Hello Walter,
Andrei Alexandrescu wrote:
Sometimes I run these crazy calculations: how much modern firepower
would be just enough to turn the odds in a classic battle? At
Thermopilae, I think two Vickers with enough ammo would have been
just about enough. Also at the Lord of the Rings 2 night castle
defense, one machine gun would have sufficed (better protection and
fewer assailants).
Sometimes I think what if I were dropped naked back in time 20,000
years ago? Assuming I didn't get promptly cooked for dinner, what
technology could I deliver that would have the most impact?
I can't decide between iron, agriculture, or writing. I suspect
Ag. Up to a little over 100 years ago >90% of man was needed to feed us all.
Everything else (including swinging that balance) was done by the <10% left
over. If you could swing it just a little bit then you'd get large returns
now. OTOH at the rate we are going, you might also speed up Judgment Day
(the skynet or inconvenient truth version).
writing. Every time humans got better at communicating, there was a
huge increase in the rate of progress.
speech
writing
printing
telegraph
telephone
internet
