One of my professors in Introduction to Environmental Studies asked us this question. The course was taught by a biologist, economist, and philosopher who often debated topics in front of or with the class. It was a pretty cool interdisciplinary experiment.
Anyway, it was the white-haired philosophy professor who asked us. We each went back in time to various romanticized periods – Victorian, Roaring Twenties, Roman Empire, ‘free’ 1960s. Somebody said the present day (it was then 1999). Another said in about 50 years, after “everyone would be equal.” The philosopher challenged us with things like modern medicine, war, access to food and refrigeration, things like this. Then we pressed him for his reply, which was: as far into the future as possible.
We all looked at him like: what?!
Everything we ‘knew’ about the future was dystopia. Who makes movies about the future going right? The 1990s had films like Waterworld, 12 Monkeys, and The City of Lost Children. But our philosopher was not influenced by these. He had all hope in the human race’s ability to continue to progress and make the world a better place. Something about the setting made it especially poignant; we were all considering working on protecting the environment in some way, likely very aware of the harm being done to it.
So if you could live during any time period, when would it be? And why would you say so? You certainly don’t have to disagree with the philosopher.
A full time living on substack! Wonderful reason to choose a time period :)
These are great reasons -- health and travel. I’m really interested in the longevity researchers and doctors (the live healthier vs longer ones; long is good if healthy!). Thanks for some great ideas and optimism!
I prefer the era of mass communication pre-social media. Telephones and broadcast/early cable TV. Newspaper and novels and vinyls and tapes. No digital. Cold War. About 1950s to 2000. Said time period died on 9/11, I think.
Then again, I say this as a cis-gendered, straight white male. I think in general I like your professor’s idea.
Sure I see what you mean about the perspective but the media focus is interesting.
Is this about focus / quality / the way it affects your daily life? I am often nostalgic for pre-internet as much as I love it. Maybe it is the sometimes-overwhelming aspect for me. Thanks so much for starting the conversation, Clancy!
I agree with your sentiments around pre-internet nostalgia. I love the things we can do with technology, for example using this space to share ideas, download any song at any time, watch pretty much any film on some platform or another, work from anywhere in the world...etc, etc. But I do also miss the peace of not being contactable or distracted.
Blimey. I never regarded the Cold War as exactly a barrel of laughs! I was teaching in the 80s and everyone thought there was going to be a nuclear Armageddon any time now!
Apparently, I will be opening an art gallery with bar and restaurant on he 17th May 2345 - Location - Capital City, Planet Mars........ (my friends have an extraordinary faith in my capabilities). By the way folks, Y'all invited to join us for a feast of silver locusts and dandelion wine.
A question with endless possibilities but I think I have to say that for Western women, even with all the continuing (and new) difficulties that we have, it has to be now. The point at which we were able to have safe control of our fertility was the big emancipator for us, and in Western society the middle of the last century at least fractured class barriers to an extent. I am tempted by earlier periods in history but I have to bear in mind that I would probably have been working in service or constantly pregnant if I managed to survive childbirth at all (my grandmother died in childbirth in 1947 leaving my infant mum to be brought up by her coal miner dad) so I temper my enthusiasm for time travel! If I was going to be a bit less pragmatic in approaching the question I agree with Gianni. As a massive Beatles fan in my teens I used to wish I hadn't missed it all by being born in 1966! I also think post World War 2 America would have been a good time to be a kid.
Interesting ideas, Jules. How sad about your grandmother. Yes, I guess we have to count our (medical) blessings even though it's tempting to feel that nostalgia. It does 'seem' like 1950s kids in America had a sweet ride.
Your first points are so important, and I guess a lot of it depends where you live as some countries don't have these rights or access. And how horrific that some places in America are turning things backwards! Do you think the future will be even better than where we're at in that regard?
I think the future could be bright or it could be a disaster, depending on whether those with the right ideas carry the day. Our potential to solve problems is limitless. We are a clever species after all. Sadly short-termism and this tedious tendency to hoard wealth and beggar your neighbour is hard to stamp out. It just goes to show that no matter how clever we are, we are in fact animals, and our uncivilised instincts usually get the better of us. I think all we can do is to keep standing up for the things we believe in, whether by activism, by writing about them or by having as many conversations as we can. Maybe human decency will prevail and if it does the future could be marvellous.
What a great question. Well, I'm with your prof. I've often thought I was born about 50 years too early. I'm keeping myself as healthy as possible because when I'm 100 or 110 there will be cures for cancer, dementia and Alzheimer's, and flights to Australia via subspace aircraft will take only a few hours instead of virtually a whole day. I also want to be fit, healthy and wealthy enough to be able to afford weekend breaks on the moon, or even Mars. I'd also like to be able to make a full-time living on Substack, for which I need (a) all my marbles so that I can write coherently and (b) about another 80 years at least at the present rate of growth.
To achieve my goals I will therefore need to either (a) be alive in 2050 or possibly even 2070 or (b) be reincarnated around those years (I'm working on that too!)
I was born on February 7, 1964, on the same day the Beatles landed at JFK International Airport in New York. If I could not live now (because I must say I pretty much like my time) I wish I could be 20 in the mid-60s. My age, of course, is important: not 60 but 20, during an exciting time when there were so many positive vibes and everything seemed to be possible.
Isn't it interesting how we associate music with time SO MUCH. And I would love to go back to some live shows...both for the musicians live (and in their prime) as well as the feeling in the collective audience.
Hmm! Good for thought. As a lover of Jane Austen I used to long to return to her niche of society. This was during my teens and of course the reality of life then - without the comforts of today, medicine, central heating, travel etc - life would be grim!
In truth I would love to visit many past eras as long as I could return to my life, preferably to the 1950’s- 1980’s! Perhaps via time travel (Dr Who style?). With my own hindsight (coloured of course by the lure of lost youth), I really do think that life was more simple, slower paced, with time to really know one’s neighbours during those ‘halcyon’ days. We’ve lost so much during my lifetime: the efficiency of paper records as opposed to computers. Telephonists handling calls efficiently, more common sense and time for old fashioned courtesies! I realise that I am overlooking the negatives (misogyny, colder houses etc), but on balance there was more optimism, more laughter, less traffic!
I miss the ‘village’ where I was born, which has now lost picturesque buildings and has merged into a greater sprawl.
Time Machine travel is so tempting. Have you seen the series Life on Mars set in the 80s? I guess I try to get this fix in TV :) or a good novel like Austen! Thanks for your comments, Dorinda.
What a brilliant question. I struggle to choose just one period, but it would unlikely be the future. Probably Edwardian... 1920s. Though I also have a soft spot for the 1990s - surely one of the best decades for film lovers. Saying that, the 2020s has brought Substack, and the ability to work in a way I had only dreamed of. I would also love to time travel to one of my Nan and Grandad’s 1980s Boxing Day parties.
What amazing reasons! I guess unsurprising is how many in this community are going with music/film/substack as an indicator. 90s films! Fantastic. I’m so curious about those parties. :) such an intimate reason as well! Thanks for your ideas.
I considered going with being born in the 1950s or something, but I'm going to stick with the exact timeline the universe has given me. I've heard stories of women here in Australia not being allowed to work after they're married or open bank accounts by themselves and that was happening in the 1970s. We've also made lots of progress in treating diseases since those days. Those are my main reasons.
That's great, Rebecca. I didn't really answer the question in my prompt...but I think I would say the same, and I believe we are about the same age (I was born in 1980). It feels like a non-answer, but I like this time period! Maybe it just means you are happy. Well, that is pretty crazy about the bank accounts and jobs. You can feel/see this even on much smaller levels -- I was the first 'class' of girls and women pole vaulting in high school and university. It's tiny teeny compared to jobs and bank accounts, but you feel like you're part of progress. And then in the political and even writing world...so much keeps changing for women (overall) in a great move toward progress. Thanks for your thoughts!
Wow, pole vaulting -- how cool! And yes, we're basically the same age. : ) I'm definitely aware of some of the problems we have now, but I think we often look back on previous eras with rose-coloured glasses. Sure, they look cute in movies and TV series with the interesting outfits and decor, but living in those times would be another thing. Especially if you weren't part of the upper classes often depicted in the screen versions.
Gosh, what a great question. An impossible one to answer. This would need a lot of thought to offer anything other than the Sunday-morning-reply-when-I-have-to-start-moving-in-a-moment-and-get-up that I'm about to write: 😅
For all its faults and perilous issues and fraught economics and politics, "now" is a wild time to be alive. Technology is moving so fast it's hard to keep up and, although the planet is seemingly %*#$ed, I do have a sliver of hope that we might be able to turn it around once more younger and newer generations get into power.
But, if I had to romanticise about a certain period, then for me it'd probably be something like the early ADs within the Roman Empire and age of philosophy, or perhaps somewhat earlier in Greece, growing vines for wine and living in the warmth of the Mediterranean. (A very romanticised notion, I'm sure, but as a counter to the hectic life of "now", I do love the notion of a slower, calmer, peaceful life. Though I'm sure it'd likely be fraught with disease and suffering...)
The first paragraph sounds like another train ride. :)
Yes, I would love to be present to Roman and Greek philosophy (Socratic seminars??!!) but with a longer life span and all. Now is pretty cool, too, agree. I'm born in 1980. I often think it would be interesting to be present in the 80s as a teen/young adult just to 'see' it more clearly at the time. I wonder if a lot of people get that feeling of the decade when they were a kid. (Maybe that was what the 80s theme parties were all about at uni?) But I wouldn't want to be born earlier; if anything a little bit later!
Speaking as a 1950s kid, yes, it was a sweet time to be a kid. Our mothers shoved us out the door to play in whatever environment we had ... urban or otherwise ... and called us home for dinner. Each of us had our problems, but also there were moments of glee as we learned to deal with pain or the way we looked or the turmoil within our families. Every period presents to us a state of crisis AND advancements. Depending upon the neighborhoods in which individuals lived, life was either a struggle or a sweet ride. Each individual had to pass the tests and learn how to deal with it all. And the beat goes on.
What a beautiful reflection, Sue. This ebb and flow of challenges and advancements, sometimes in dissonance, is such a great way to put it. Really fascinating to hear your ideas coming out of a 1950s childhood especially. Thank you.
Like Jules, I think I am probably better off in the present day - for all its faults - but if there was another time it would probably have to be a young woman during second wave feminism in the 1960s/70s (I was born in the early 70s) - I would love to be able to say 'I was part of that' when I see the old footage of marches! On a separate theme though, I would love to show my kids what the late 80s/90s were like from the point of view of not having social media, mobile phones, etc. Just for them to experience that freedom of being disconnected; I think it's impossible for them to comprehend, particularly my youngest who is 16.
I can see from reading your newsletter why you would choose this time period. I like in your newsletter, however, how you push those ideas to current issues and advancements (for women primarily). Maybe people will say you were “a part of” wherever your writing takes you! [not trying to challenge your choice, just propose a different outcome]
I feel this for the 80/90s too. Though my son is only 4, I already tell him about the pre-smartphone days often. He absolutely doesn’t get it, but it feels like he should somehow understand the difference and what it means as a change to our world.
A full time living on substack! Wonderful reason to choose a time period :)
These are great reasons -- health and travel. I’m really interested in the longevity researchers and doctors (the live healthier vs longer ones; long is good if healthy!). Thanks for some great ideas and optimism!
I prefer the era of mass communication pre-social media. Telephones and broadcast/early cable TV. Newspaper and novels and vinyls and tapes. No digital. Cold War. About 1950s to 2000. Said time period died on 9/11, I think.
Then again, I say this as a cis-gendered, straight white male. I think in general I like your professor’s idea.
Sure I see what you mean about the perspective but the media focus is interesting.
Is this about focus / quality / the way it affects your daily life? I am often nostalgic for pre-internet as much as I love it. Maybe it is the sometimes-overwhelming aspect for me. Thanks so much for starting the conversation, Clancy!
I agree with your sentiments around pre-internet nostalgia. I love the things we can do with technology, for example using this space to share ideas, download any song at any time, watch pretty much any film on some platform or another, work from anywhere in the world...etc, etc. But I do also miss the peace of not being contactable or distracted.
Yes, I miss that too. It was a lot quieter in many respects a few decades ago. I still prefer now though, on the whole.
Blimey. I never regarded the Cold War as exactly a barrel of laughs! I was teaching in the 80s and everyone thought there was going to be a nuclear Armageddon any time now!
Apparently, I will be opening an art gallery with bar and restaurant on he 17th May 2345 - Location - Capital City, Planet Mars........ (my friends have an extraordinary faith in my capabilities). By the way folks, Y'all invited to join us for a feast of silver locusts and dandelion wine.
A question with endless possibilities but I think I have to say that for Western women, even with all the continuing (and new) difficulties that we have, it has to be now. The point at which we were able to have safe control of our fertility was the big emancipator for us, and in Western society the middle of the last century at least fractured class barriers to an extent. I am tempted by earlier periods in history but I have to bear in mind that I would probably have been working in service or constantly pregnant if I managed to survive childbirth at all (my grandmother died in childbirth in 1947 leaving my infant mum to be brought up by her coal miner dad) so I temper my enthusiasm for time travel! If I was going to be a bit less pragmatic in approaching the question I agree with Gianni. As a massive Beatles fan in my teens I used to wish I hadn't missed it all by being born in 1966! I also think post World War 2 America would have been a good time to be a kid.
Interesting ideas, Jules. How sad about your grandmother. Yes, I guess we have to count our (medical) blessings even though it's tempting to feel that nostalgia. It does 'seem' like 1950s kids in America had a sweet ride.
Your first points are so important, and I guess a lot of it depends where you live as some countries don't have these rights or access. And how horrific that some places in America are turning things backwards! Do you think the future will be even better than where we're at in that regard?
I think the future could be bright or it could be a disaster, depending on whether those with the right ideas carry the day. Our potential to solve problems is limitless. We are a clever species after all. Sadly short-termism and this tedious tendency to hoard wealth and beggar your neighbour is hard to stamp out. It just goes to show that no matter how clever we are, we are in fact animals, and our uncivilised instincts usually get the better of us. I think all we can do is to keep standing up for the things we believe in, whether by activism, by writing about them or by having as many conversations as we can. Maybe human decency will prevail and if it does the future could be marvellous.
I had very similar feelings to you, Jude!
What a great question. Well, I'm with your prof. I've often thought I was born about 50 years too early. I'm keeping myself as healthy as possible because when I'm 100 or 110 there will be cures for cancer, dementia and Alzheimer's, and flights to Australia via subspace aircraft will take only a few hours instead of virtually a whole day. I also want to be fit, healthy and wealthy enough to be able to afford weekend breaks on the moon, or even Mars. I'd also like to be able to make a full-time living on Substack, for which I need (a) all my marbles so that I can write coherently and (b) about another 80 years at least at the present rate of growth.
To achieve my goals I will therefore need to either (a) be alive in 2050 or possibly even 2070 or (b) be reincarnated around those years (I'm working on that too!)
Great response, Terry.
I've heard cryogenic freezing is an option, too ;)
That's never appealed to me because if you don't get woken up you won't be able to spiritually progress
I was born on February 7, 1964, on the same day the Beatles landed at JFK International Airport in New York. If I could not live now (because I must say I pretty much like my time) I wish I could be 20 in the mid-60s. My age, of course, is important: not 60 but 20, during an exciting time when there were so many positive vibes and everything seemed to be possible.
Isn't it interesting how we associate music with time SO MUCH. And I would love to go back to some live shows...both for the musicians live (and in their prime) as well as the feeling in the collective audience.
Hmm! Good for thought. As a lover of Jane Austen I used to long to return to her niche of society. This was during my teens and of course the reality of life then - without the comforts of today, medicine, central heating, travel etc - life would be grim!
In truth I would love to visit many past eras as long as I could return to my life, preferably to the 1950’s- 1980’s! Perhaps via time travel (Dr Who style?). With my own hindsight (coloured of course by the lure of lost youth), I really do think that life was more simple, slower paced, with time to really know one’s neighbours during those ‘halcyon’ days. We’ve lost so much during my lifetime: the efficiency of paper records as opposed to computers. Telephonists handling calls efficiently, more common sense and time for old fashioned courtesies! I realise that I am overlooking the negatives (misogyny, colder houses etc), but on balance there was more optimism, more laughter, less traffic!
I miss the ‘village’ where I was born, which has now lost picturesque buildings and has merged into a greater sprawl.
Time Machine travel is so tempting. Have you seen the series Life on Mars set in the 80s? I guess I try to get this fix in TV :) or a good novel like Austen! Thanks for your comments, Dorinda.
Yes I did watch it, a very enjoyable series,
What a brilliant question. I struggle to choose just one period, but it would unlikely be the future. Probably Edwardian... 1920s. Though I also have a soft spot for the 1990s - surely one of the best decades for film lovers. Saying that, the 2020s has brought Substack, and the ability to work in a way I had only dreamed of. I would also love to time travel to one of my Nan and Grandad’s 1980s Boxing Day parties.
What amazing reasons! I guess unsurprising is how many in this community are going with music/film/substack as an indicator. 90s films! Fantastic. I’m so curious about those parties. :) such an intimate reason as well! Thanks for your ideas.
I considered going with being born in the 1950s or something, but I'm going to stick with the exact timeline the universe has given me. I've heard stories of women here in Australia not being allowed to work after they're married or open bank accounts by themselves and that was happening in the 1970s. We've also made lots of progress in treating diseases since those days. Those are my main reasons.
That's great, Rebecca. I didn't really answer the question in my prompt...but I think I would say the same, and I believe we are about the same age (I was born in 1980). It feels like a non-answer, but I like this time period! Maybe it just means you are happy. Well, that is pretty crazy about the bank accounts and jobs. You can feel/see this even on much smaller levels -- I was the first 'class' of girls and women pole vaulting in high school and university. It's tiny teeny compared to jobs and bank accounts, but you feel like you're part of progress. And then in the political and even writing world...so much keeps changing for women (overall) in a great move toward progress. Thanks for your thoughts!
Wow, pole vaulting -- how cool! And yes, we're basically the same age. : ) I'm definitely aware of some of the problems we have now, but I think we often look back on previous eras with rose-coloured glasses. Sure, they look cute in movies and TV series with the interesting outfits and decor, but living in those times would be another thing. Especially if you weren't part of the upper classes often depicted in the screen versions.
These are some key points! We don’t live in the movies...
Gosh, what a great question. An impossible one to answer. This would need a lot of thought to offer anything other than the Sunday-morning-reply-when-I-have-to-start-moving-in-a-moment-and-get-up that I'm about to write: 😅
For all its faults and perilous issues and fraught economics and politics, "now" is a wild time to be alive. Technology is moving so fast it's hard to keep up and, although the planet is seemingly %*#$ed, I do have a sliver of hope that we might be able to turn it around once more younger and newer generations get into power.
But, if I had to romanticise about a certain period, then for me it'd probably be something like the early ADs within the Roman Empire and age of philosophy, or perhaps somewhat earlier in Greece, growing vines for wine and living in the warmth of the Mediterranean. (A very romanticised notion, I'm sure, but as a counter to the hectic life of "now", I do love the notion of a slower, calmer, peaceful life. Though I'm sure it'd likely be fraught with disease and suffering...)
The first paragraph sounds like another train ride. :)
Yes, I would love to be present to Roman and Greek philosophy (Socratic seminars??!!) but with a longer life span and all. Now is pretty cool, too, agree. I'm born in 1980. I often think it would be interesting to be present in the 80s as a teen/young adult just to 'see' it more clearly at the time. I wonder if a lot of people get that feeling of the decade when they were a kid. (Maybe that was what the 80s theme parties were all about at uni?) But I wouldn't want to be born earlier; if anything a little bit later!
Thanks for your thoughts, Nathan!
😅
83 here. And yeah, same thoughts and feelings about that decade.
I do like that it's pretty cool to have lived through some technological transitions and know what it was like before and after the internet.
Speaking as a 1950s kid, yes, it was a sweet time to be a kid. Our mothers shoved us out the door to play in whatever environment we had ... urban or otherwise ... and called us home for dinner. Each of us had our problems, but also there were moments of glee as we learned to deal with pain or the way we looked or the turmoil within our families. Every period presents to us a state of crisis AND advancements. Depending upon the neighborhoods in which individuals lived, life was either a struggle or a sweet ride. Each individual had to pass the tests and learn how to deal with it all. And the beat goes on.
What a beautiful reflection, Sue. This ebb and flow of challenges and advancements, sometimes in dissonance, is such a great way to put it. Really fascinating to hear your ideas coming out of a 1950s childhood especially. Thank you.
Like Jules, I think I am probably better off in the present day - for all its faults - but if there was another time it would probably have to be a young woman during second wave feminism in the 1960s/70s (I was born in the early 70s) - I would love to be able to say 'I was part of that' when I see the old footage of marches! On a separate theme though, I would love to show my kids what the late 80s/90s were like from the point of view of not having social media, mobile phones, etc. Just for them to experience that freedom of being disconnected; I think it's impossible for them to comprehend, particularly my youngest who is 16.
I can see from reading your newsletter why you would choose this time period. I like in your newsletter, however, how you push those ideas to current issues and advancements (for women primarily). Maybe people will say you were “a part of” wherever your writing takes you! [not trying to challenge your choice, just propose a different outcome]
I feel this for the 80/90s too. Though my son is only 4, I already tell him about the pre-smartphone days often. He absolutely doesn’t get it, but it feels like he should somehow understand the difference and what it means as a change to our world.
That’s an awesome reason for your answer! You grew up in NYC - jealous. Art is all around you.