Primarily, that what we learn from history, is that we do not learn from history.
The Hitler stuff is so annoying in this one. Societies without time travel keep complaining about killing Hitler… have you been to a timeline without Hitler? Count your Hitlers, people, really. Also I know the time traveler’s convention a few years ago won’t have punch, so I don’t want to go but want to go.
Psh - "timeline without Hitler" - amateurs.
Every society that finally gets time travel suddenly turn into baby murdering monsters.
Here's an example of how an experienced time travel society handles the Hitler problem in a timeline:
We went in when he was just starting to be committed to his struggling art career and promoted the heck out of his shitty work to a Jewish art dealer with a single daughter, who in turn became his patron.
With a little matchmaking, he ended up falling in love with the daughter, eventually even converting to Judaism to marry her.
Their family didn't have the easiest time with the rising antisemitism in Europe, and he ended up arrested at a protest for Jewish rights and spent some time in prison.
While in prison, he wrote the book Mein Kampf, a book about the struggles of being a Jewish family in Europe in the early 20th century. While not the best written book, its plain language resonated with a lot of people and changed many hearts and minds regarding tolerance and inclusivity. It's since been published in several dozen languages and is a frequent citation for civil rights leaders in that timeline.
Anyone can kill a baby. But it takes a skilled hand to guide towards better outcomes.
(Just check in every so often to make sure he never gets political power - that always ends badly no matter what path you've put him on.)
The smell
Thought it would be a kick to check out the ends of the ice age around 12345 B.C.E. but it truly was a darker time. I couldn't find a signal to send pics to my friends, nor could I get a GPS lock to find the nearest Starbucks so I could warm up. Awesome snow on the slopes but I would still only rate this period 5/10. Please work harder on your hospitality.
The food isn't as good.
We didn't choose the corporation's that succeeded in this wasteland. They all either perished due to failing global supply lines or fell apart due to their management dying out. There's not much left in the way of personnel freedoms now though, though we all have 60-hour a week jobs with the new conglomerate, Googazon. I hope that I can maintain my place to live as another 2 million refugees just came in on a boat from overseas - they had lost their city due to natural disasters - more earthquakes and flooding.
I've only ever bothered going in one directions - forwards. Nothing crazy 1s/s. I'd say things are getting better and better. People are still people, but they're fighting shit that's more and more trivial. I see that as a great sign as it means the previous, bigger, more serious issues have gone away.
Ah yes, progressive 15th-century Catholics would be cautiously happy if their child freely chose to marry a Protestant; progressive 21st-century Americans would be cautiously happy if their child freely chose to marry a Republican.
I’m honestly shocked at how soon the sapient insects displaced humanity and subjugated what remained. Here’s a hint: the second digit in the year I visited is still a zero
I too, visited 0020000024
So the year 10000000000000000000000 then...?
Definitely how fast the humans died out. I thought they will hold on for longer but nope, folded real quick. The next intelligent species was similar and only the one after that was more successful. Then again it makes sense that species that evolved on the moon will not take earth for granted.
I've been shocked by the way people will believe violent Demagogues who convince them horrible things are okay if they're doing them for the benefit of their group of people.
The number of conspiracy theories people of the past were willing to believe about queer folk, foreign people and anyone who didn't conform is absolutely staggering.
Glad we out grew that.
For most eras, how hard it was to make a good sandwich. And I'm not just talking about the past.
Rasputin knew kung-fu.
