"History of the Future" - Poul Anderson
The editorial note on p. 28 quotes Poul Anderson as saying that the time chart:
"...is only a bare outline of a much more complex thing."
That is good to know. An sf author always has more background material than he can incorporate into his texts. In this case, this is indicated both by the stories "To be written..." and by the lists of "Events," "Sociology" and "Technology," which Anderson, imitating Heinlein, includes in the chart. There is more detail here than in the charts presented in the much later collected Psychotechnic History editions.
This information should provide material for another post or posts later today but right now I need to finish some coffee and get into town to our vibrant Market Square.
In the name of Cosmos, rendezvous.
10 comments:
The more I study history, the more I become convinced it's unlikely accidents bouncing off each other.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
I mostly agree, albeit I think it might be broadly possible to speculate on what might happen if B comes to pass instead of A. E.g., it was not inevitable that someone like Octavian would either exist or end up putting an end to the civil wars of the late Roman Republic and setting up the Principate. Assuming that, the mostly outcome was continued chaos and a welter of successor states soon falling prey to barbarian invasions.
Ad astra! Sean
The kinds of timelines that Anderson showed in THE SHIELD OF TIME.
Kaor, Paul!
One timeline shows the State dominating the Church, the other shows the Church dominating the State. Both of these extremes contradicting the will of Christ, who declared that both should be given what is rightly due to them separately.
Ad astra! Sean
Well, I think Poul thought that the creative tension between Church and State was a major force propelling Western Civ. towards its scientific and industrial revolutions. Plus the highly competitive situation between the various states into which it was divided.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
I agree, and I was thinking like a Catholic, recalling how one of the most policies pursued by the Papacy over the past two millennia was extricating itself and the Church from the clutches of whatever State was meddling with it.
Yes, it was precisely this strife between Church and State, which was a major factor in bringing about a true science/industry in the West. And the competitive struggles of hundreds of large and small states helped enormously--because only states adept at adapting would survive.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean: yup, if you didn't adapt, you got eaten. This was a major force in advancing military technique, for example.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
It was! And the fate of Poland in the 18th century was a dread example of what happened to countries which didn't adapt sufficiently to survive.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean: Yes, though that was the "veto" every member of the Polish assembly had. A recipe for catastrophe.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
It was! The mutual paralysis of both Crown and Sejm in Poland was a catastrophe for the Poles.
Ad astra! Sean
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