Aliens are here to destroy Earth 
But first, we’re allowed to send a 1-page letter back in time to some historical figure, which will then create a new timeline + trajectory for our species.
For maximum positive impact, who should we contact and what should we tell them?
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This answer is so on point
After reading @Meaningness’s critical take on the notion of “the scientific method” (https://meaningness.com/metablog/upgrade-your-cargo-cult …), I’d be curious to hear what he would say to Archimedes (if anything) re science.
I think it’s fair to assume Archimedes had the scientific attitude and knew how to discover new truths. And yet I imagine he didn’t have crisp ideas around what we now consider the Scientific Method. Would he benefit from some of those ideas? Would he be able to transmit them?
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Scientific method cannot really function without the requisite sociopolitical structures. Science requires participation of a large number of groups separated by space and time equipped with freedom of speech and writing. Archimedes "knowing" SM wouldn't have changed much.
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That’s my feeling as well, but I have pretty low confidence / would love to hear other opinions.
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Did you know that Archimedes was apparently the head of a kind of crazy cult. According to Kane, think Mansons--but they did good math too. They once killed someone because they found edge case in their math
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I thought that was Pythagoras. The Pythagoreans killed a guy for proving that sqrt(2) is irrational. Though I'm sure there were tons of cults back then.
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I’ve seen you reference this essay more than once and now I have to read it.
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
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I think you'd need to have similar economic systems as well. However, capitalism probably wouldn't work well in Ancient Greece, as it depends a lot on the idea that the future will be better, while most ancient cultures thought the world was deteriorating.
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If you're suggesting economic policies, you might as well talk about consequences of them, including environmental concerns. It's not clear that people understood that extinction was a problem, though maybe they understood it after they overfarmed silphium.
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