Spyderco Forums

In online comments, especially on YouTube, it’s common for people to say (for example): “I miss the ‘70s (or the ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘80s, ‘90s, you name it). If I had a time machine, I’d go back to then and never come back.”

I’ve also read lots of comments, such as: “I’m only 17 years old, but I love the music of the ‘60s. I was born in the wrong era. I wish I could go back and live in that time period, when the world was innocent.”

Innocent? Really?

Or: “I don’t belong in these times. I really belong in the days of the Old West. Being an American pioneer and living off the land with nobody telling me what to do. Man, that’s my kinda life!”

But if there really were a time machine, would you go back?

For example, I loved growing up in the ‘70s; I loved the music (still do), I loved many things. But I wouldn’t go back. Nostalgia can create a feeling of homesickness for happier times, but it also tends to gloss over the challenges that came with those times. I’ve grown, matured and evolved as a person, and am still evolving. Going back to my life then would literally mean a regression, like having to go back to elementary, junior high and high school all over again. The great times I had back then belong back then. And if I went back in time as the person I am now, my feelings and experiences would be completely different to what they were.

The world was quite different only 20 years ago. It was way different 30 or 40 years ago. If a teen or young adult today were to be dropped off in the ‘70s, it would seem like an alien world. That’s less than 50 years ago. Many of the things that people take for granted today, that we can discuss freely and get help or advice on, could not even be discussed back then. You couldn’t just do a Google search, or order something online, or stream videos, etc., or a million other things.

I’m guessing that for most people who say they would go back in a heartbeat, it’s really just a figure of speech. If really given the opportunity to go back in a time machine, either to regress back to the young persons they were, or to go back in time as the adults they are now, but for the first 10 minutes after drop off they had an option of returning to the present, I’m betting that most would be asking to come back within the 10-minute allotment. That goes triple for anyone who romanticizes about living in the Wild West, Victorian England, Medieval Europe, or etc.

As challenging as these current times are, for me personally, I’d have to say a hard no to going back in time.

Of course, these are only my opinions.

Would YOU go back, and why?

Jim

I had better hair in the 80's. I was 40 years younger. But I was rough around the edges. Even though I was 20 in 80, I was not really grown up. Had too sheltered of a life. Did not grow up with the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights, or Bible and Commandments drilled in to me at the time.

I'm glad that I survived it, and NO, I do not want to go back. Too many problems.

Things are not perfect now, but what am I going to do. I just have to plod along and see what I can accomplish.

Maybe. If I did, I would go back just far enough that the World Wide Web & Social Media do not exist! The Internet would be fine as it was mostly being used for actual productive work at that time.

I'd say YES! I was born in 1983, so I was really a "90's" kid/teen. Great time to grow up! We had some of the original video game systems (Nintendo, SNES, Sega, N64) But...we also still loved to play outside most of the day and really only play video games in the evening. As a teen, I got my first cell phone when I was in 11th grade...there was no such thing as the internet or texting on your phone! Only using it for phone calls. I like that we were on the fringe of the tech boom. My generation grew up with technology, but a lot of it in its infancy.

I also think we were the last generation, including our parents watching over us...as the last generation that didn't have to worry about EVERYTHING! We were able to ride our bikes places, not have to check in constantly and worry about all the dangers that their are today (though I know they were there then, just not in the media like they are these days, causing mass panic)

I could likely go on and on here, but those are the things that first came to my mind thinking about being a 90's kid.

I absolutely would, the main question is.....would / could you go back knowing then what you know now?

I was born in 1965, the seventies were awesome, I was blissfully ignorant to the world around me, my life was family, school, baseball, and working on cars with my dad.....every night, and working hard! And heck yeah, I'd do it all over again!

I was born in late '71, so the '80's were really special
Especially the early '80's
Would I go back in time if I could?
As long as I could come back to my present life with my wife and daughter, I wouldn't mind to travel back there. Riding in the back of pickup trucks, drinking from the water hose, playing outside from morning to up into the night even sometimes, countless baseball, football and basketball games lol, yeah it would be fun to be young again,

I was born in 1978. The 80’s and 90’s were simpler times and the world each of us lived in was a smaller place. We all lived in our own little bubbles.

I like to think that I would prefer living on the frontier but I learned from Oregon Trail that I probably would have died of dysentery.

Truth is I was probably born about 50 years too late. I would have liked being a part of my grandfathers generation. I would still have had the benefit of modern medicine but I also would have avoided most of the modern technology that I have no interest in. I would have been able to enjoy a time when the hunting and fishing were better, the cars were better and American values were better. I am a simple man and I think I would have enjoyed a simpler time.

Definitely not.

Human welfare continues to advance every year. The world today is better off than at any previous point in history.

The average American today is far, far better off than even the wealthiest people in the world 200 years ago.

All sorts of old occupations and lifestyles would be entertaining or interesting - for a short while and with the option to quit.

In my 54 years I haven’t been without shoes, conscripted to fight in a war, been bombed, gone hungry, lost my home, brave the Horn in a steam driven rust bucket or clipper, or had to dig coal, unlike various of my forebears. I’m far better off where I am.

Many years ago, I read a book ("Rewind" by Ken Grimwood) that explores some of these ideas:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replay_%2 ... d_novel%29

The novel tells of a 43-year-old man who dies and wakes up back in 1963 in his 18-year-old body. He relives his life with all his memories of the previous 25 years intact. This happens repeatedly, with the man playing out his life differently in each cycle.

I have a lot of interest in the interwar period (1918-1939). I like a lot of things from that time period: Music, art, movies, literature, cars/motorcycles, industrial design, architecture, even the clothing styles.

But I still wouldn't want to go back and live during that time. The bad outweighs the good: Discrimination was legal and rampant. There were diseases (polio, smallpox, etc.) killing people that have since been eradicated. There was political upheavals (prohibition, the Great Depression, the rise of communism in Russia, the rise of fascism in Europe).

And it's easy to enjoy the good parts today: I can (and at one time did) live in a 1920s bungalow. I can still listen to 1920s jazz, read "The Great Gatsby" (1925), watch "Animal Crackers" (1930), even drive a 1920s car if I want to. And I can do all that and still get 21st century cancer care if I need it.

Thanks to everyone for all the different viewpoints.

I guess I should mention that I was born in 1963. I was a little over 6 months old when JFK was assassinated.

Some of the cons of going back (to live, permanently) have been mentioned above. I’ll add that as recently as the 1950s (and probably even after that), some people were confined to asylums for having autism, or having depression, or even for being unwed mothers(!), etc. Outrageous reasons by today’s standards.

As rangefinder mentioned, discrimination was legal. This lasted into the early 1960s. I myself, being considered a “person of color,” am well aware of that, more so now than I could have been back then. Luckily, our family was treated very well, and like everyone else in our neighborhood, but other people in other places maybe weren’t so lucky.

I would never trade my childhood for anybody’s. We had some wonderful times. But I wouldn’t go back. I still feel that my best years are ahead.

BTW, for anyone who hasn’t read it, the Stephen King novel 11/22/63 is about a modern man who is shown a way to go back in time (IIRC, to the late 1950s) to establish a life up until the time he can try to change history by stopping the JFK assassination in 1963. I won’t give away any more than that. It’s quite an interesting story. I read it a few years back.

Jim

@JamesY you brought something up that a lot of minorities bring up. I suppose it's a dangerous topic but I've met many minorities that are racist to whites. I lived in Chicago and the surrounding neighborhoods for the first 26 years of my life.

It's a two way street, at least, I've noticed it since 1970. I don't care to discuss it any further, but in 2021, with racism everywhere and fingers able to be pointed at almost everyone, I find it ironic that some are unwilling to see it in their own community.

Time travel into the past would be fascinating as long as you could return to your present time.

I only go back to 1992, so I haven't developed much nostalgia for the good old days, yet.

The Meat man wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 28, 2021 4:20 pm

I only go back to 1992, so I haven't developed much nostalgia for the good old days, yet.

It won’t feel long before you do! The older you get, the faster time seems seems to fly by.

Jim

James Y wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 28, 2021 5:36 pm

The Meat man wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 28, 2021 4:20 pm

I only go back to 1992, so I haven't developed much nostalgia for the good old days, yet.

It won’t feel long before you do! The older you get, the faster time seems seems to fly by.

Jim

Lol, that's absolutely true!

MacLaren wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 28, 2021 6:52 pm

James Y wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 28, 2021 5:36 pm

The Meat man wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 28, 2021 4:20 pm

I only go back to 1992, so I haven't developed much nostalgia for the good old days, yet.

It won’t feel long before you do! The older you get, the faster time seems seems to fly by.

Jim

Lol, that's absolutely true!

My 20 year high school reunion is this year!! (if it happens) That still blows my mind. I can't fathom I've been out of school that long already :eek:

TkoK83Spy wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 28, 2021 6:54 pm

MacLaren wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 28, 2021 6:52 pm

James Y wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 28, 2021 5:36 pm

The Meat man wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 28, 2021 4:20 pm

I only go back to 1992, so I haven't developed much nostalgia for the good old days, yet.

It won’t feel long before you do! The older you get, the faster time seems seems to fly by.

Jim

Lol, that's absolutely true!

My 20 year high school reunion is this year!! (if it happens) That still blows my mind. I can't fathom I've been out of school that long already :eek:

Hehehe......just wait till that 30 year rolls around.
Seriously man, huge difference.
But, I hear ya. I felt the same way at my 20yr anniversary
It's awfully good to have those too. Ya get to see everyone and talk about all the happy times.

MacLaren wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 28, 2021 6:57 pm

TkoK83Spy wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 28, 2021 6:54 pm

MacLaren wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 28, 2021 6:52 pm

James Y wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 28, 2021 5:36 pm

It won’t feel long before you do! The older you get, the faster time seems seems to fly by.

Jim

Lol, that's absolutely true!

My 20 year high school reunion is this year!! (if it happens) That still blows my mind. I can't fathom I've been out of school that long already :eek:

Hehehe......just wait till that 30 year rolls around.
Seriously man, huge difference.
But, I hear ya. I felt the same way at my 20yr anniversary
It's awfully good to have those too. Ya get to see everyone and talk about all the happy times.

My senior year of high school does NOT seem long ago at all. This year will be my 40th year reunion(!). The only reunion I attended was the 20-year reunion in 2001. It was fun, but strange how some people looked almost unrecognizable. People were remarking how I looked “exactly the same.” And that was 20 years ago...sure doesn’t feel like it! Where did all those years go?? :confused:

Jim

James Y wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 28, 2021 7:09 pm

MacLaren wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 28, 2021 6:57 pm

TkoK83Spy wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 28, 2021 6:54 pm

MacLaren wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 28, 2021 6:52 pm

Lol, that's absolutely true!

My 20 year high school reunion is this year!! (if it happens) That still blows my mind. I can't fathom I've been out of school that long already :eek:

Hehehe......just wait till that 30 year rolls around.
Seriously man, huge difference.
But, I hear ya. I felt the same way at my 20yr anniversary
It's awfully good to have those too. Ya get to see everyone and talk about all the happy times.

My senior year of high school does NOT seem long ago at all. This year will be my 40th year reunion(!). The only reunion I attended was the 20-year reunion in 2001. It was fun, but strange how some people looked almost unrecognizable. People were remarking how I looked “exactly the same.” And that was 20 years ago...sure doesn’t feel like it! Where did all those years go?? :confused:

Jim

Lol, mine feels like a helluva long time ago.
It's funny - just like you say, some people you don't even recognize!

I am a 90's kid era and I really miss those years. It is a lot more different now. But if ever given a chance, I wanted to explore the 70's :D