Assuming that your place in society would be as close to what it is now as possible.

I've been thinking about this for the last hour or so and I still don't know my answer. It scares me to think about living in a time where there wasn't anything resembling modern dental care. Although I guess the two root canals I've had done would just be pulled teeth so it might not be that big of a deal.

Rather than just blurt out something for the sake of answering my own question, I'm going to hope your responses will help me narrow it down.

Sort of a low content thread, but I'm interested to hear some opinions so hopefully a few of you will chime in.

Wow, interesting thread.

Honestly, I'd hate to live in a time where there wasn't computers and internet.

But considering my area of study, I guess I'd like to live in Athens, in the time of Cleisthenes, to experience the origins of democracy. Or in the beggining of the roman empire, I don't know.

Maybe boring answer but the 60s. To see the Who, Rolling Stones etc when they were playing small gigs in pubs. The early days of Hendix, going to woodstock etc etc

Can't imagine life ever gets better than that.

Not boring at all. The 60's is one of the most revolutionary periods in the world, as far as liberalism is concerned.

Now you really get a boring answer. I would choose to go back 10^-6 seconds, so I would feel it´s exactly as now. Have come a far way, not really want to go back.

Was going to add a qualifier that you have to go back at least a few decades to avoid people saying "yesterday" or whatever but chose not to.

Pretend you have to go back at least three decades, what's your answer then?

I don't know about that But I do like hearing people's thoughts on this so I figured why not ask.

Indeed. Knowing what it's like having the internet would make it extremely tough to live without.

Interesting. Part of my motivation in making this thread was to be able to read some information about stuff that I've never heard of/read about before. Semi-ashamed to admit I'd never heard of Cleisthenes before this thread. Thanks.

Not boring at all. Lotta reasons to pick the 60's. My Dad gave the same answer when I asked him this.

The Roaring 20's looked like a lot of fun, chi/ny playing cards/drinking flirting with dames or dolls or whatever. I agree with the 'lack of internet' would suck though, although it's possible the average person had better conversation skills back then due to less brain suck, possibly enough to almost make it worth the trade.

Topic may produce better results if we could come back every so often to use the computer

Another boring answer, you´ll need a thread saver after this: I would go back three decades. Wow, the eighties! Commodore 64 and only a couple of decades until online poker and 2+2.

bad answer. I speak from experience.

Would you like to specify what was bad in the answer? I probably totally agree, but was it my decision to go back there or my wiew about how it was back then?

The Eighties... the dawn of synth music. Maybe it wasn´t such a bad idea after all. We had got rid of the progressive rock, and were not yet totally dominated by hip hop.

Well, in extreme cliff notes Cleisthenes was the guy who implemented, created or whatever, the democracy. If you want to know more about it, it could be worth opening a thread (I'd love that), or looking in Wikipedia, lol.

Am I allowed to invest in Microsoft stock?

I'm kind of locked out. There isn't a time in history when women could live as we do now, or even close. The Romans and Greeks would be closest, at the height of power. Athens for the intellect, but I wouldn't have been allowed to participate. Sparta for the challenge. Rome for the bachanalian festivals. Oh wait a minute, the obvious answer. Scytha was the reported home of the Amazons, per Heroditus. A beautiful, warrior race of women, believed to've fought in the Trojan War, which was in the 1100's.

My second choice would be the sixties.

Have you noticed a trend here. For one reason or another we all have reasons to prefer our current time, over any other. I wonder if that's ever been true before?

I have another visitor. Stay a while, stay forever...

A very dull decade at best, the decade that gave us yuppies. I'll conceed the computer scene was great (I had a Sinclair spectrum) but synthesisers!, earliest I can remember synthesisers is 1971 on Who's next.

Nightclubs were horrific (I worked in one for a bit) just when I really needed them to be good. [Apart from rugby discos which played good music from earlier decades but suffered from lack of girls].

The 80s are summed up for me by bars. While I was at unniversity they knocked down their fantastic old bar and replaced it with a concrete boreosity, nearby one of the oldest pubs in England was modernised!!! and I worked in the finest pub that has ever existed which was got rid of on the grounds of health and safety. Pretty much a microcosm of the 80s.

Not that I didn't have a great time but it was all done in the rapidly disappearing greatness of the previous decades.

I would pick the time right after WWII and right before the Joe Valachi opened up. I guess this would be 1945-62

Sorry for saying "Well put, man" in a previous thread.

I'm never offended by a complement. Kidding.


I'm really beginning to enjoy this forum. You did a marvelous job promoting it.

Want to use my abilities for the good.

I would have liked to live during the time of Socrates. I'm stoned atm and can't think of a good "reason".

I was going to say eighties, but I guess sixties.

lol, with the "super computers" back then?

Sorry for my narrow-mindedness

I wouldn't be "forced." If I could, I would fist-pump go back in time to the Palolithic to be a clovis technology hunter-gatherer.

It'd be infinitely preferable to living in the world today. The shorter lifespan is a very fair trade, imo.