stuckincincy Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 I'd wipe out LBJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 I would probably want to see what would happen if the French Revolution had preceded the American Revolution. Without the strong French Royal Navy, would America still be celebrating tea time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim in Anchorage Posted January 11, 2010 Author Share Posted January 11, 2010 I would like to go back to the very very beginning of the world's existence, the very first moments, just to see what it looked like and what was going on I have often thought it would be fascinating to go back 380 million years and see the first fish/amphibians crawl out of the swamp to become the first vertebrates to colonize the land. Of course going by some posts here, I would accidentally step on one and we would all be insects Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booster4324 Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 I have often thought it would be fascinating to go back 380 million years and see the first fish/amphibians crawl out of the swamp to become the first vertebrates to colonize the land. Of course going by some posts here, I would accidentally step on one and we would all be insects  Changing history would be a very risky thing. Chaos effect multiplied almost infinitely. If I had to fix one thing, perhaps stopping the slave trade would be it. Hard to pick a single point you could do that though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 I'd like to go back and try to combat the building of the St. Lawrence Seaway in some way........Could'nt we have made better use of the already built Erie Canal or something.........I'm sure there were other factors, but that seems the biggest to our city falling on such hard times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astrojanitor Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 The real reason many Iranians do not like us (the West) is the scheme by Churchill, Eisenhower and Kermit Roosevelt to replace a democratically elected, polpular leader with a real piece of work who for a large part of WWII was a prisoner because of his pro-Nazi views and black-marketeering. Â Most Iranians would that conspiracy as the reason they soured on the west (and the US in particular, we were already somewhat unpopular). Without that there would probably never would have been an Islamic revolution in Iran and a lot of the subsequent problems would have been avoided. Â As for what I would do in history? I have no idea. There are so many evil people in history that bumping off a few dozen will still leave an awful lot of evil to go around. Hitler, Mao, Stalin, Pal Pot, Tojo, Marx, Genghis Khan, Attila, a few of the choicest Roman Emperors, a few British (and other) kings, a president or two, numerous 'holy' men and generals. The list is far too extensive. Â If I had to go for one I would go for Stalin. He hung around longer, was just as evil as Hitler and killed more people (a pretty astounding feat). Â Marx was evil? Thats adorable. Marx was a cultural critic--all he did was sit in a room and write. Literally all he did, he was dependent on Engels since he couldn't/wouldn't hold a job. Lit and film criticism is based entirely on Freud and Marx--both did very important work. The insanity that came out of Cuba, China and the USSR has nothing to do with Marx. Marx didn't write about genocide, he analyzed the prominent social structure. Can't compare him to Hitler or Stalin, that's just crazy talk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chalkie Gerzowski Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 I'd go back and bs with my ancestors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astrojanitor Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 I'd tell Buddy Holly to get off the plane. Or Elvis to stay out of vegas. Or tell Otis Redding to get off the plane. Â Wait, scratch that. I'd tell MLK to get the hell out of Memphis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UConn James Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 Personally, I don't really believe in time, as such. Â Yeah, I know TODAY is on @ 7 a.m. and dinner's at 8. But as I've gotten older (and with the influence of "Lost" among other works) I'm getting more into Eternalist theory. Â Going back in time wouldn't really do much. We would still have lived in a world with societies that created psychopaths; doesn't really matter if you kill one Hitler or Stalin, b/c there's 1,000 more who would do marginally the same things in their place. "The universe has a way of course correcting" for whatever change you'd make. Mostly, you'd just go backward (or forward) as an observer of discrete events. But here, too, we get into time as a fourth dimension and the alternate realities put into that dimension once you did something to change the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim in Anchorage Posted January 12, 2010 Author Share Posted January 12, 2010 Marx was evil? Thats adorable. Marx was a cultural critic--all he did was sit in a room and write. Literally all he did, he was dependent on Engels since he couldn't/wouldn't hold a job. Lit and film criticism is based entirely on Freud and Marx--both did very important work. The insanity that came out of Cuba, China and the USSR has nothing to do with Marx. Marx didn't write about genocide, he analyzed the prominent social structure. Can't compare him to Hitler or Stalin, that's just crazy talk. You may wish to offer some details on that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 Personally, I don't really believe in time, as such. Yeah, I know TODAY is on @ 7 a.m. and dinner's at 8. But as I've gotten older (and with the influence of "Lost" among other works) I'm getting more into Eternalist theory.  Going back in time wouldn't really do much. We would still have lived in a world with societies that created psychopaths; doesn't really matter if you kill one Hitler or Stalin, b/c there's 1,000 more who would do marginally the same things in their place. "The universe has a way of course correcting" for whatever change you'd make. Mostly, you'd just go backward (or forward) as an observer of discrete events. But here, too, we get into time as a fourth dimension and the alternate realities put into that dimension once you did something to change the future.  How does this eternalist theory put me back to a night in 1980 or 1984? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corp000085 Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 I would change nothing at all. Everything happened for a reason and has made us what we are today. Would I change events leading to WWI or WWII? No. Would I tell MLK to get the hell out of Memphis? No. Would I push the ball a foot left in tampa? No. I am who I am today because of history. My great grandfather liberated a German town (I forget the name, I'd have to speak to my grandfather about that one) and was awarded by Gen. Pershing himself. My grandfather was awarded a medal by Boris Yeltzin because of his actions in WWII. Other grandfather was nearly killed by a kamikaze in the pacific. That event defined him, thus defining my father. Some events in history are truly great, some truly suck, and some kill thousands and millions of people, but I wouldn't change any of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandler#81 Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 I'd wipe out LBJ. Â +1 Â Along those lines, I'd 'interrupt' JW Booth's coup d'etat attempt on April 14th, 1865. The 'other' Johnson was a terrible prick -as well- whose 'punish the south' focus lingers heavily yet today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corp000085 Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 I'd wipe out LBJ. Â Why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 I have often thought it would be fascinating to go back 380 million years and see the first fish/amphibians crawl out of the swamp to become the first vertebrates to colonize the land. Of course going by some posts here, I would accidentally step on one and we would all be insects Simpsons - Homer travels back in time (sorry for the crappy video it was the best I could find showing most of that sequence) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennesseeboy Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 You may wish to offer some details on that one. Harpo, Zeppo or Groucho? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennesseeboy Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 +1Â Along those lines, I'd 'interrupt' JW Booth's coup d'etat attempt on April 14th, 1865. The 'other' Johnson was a terrible prick -as well- whose 'punish the south' focus lingers heavily yet today. Actually the other Johnson was a southerner (from here in East Tennessee by the way) who got in trouble in part for opposing the "punish the south" mentality of congress. A little drinking problem and the fact that he was not all that smart contributed to his poor reputation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dib Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 I would leave making changes that might result in more serious consequences alone. I would invest heavily in microsoft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim in Anchorage Posted January 12, 2010 Author Share Posted January 12, 2010 Simpsons - Homer travels back in time (sorry for the crappy video it was the best I could find showing most of that sequence) Thanks I remember that when it was a new show. I always got a charge out of those drooling octopus aliens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
/dev/null Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 Thanks I remember that when it was a new show. I always got a charge out of those drooling octopus aliens Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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