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You can revive one influential figure

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Theodore Roosevelt. The dude was absolutely fearless and brought about many government reforms that we take for granted today, like food regulation. He really shook things up in his day, in a good way. I would just advise him to tone down the hunting and warmongering. He was a man's man for better or worse.
 
This is just off the top of my head because I've been thinking about it, but Ronald Reagan.

The dude would trash Trump so fast that the entire Republican party's image would be shattered and the conservative movement in my country would collapse.
 
Einstein. We just discovered exo planets not too far from here (relative to the size of the galaxy). Now we need FTL travel.
 
Escape Goat said:
Any historical figure is going to have a lot of evolving to do on issues. Like Aristotle belief women were above slaves but subservient to men.
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Would Aristotle if awakened today not be able to take on-board and consider how we have progressed (not as much as I would like I agree) in regards to gender equality, there are people born ten to twenty years ago that think the same of women today, I would think that Aristotle would be able to see the flaw in his reasoning.

I did read once and I cannot remember who it was, wrote/said that if somebody from four to five hundred or so years ago was brought back to life today that they would be amazed at the progress we have made, but somebody from the Roman or Greek era would not be surprised by the progress made, in-fact we have not gone further.

*Apologies for going off topic in my reply.
 
Za-Neen-Jya said:
Theodore Roosevelt. The dude was absolutely fearless and brought about many government reforms that we take for granted today, like food regulation. He really shook things up in his uday, in a good way. I would just advise him to tone down the hunting and warmongering. He was a man's man for better or worse.
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You do know that he was fucking racist as fuck right?
 
Great Man theory ahoy.

lastplayed said:
Henry VIII

Gluttonous dictators are all the rage, so I'll set him loose to sort out England and give Trump a run for his money.
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Henry VIII wasn't a dictator in the modern sense. He was much more willing to work with parliament and the powerful but not overly mighty subjects than say the Stuarts.

B1G_A1AN said:
Would Aristotle if awakened today not be able to take on-board and consider how we have progressed (not as much as I would like I agree) in regards to gender equality, there are people born ten to twenty years ago that think the same of women today, I would think that Aristotle would be able to see the flaw in his reasoning.

I did read once and I cannot remember who it was, wrote/said that if somebody from four to five hundred or so years ago was brought back to life today that they would be amazed at the progress we have made, but somebody from the Roman or Greek era would not be surprised by the progress made, in-fact we have not gone further.

*Apologies for going off topic in my reply.
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I think most people would probably not identify lot of what we have as progress. Not to mention that neither the Romans, Greeks, nor Europeans in the 1500's had a linear and progressive idea of time.

Moosichu said:
He was a massive racist. I don't think he would adjust that well.
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Do you think racism is genetic or something? Presumably most people, and especially enlightenment figures, would adjust to the current culture given enough time.
 
Darwin.

So he could see, not only that he was overwhelmingly correct, but actually appreciate the mechanism (genetics) that he postulated, but never had confirmed during his lifetime.

(Actually he owned Mendel's work, but apparently didn't recognize its significance -- soooo close!)
 
Well, I think a lot of major influencers of the well documented past would be a disappointment. I think many people underestimate how far we have come, despite the many, many social issues that are still there and the recent setbacks.

I would choose for a major figure of the past to uncover history, but I am not sure who.
 
ant_ said:
Thomas Jefferson.

Of course we'd have to adjust him to the moral standards of our time. I'd love to hear his take on the current state of the world and historical events.
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He enjoyed undermining the federal government for his own purposes so he'd fit right in with today's republicans. Oh and he was a filthy hypocrite.
 
keuja said:
Einstein. We just discovered exo planets not too far from here (relative to the size of the galaxy). Now we need FTL travel.
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People give too little credit to today's scientists and are too quick to jump to hero worship of past scientific titans. Bringing Einstein to the present era wouldn't guarantee anything, especially considering how out of date his knowledge and skill set is.
 
demosthenes said:
He enjoyed undermining the federal government for his own purposes so he'd fit right in with today's republicans.
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He also had a legitimate ideological justification for working against the federal government. America's political-ideological basis was Country politics after all.

El Topo said:
Hitler so we can finally put him on trial for his crimes?
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Instead of doing something productive for society you would waste it on this? He's dead and will probably be vilified as long as our society survives.
 
demosthenes said:
He enjoyed undermining the federal government for his own purposes so he'd fit right in with today's republicans. Oh and he was a filthy hypocrite.
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Name me one human that isn't a massive hypocrite. That's part of the human condition. I'm familiar with Jefferson and his views on government.

I stand by my choice.
 
Harmen said:
Well, I think a lot of major influencers of the well documented past would be a disappointment. I think many people underestimate how far we have come, despite the many, many social issues that are still there and the recent setbacks.
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I mean any politician would probably not be wise, but I'm not sure if your idea of progress holds true for intellectuals or artists.

Angelus Errare said:
By adjust you mean be covert with their racism?
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No I mean realize that it was wrong in the same way a white person from the south today might grow up indoctrinated in a particularly racist culture but can come to reject it.
 
ant_ said:
Most of the people in this thread, by the standards of modernity, were massive racists. Lincoln and Roosevelt included.
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That is true, and reading a bit about it, his views weren't as extreme as I thought they were. He would probably adjust well. (hopefully?)


He does seem his adjusting would be fitting right in with the Republican party though.
 
William the Conqueror

851px-Norman-conquest-1066.svg.png
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Age of Empires 2 HD Battles of the Conquerors : Hastings(1066) Campaign Cutscenes (English Ver.)
 
Einstein, imagine what he could do with current technology. Also it would be nice to show him how some of his theories were proven with practical experiments.
 
CrocMother said:
This is just off the top of my head because I've been thinking about it, but Ronald Reagan.

The dude would trash Trump so fast that the entire Republican party's image would be shattered and the conservative movement in my country would collapse.
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Why do you think he wouldn't just keep quiet and how the party line or stay out of it in general?
 
I'll be selfish, it would be Whitney Houston! Never had the chance to hear her voice in concert! If we could hangout it would be even better! I'm sure she was funny!
 
Moosichu said:
That is true, and reading a bit about it, his views weren't as extreme as I thought they were. He would probably adjust well. (hopefully?)


He does seem his adjusting would be fitting right in with the Republican party though.
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He really wouldn't fit into a modern party. He would likely be appalled by both parties equally.

Who knows though, that's the fun of these thought experiments
 
Cocaloch said:
Err, why?
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Watch the Age of Empires II cutscene.

The last successful invader of England, a bastard son (which caused no shortage of trouble in that era) of Scandinavian heritage like the other Normans (as we've come to know them, they perhaps they didn't leave as huge an imprint on Normandy as they did on the British Isles), together with a ragtag team of his fellow Normans and some Breton mercenaries, manages to take all of what may have been the 11th century's most prosperous European kingdom in a three-way conflict. He ended Anglo-Saxon domination of England and his and later Norman actions paved the way for that England, and later the entire archipelago, to become the most dominant power of the entire 19th century.

Hard to believe for a land the Romans were quick to abandon in 410.

He was incredibly tall for the time (perhaps 5'10 or 11"), he had an insane drive to rule, and he left an enormous impact on world history.

The man is near mythical.
 
Alan Turing.

Runner up: Norman Borlaug.

Neither of them have to do anything else. I just want them to have more time.
 
EleventhHourSuperpower said:
Watch the Age of Empires II cutscene.

The last successful invader of England, a bastard son (which caused no shortage of trouble in that era) of Scandinavian heritage, together with a ragtag team of Norman and Breton troops, manages to take all of what may have been the 11th century's most prosperous European kingdom in a three-way conflict. He ended Anglo-Saxon domination of England and his and later Norman actions paved the way for that England, and later the entire archipelago, to become the most dominant power of the entire 19th century.

Hard to believe for a land the Romans were quick to abandon in 410.
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And what exactly would be the use of an 11th century Warlord, and I don't think he's considered a particularly skilled commander, today? He was in a powerful position by contingency. He was also rather lucky.

In addition calling England the most prosperous European kingdom in the 11th century is nonsense, and claiming that William was that important to the 19th century hegemony is ridiculous.

I'm really not sure how ending "Anglo-Saxon domination of England", also what does this mean are you suggesting that he helped the Britons or something, is a positive or a negative.

EleventhHourSuperpower said:
He was incredibly tall for the time (perhaps 5'10 or 11"), he had an insane drive to rule

The man is near mythical.
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This is fairly bizarre hero-worship....
 
Cocaloch said:
And what exactly would be the use of an 11th century Warlord, and I don't think he's considered a particularly skilled commander, today? He was by contingency in a powerful position. He was also rather lucky.

In addition calling England the most prosperous European kingdom in the 11th century is nonsense, and claiming that William was that important to the 19th century hegemony is ridiculous.
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Late Anglo-Saxon England was an incredibly prosperous kingdom, by all accounts. http://www.history.ac.uk/reviews/review/1480 That it used some of the finest (not debased) coinage in Europe is one of the clearer clues to that.

1066 is an iconic date for a reason. The Normans turned England into an incredibly forward-thinking kingdom that eventually came to dominate just about everything. It all started with William and his shockingly loyal band of knights and mercenaries. He was lucky, but sometimes you need to be good to be lucky.

Anglo-Saxon England could never be the mighty force it later became on its own. Call him lucky if you want, but sometimes you make your own luck.

Not a lot of people go down the history books written as:

WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR

That's pretty badass. Nobody ever successfully conquered England ever again. It's been more than 950 years.
 
EleventhHourSuperpower said:
Late Anglo-Saxon England was an incredibly prosperous kingdom, by all accounts. http://www.history.ac.uk/reviews/review/1480 That it used some of the finest (not debased) coinage in Europe is one of the clearer clues to that.
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The synopsis for that book doesn't say it was the most prosperous country in Europe, and the value of coinage isn't particularly relevant to that anyway.

EleventhHourSuperpower said:
1066 is an iconic date for a reason.
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It's important, does that mean William was a particularly skilled or interesting person?

EleventhHourSuperpower said:
The Normans turned England into an incredibly forward-thinking kingdom that eventually came to dominate just about everything. It all started with William and his shockingly loyal band of knights and mercenaries. He was lucky, but sometimes you need to be good to be lucky.
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It all started draws continuity that wasn't there. The Normans made England into a powerful state in the late middle ages. That power then faded until the Commonwealth. William wasn't responsible for what was going on at that point any more than providing it the most general context.

EleventhHourSuperpower said:
Anglo-Saxon England could never be the mighty force it later became on its own.
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You just called it the most prosperous country in Europe, so that seems doubtful besides the fact that this clearly needs some sort of argumentation.

I've seen you in a number of threads, you seem to have a really problematic understanding of history generally, and a particularly problematic and chauvinistic one of Britain's past.
 
lastplayed said:
What this before or after they pillaged and raped the North?
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That's also ignoring the massive epistemological question of what forward thinking means. A centralized Norman state was useful for the state itself, but was it particularly useful for the people of England, Scotland, Wales, and most especially Ireland?
 
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