archer Posted September 23, 2021 Report Share Posted September 23, 2021 Most people assume they live in a kind of stasis, whether they do or not. They have vague ideas that some places are older or younger than the place that they live. Or that some places are much more wealthy or much poorer. But they assume that people live much the same way as they themselves do. I remember back in high school that an illegal immigrant from Mexico was discovered half-starved locked up in the back of a trailer of an 18 wheeler. The police took custody of him but none of them could speak any Spanish and the guy couldn't speak any English. But on the trip from the freight yard through the more squalid parts of the tiny town to the courthouse (which was built in the 1930's and looked more ancient and run down than that), the guy kept saying dahleeze over and over. The police eventually had to resort to sending for the high school Spanish teacher because no one knew anyone who could speak Spanish. So the teacher eventually showed up and talked to the guy. He was under the impression that because the "vast city" he was driven through on the way to the police station was so magnificent, that he must be in Dallas. He knew that vast wealthy cities existed because he'd been told about them. But he lacked whatever it was that it'd take for him to grasp the scale of difference between a town of a few thousand people with paved streets, modest homes, and electricity vs a metropolis with a million people and (comparatively) unlimited wealth. Because apparently, he'd had no experience with either a tiny modest middle-America town or a thriving metropolis. . . . If you take away TV, public education, and yearly releases of new versions of the I-Phone, why would anyone assume that they were living in anything but an eternal stasis, whether it was true or not? People don't automatically know stuff. Most people aren't motivated to find out stuff even when the knowledge is easily available. People see and people accept what they personally see. What they don't personally see might as well not exist and certainly isn't very important. You could have vast upheavals in social systems in most eras and within 30-50 years, most people would accept things as they are and not think about things as they used to be or about how things might be.... Lord Liaden, Lawnmower Boy, Spence and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spence Posted September 24, 2021 Report Share Posted September 24, 2021 On 9/22/2021 at 7:10 PM, archer said: People don't automatically know stuff. Most people aren't motivated to find out stuff even when the knowledge is easily available. People see and people accept what they personally see. What they don't personally see might as well not exist and certainly isn't very important. 😁 Makes me think of a CoC game I ran a while ago. It was actually effort to explain why "Research" was a skill and why finding clues in old newspapers and records at the library and city hall took them a few days. "No, they didn't have wiki in 1928." Christopher R Taylor 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.