then sell it to them in exchange for their rights (<3 politics).

I honestly think there is so much knowledge we take for granted that we would find ourselves at an advantage in many situations - however, convincing people that we know what we're talking about might not be possible in many cases and just make us look like crackpots. I would not dare attempt to bring up quantum mechanics or general relativity to anyone. I would pretend to naively make discoveries if I could (woah, look, light has a velocity and it is traveling at the same speed no matter what reference frame you're in!)

 

[fresh_42]

Perfect time margin. I would try to get part of the development of differential geometry. I would be very interested in how they handled it in the first place. I'm still curious whether this time period can really be regarded as a golden age of mathematics or whether I'm unfair to mathematicians in the 20th century. I tend to the first.

 

[ProfuselyQuarky]

I'm not sarcasting at all!

Oh, cute! You've turned the word "sarcastic" into a verb. :!)

I'd travel back to the 18th century. Don't think that it would make me rich or famous, but I'd become a writer and sketch illustrated books especially for children. So many great books were written around that time, but most could not be read by the younger population. Of course, I'd love to meet Lavoisier, Scheele, or Jenner, but the chances of that are next to none.

Am I allowed to make time travel detours? Before hitting the 1700s, I'd like to visit Belgium in the 1930s and meet Hergé.