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If you went back in time 250 years, what would you be able to teach people? What would you have to learn?
These days if there's a black-out, people freak. They don't know what to do without their fridges, TVs, computers and mobile phones, such is our dependence on them. Our workforce has also become so specialized that many skills are becoming lost...baking bread...fixing a car...building a shelter... . It hit me, that if I went back in time, I would barely be able to explain how electricity works...never mind help progress...I'd probably be more of a burden than anything else.
Topics:
21st Century Skills
Rohit Garg
the Moral and Ethical Values will always remain same, and the world is surviving on them, so, if given a chance to go back in time 250 years, I would still be able to teach the same value to the people around.
Hope, I made some sense :)
Manue M 10+
So, this way, people won't think I am too crazy... Just an artist. And I hope that over the years, people will start realizing that, I was good at telling the future and would start taking my worse stories seriously. And then, I hope, that I would manage to inspire people in such a way that years later, they will think, oh, that author was so pessimistic in some ways, we never had any world war I or II during the 20th century, or, how did she come with such ideas as that guy in her book.... Hitler could ever get that much power?
I think I would rather be a male thus if that could serve for good. Hum, I don't know.
I would like to learn more about local handmade textiles too, and the art of making colors in painting.
And I would like to meet the intellectual sphere of the time. They would have so much to teach me. And I could tell them, "what if", or "imagine if"....
And I would try to lead by example, treating everyone equally.
David Barnett 20+
Manue M 10+
David Barnett 20+
Manue M 10+
Now, I do think that today we have greater opportunities to overlap disciplines, to cross disciplines, and to find knowledge all around us. we have more tools than ever to get an overall perspective. But the world is probably more complex thus.
The 18th century is the age of enlightenment. And disciplines had pretty clear boundaries at that time.
Leonardo da Vinci lived 500 years ago when disciplines had not so clear boundaries yet. And well, he just looked like he was coming from the future anyway!
It would not be impossible for us living in the 21st century, to memorize most of the knowledge accumulated until the renaissance. But anyway, this is not what Leonardo da Vinci did. He could not attend a school were classical education was provided. He thought, maybe what they are learning at school is not really true. I will find by myself. And he was one of the first ones to invent and use scientific methods.
It would be nice to go in the past and study the lost knowledge (I am thinking of very practical things like ways to dye textile).
It would not be possible for any of us to study half of the practical and scientific knowledge accumulated until today, Anyway, you can get access to some of the knowledge in a click now. The thing is, what do up you do with that? I would say, be creative!
How about going In the future.... Our brain might be uploaded with encyclopedia's and tools to speak a language in a second! Scary?!
I do agree that we should work on being whole, on educating the mind and keeping our body healthy.
Wow, yes, I would love to be Leonardo da vinci's student, I would open wide my eyes and ears and be fascinated!
Here is a link I love:
http://www.leonardobridgeproject.org/
It would be great to be able to bring leornardo da Vinci in the present time and show him that he was right.... His bridge can be build! So futuristic!
Mary M. 100+
This reminded me of Lydia, a seller of purple mentioned in the Bible.
Did you know that "purple materials were luxury items, accessible only to the rich.
Although different sources for purple dye were known, the best and most expensive-used for treating fine linen-came from Mediterranean shellfish.
A single drop of dye could be extracted from each mollusk, and some 8,000 shellfish had to be processed to obtain just one gram of the precious liquid; thus, cloth of that color was very costly."
Can you imagine going through 8,000 shellfish Manue??? Still want to study dyes? or maybe now the farm and milking cows sound butter, ooops I mean better...hahaha
BTW did you hear that the singer Whitney Houston was found dead in a hotel. She was 48 years old. This morning they did a tribute to her and a pop singer sang one of Houston's songs.....part of the lyrics go like this....."I will never change all my colors for you".....this made me think of you my TED friend from France living in China.....
Be Well.
Manue M 10+
Dear Mary,
I have a special passion about purple!! Wow!! Yes, I know a lot of stories about purple and that special dye you are talking about. I went twice to visit the museum of silk in Bsouss. Lebanon, and they have managed to recently (more than ten years ago) dye some silk in purple with the murex, following ancient recipes. I would love to go to Tyr one day too.... That would be great!
Imagine you could get killed for wearing purple!
Now, I have to admit some dyes can stink and the process of making the dye can be very hard work. but I am still interested in studying it! Last year I collected, prepared and dyed indigo by hand.
Thank you for your kind words. They are truly appreciated!
David Barnett 20+
Mary M. 100+
The closest I have been to dyes is one summer camp making tye-dye t-shirts....you tie the white t-shirt with rubber bands and dip them in differest colors..
I would imagine that dealing with animal life would involve all kinds of smells.
David, interesting fact on lapis lazuli. Thank you.
dru banaszak
Mary M. 100+
Love to read historical fiction books...so what would I teach people....can't think of anything, except maybe hygiene.
I would be in it for the knowledge of the old days.....I would want to learn how to make soap and candles. I would want to learn how to make quilts, and how to grow vegetables, and raise chickens and pigs. I would love to learn how to make my own log cabin, and my own furniture. I would love to learn to hunt and skin a deer.
I would love to make all my own clothes by hand, and churn butter and milk cows, and ride horses.....There is just something about working with my hands on a farm that calls out to me. I am not afraid of hard labor.
I was, unfortunately, born and raised in a city.....but I am a country girl at heart.
Oh, it's nice to dream, isn't it???
David Barnett 20+
Manue M 10+
I was raised in the countryside. And I love nature.
But.... Well, I know a lot about the childhood of my grandmother in the countryside. She would be 101 years today would she still be with us. She was born in a farm in a small village in Lorraine. She earned a scholarship but was forced by her father to stay and work on the farm. They were 5 brother and sisters but only two survived and reached adulthood. i can tell you, that I would not want to work in a farm 250 years ago. At least not as a women, or not in France.
Mary M. 100+
My grandmother died at the age of 84 in 1990. She lived with us her entire life. Now my parents are in their eightys......I love them both very much and can't imagine my life without them.
You know, I was in France in 1987. We just visited Paris, then drove to Switzerland. The countryside is beautiful. I would love to go back as an adult, with my family.
I love French cooking.....Every time Julia Child's old cooking programs come on and she invites bakers to make French bread, my mouth waters......as I still remember the wonderful bread each morning for breakfast in Paris.
Be Well.......you must let us know when your book is finished.
Manue M 10+
Yes, my grandmother lived with us too.
I am glad you loved Paris. Yes, it is a great city. Let me know if you go back to France!
I am glad chinese also enjoy wine! It is easy to find here. But they usually don't like cheese.
Xavier Belvemont 30+
(Or I could have ripped off Charles Darwin and published his book in my name before he wrote it).
Pontus Westermark
Would you be capable of producing a book of similar quality as "The Origin of Spicies"? Like on the spot just provide everything required for it?
David Barnett 20+
Pontus Westermark
The smartest thing I would be able to come up with would probably be how to construct toilet-piping to make it not smell and to make the flushing work.
Also, if I found something that we kind of use now as well, but in a different shape, I may be able to figure out why the shape changed and improve the whatnot it is I'm looking at.