You, 0 A.D.

[bumrush]

I would start by punching a tree to get wood...

[Deleted]

I doubt I would last long, the natives would realise I couldn't understand them and then most likely kill me to loot whatever I was wearing..

[Draqson]

I would die very soon, I have diabetes type 1 and really need insulin...

[masterdisaster]

Cry because I'm stuck in North America with all them natives.

If it works that way, technologically advance the natives as much as possible and just laugh constantly at the thought of how different it will be when the colonists/conquerors finally arrive.

[Rendia]

If I was taken right now, at least I would have a knife and a lighter on me.

If I was taken to this same exact spot, I'd be in the middle of the desert, so I would have to scramble to live through the rest of the day, and then they rest of my life. I would end up living the rest of my days trying to just survive, most likely.

[Aphrel]

i proboly whouldnt have much to say about anything, a random person with no fightingskills/fishing/hunting/any kind of skills whatsoever whould proboly die within a fiew days or end up being killed on sight. vikings doesnt have a reputation for being freindly... they raided and murdered indesciminetly. and i whouldnt understand a word about the language they spoke back then. (thou it is said ancient vikings spoke a language very similar to that of Icelandish today).

but if we ignore the language barrier, and we ignore the very large possibility that i whould be killed on sight, i could actually teach them something about metallurgy, how to make perfect steel. How to make good tools or swords with a sharp and hard edges but still ductile enough inside not to break on hard impact.

i could start preaching about the tactical advantage of using cavalry in battle (back then ppl fought on foot, they rode to the battlefield then dismounted and fought )
i could probobly build a trebuchet actually (if the documentary ni saw about it is accurate).
i could teach them about the benefit of tar aflame in battle!

hmm now that i think about it, i think i whould claim to hear Tor's whispers about warfare!

and then i whould carefully start sharing what i know of geography. of the world.

[zorkuus]

Become the greatest doctor of the time!

And probably find out how to make penicillin...

And then pass it on. And of course make a prophecy concerning my own future birth!

If you're not a doctor now, chances are you're no good as a doctor back then either. And if you are a doctor already then you'll be missing all of your tools to take full advantage of your expertise.

I find it amusing that in threads like this people always think they'd be some genius when transported back in time. There's propably a hell lot of trivial everyday stuff that we take for granted but don't have a clue how to make them ourselves, not to mention actual groundbreaking innovations.

[anveena]

If it works that way, technologically advance the natives as much as possible and just laugh constantly at the thought of how different it will be when the colonists/conquerors finally arrive.

That wouldn't do much because the vast majority of them will still die off from diseases brought over from Europe.

[Felicia]

I would die very soon, I have diabetes type 1 and really need insulin...

You and I both. I don't think I'd last three weeks before I melted Unless strenuous exercise, and kept a low carb diet, maybe? BUT all that protein and lack of carbs would backfire. Since the liver would just turn it into glucose... thank God for modern medicine.

[breadisfunny]

use my seizures to make them think i was the next messiah or some kind of prophet or shaman or something. either that or try and steer rome towards a better direction that would ensure it would last forever.

[masterdisaster]

That wouldn't do much because the vast majority of them will still die off from diseases brought over from Europe.

yea... I didn't really wanna think of it that way just because even my appearance would probably kill many and make me a sad panda. Not sure how helpful it would be but I would try to limit my contamination of them as well as increase their understanding of disease so that they are better suited for those brought over by Europe.

[Grummgug]

Where do I get transported back to, exactly? I live in California, so if I get transported back to 0 AD in California, I'm exclusively dealing with Native Americans. I'm basically getting thrown back to pre-civilization. the people of California did not have writing, horses, the wheel, or anything pretty much. I'm being put into a "Dances With Wolves" scenario. Maybe I get lucky and meet a group of more domestic and kind tribe like the Lakota who take me in. Or maybe I meet another group like the Pawnee who just kill and scalp me.

Its certain I need to make alliances quickly because on my own I'm just a big target.

Let's assume a Lakota-type tribe take me in. I'm going to have to fall in with their "intellectual" camp, whatever that is. I can make up a story, like I fell overboard and was lost at sea and washed up here, and that I'm from a tribe of high tech people. I could show them wheel, which would probably be a wondrous device to them and immediately give me credibility. It would also change history.

To build a simple motor I need copper wire and magnets. Some tribe do have copper but magnets probably not.

Farming techniques I may be able to help on. With the wheel, I could invent the wheelbarrow and plow. There are no large beasts of burden to drag the plow though. I could build a stagecoach, but again no beasts of burden to pull it.

I could invent writing, but it would probably have to go on cave walls because there is no paper. I could write on animal hides then. I could invent the printing press. Maybe shaping rocks into the form of letters and dipping them into blood or some kind of plant juices to leave imprints.

As far as health, I can try to teach them about cleaning and dressing wounds, the dangers of infection.

I dunno if I can make a kiln to fire metals. If I can make a kiln, maybe I can start making glass using sand from the beach, brine, and limestone. Once I make glass, I may be able to build things like a telescope, microscope, and use curved glass to start fire.

---------- Post added 2013-03-23 at 12:13 PM ----------

Wow. that sounds like the perfect plot for an anime.

OT: I would be in the virginia area over 1000 years before its even colonized. I would work with the imo more tolerant and accepting to change indians to get humans to the moon by the year 1200. We would be a class 2 civilization by now.

Tolerant and more accepting to change? Native americans were not raised to believe in western values. There is plenty of evidence they performed human sacfirice, cannibalism, and fought endless wars between tribes. They were tolerant of European explorers because they viewed them as so highly advanced they were considered gods, or they were afraid of guns.

[Catta]

If you're not a doctor now, chances are you're no good as a doctor back then either. And if you are a doctor already then you'll be missing all of your tools to take full advantage of your expertise.

I find it amusing that in threads like this people always think they'd be some genius when transported back in time. There's propably a hell lot of trivial everyday stuff that we take for granted but don't have a clue how to make them ourselves, not to mention actual groundbreaking innovations.

I know medical history and they were bloody terrible. Things like just knowing where a disease stems from would help immensely.

Things like washing hands, disinfecting wounds etc etc.

[Deleted]

So you wouldn't kill one person to save the death and persecution of millions? Just because it's a child?

Contrary to an opinion popular on the Internet, Jesus wasn't the sole reason for all deaths that happened after him. He probably wasn't a reason of them at all.

That reminds me of that retarded picture that keeps popping up. You know the one, Progress -> Christianity -> Dark Ages. Yeah, like Roman Empire wouldn't have fallen without Christianity. Because it was Jesus who got Huns moving towards Europe, right? Because it was the guy himself who told medieval christians to kill or convert everyone who isn't them.

Even if you're an atheist, it's generally a good idea to at least know who you're opposing. Check out Jesus's teachings just for that reason. Spoiler alert: most of his words are actually pretty decent. I'm convinced he was a good person overall, even if many of his later followers weren't.

Killing Hitler as a baby might be a consideration, as his part in genocide was deliberate and explicit. Jesus was just a slightly crazy guy who believed he can make the world better.

[poser765]

I know medical history and they were bloody terrible. Things like just knowing where a disease stems from would help immensely.

Things like washing hands, disinfecting wounds etc etc.

I think a layman could do a lot and seriously change the way people lived by introducing the concept of medical cleanliness and community hygiene.

[Nish77]

At first I thought I'd use knowledge to make my situation cleanly within whatever place I was due to it generally not being cleanly but then I figured I'd probably get sick from all of the different things floating around that I hadn't ever encountered anyways.

Clean water though. Gotta find that.

[Grummgug]

So you wouldn't kill one person to save the death and persecution of millions? Just because it's a child?

If you even paid the slightest bit of attention to human history, you see its all about invading and conquering armies sweeping across the land. One group rises up and conquers most of the middle east, then some years later, another group rises up and conquers it all back again, you got the same thing going on in the far east. All of this is well-recorded history and taking place hundreds and even thousands of years before Jesus even existed. Every group from Persians to Egyptians to Huns to Mongols to the Han Dynasty and so many more.

So you think that killing Jesus would prevent all of this, even when it occurred thousands of years before he existed? Really?

The only country in modern times that was run by atheists was the Soviet Union. You know, the group that slaughtered millions of their own people in death camps in Siberia? Tell me how Jesus caused that.

[Deleted]

I would probably use the knowledge I have in order to advance mankind, maybe stop the Dark ages from happening. If I was sent back in time, I would firmly believe it was for a good reason. I could advance humanities knowledge on Anatomy, Medicine and Biology a hell of a lot, once they believed me on these subjects then maybe they would be open to more advanced knowledge. I Would NOT share my knowledge of weapons and how to make them though, not under any circumstances, Humans cannot be trusted not to abuse such great power.

You do not have any knowledge of weapons or how to make them. Do you honestly think you could build a gun? Do you even know how a gun works exactly? It's highly unlikely you have any knowledge of anatomy, medicine or biology that would be useful to people in the 1st century.

[Catta]

You do not have any knowledge of weapons or how to make them. Do you honestly think you could build a gun? Do you even know how a gun works exactly? It's highly unlikely you have any knowledge of anatomy, medicine or biology that would be useful to people in the 1st century.

1. He is in the army - You would think they get some sort of weapon knowledge there.
2. Even what the layman knows today would help. Things like washing hands, cauterizing wounds, blood types, sterilizing wounds and tools etc etc would help.

[Deleted]

Hmm, well seeing as I know fuck all about technology or anything useful that would advance mankind, I guess I would just try to fit in. Really hope I have no sickness' that's harmless for us today but would cause devastation to natives 2k years ago though.