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0 pointsthe_only_law3y ago0 comments

I was thinking less of “what if I went back in time” and more “what if I was my ancestor”

Obviously you won’t be able to tell for sure, but I’d guess that 1000 years ago I’d probably be a serf, and 100 years ago, likely would have fought in a large war and likely doing some form of physical labor or subsistence farming afterwards, based on what my family was doing then.

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TeMPOraL3y ago

Oh, in this sense, yes, I agree. There's only so much agency any human ever has, had, or will have - and the space of possible choices is determined by the overall technological and economic landscape of the time.

In this light, sure, the me from 1000 years ago would most likely be a serf, die from malnutrition, war or robbery. Me from 100 years ago would probably be lying dead in the trenches of Verdun, or shot on the streets of Kraków, or otherwise dead in WW1; for military-aged males in Europe, I guess whether or not one got drawn into fighting was a coin flip.

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