Could You Cope / How would You Cope ? , If .............. ?...?

Question

Could you cope, or, how would you cope today, if Technology was back to the level as the 2nd World War, (1930's) ?...

do you think you could adapt that kind of technology from that time ?...

How do you think you could handle living life today, with WWII technology ?...

Answer 1

i dont think i would be able to. actually maybe....

but i dont think id know what to do other then read.

Answer 2

i dont think i would be able to cope.

all countries that are developed highly in technology would not be able to cope..

everything has changed since then, the way we communicate, travel.. even what we eat and how we eat it.

Answer 3

Since I was born in 1941 and raised (first on a farm and then in a small town) by people of the 1920s and 1930s using the very technology level you have described, for me, there is no problem.

In fact this is an interesting question because such a possibility has been discussed by my friends (all about my age) and I.  None of us can visualize much problem for any of us doing exactly what you suggest.  However, we have our doubts  whether those significantly younger could make such a transition.  

On our farm we did have electricity but I still remember when the first telephone line was installed.  We had no running water and the heat and cooking were initially generated by wood.  Rarely did we go to the store for things, nearly all of our food was raised on the farm, we did our own butchering, canning, and storing of al sorts of food.  Although we did have a tractor, we also used horses on the farm.  

We did have a radio (there was no television yet) but it was used mostly for news and weather.  As the years passed we 'watched' the radio entertainment programs in the early evenings.  

In the small town things were similar to a large degree in that we (and our neighbors) had large gardens and purchased our meats in large amounts.  That is, such as a side of beef and kept it in the local locker plant and cut from it what we required when we needed it.  Meals were cooked from scratch without prepared foods such as are bought in the store today.  

Although it may seem like a very long time ago, it really isn't so deep in the past and with relatively few events we could be back to similar resources quite easily.  The big difference now is that when the depression hit during the 1920s and when rationing was instituted during World War II, 80 percent of the population either lived in a rural environment or was only one step removed from a rural environment with close relatives on the farm.  They could return to that environment very easily.

Today more than 80% of the population is entirely urban with no contact with the rural environment.  More over, most people today cannot even do simple things that are required to live in an environment in which things are not brought to them.  For example, living in a rural environment things would often have to  move without any power equipment and ropes would have to be used.  Would you know the correct types of knots to use and how to string the rope to use the least amount of human power?  What if you wanted to raise your own meat and picked sheep, have you ever docked tails after lambing, or know that they bloat if they get into the wrong feed?  Or maybe you thought to raise goats, did you know they have to be milked?  Maybe chickens, because they are so easy to raise.  Have you ever though about killing them and then cleaning them?  

Those who grew up in such environments know how to do these things and ever so many more that have to be done.

Thankfully there still exist the youth of 4H and the FFA.

Answer 4

i'm really not sure it would be possible. i mean, these days half the jobs in the US are for technology. with the world's economy, bookkeeping would be almost impossible.  i think i as a person could cope without my tv and mp3 player and such because i like to read books and sing. it would, however, be a total loss. :\. idk.

i hope this "helps".

:D

Answer 5

Personally, it wouldn't be a problem.The only things I would really miss would be t.v. and air-conditioning.

I could get used to no air-conditioning again, since I grew up in the 60's and didn't have home air-conditioning until the 80's.

When I grew up there were only four t.v. stations. CBS, ABC,NBC, and the public broadcasting station, PBS. You had to watch what your parents were watching, because most people only had one t.v., so we didn't watch that much t.v. then. Believe me, you would find alternate things to do.

Radios and phonographs would be the main entertainment. They were also used for good family value time together. That's one thing new technology has disrupted and we see the effects of it every day on the evening news.

It wouldn't be as bad as you think.

Answer 6

well i think that would be a pretty dramatic change, it doesn't seem possible. But if it only affected me i would be even more bored than i already am!

Answer 7

Sure! Technology in the *1940s* (WW2 was from 1941-1945, not the 1930s) really wasn't hugely different from what it is today. They had electricity, cars, dishwashers, lawnmowers, washing machines, indoor plumbing--all the modern conveniences of today. They were less high tech, but they were there.

I think I'd actually rather like that, come to it. I'm only twenty-eight, but I still see a big decline in the amount and quality of how people interact with each other between now and when I was little. Without video games, people played outside and came up with their own games. Without the Internet or cell phones, people actually talked to others around them and went out to events to meet people. Things might be a little less easy and convenient without computers to ease things along, but it's a trade I'd be willing to make. Sign me up for some of that, please.

Now, the opportunities for women and people of color, and the ideas about sexual orientation and mental health issues in the 1940s, *those* I'll pass on.

Answer 8

Human beings are extremely adaptable, so we would cope. However, if you mean technology stayed at WWII levels (as opposed to regressing to WWII levels), then it would just be the status quo. We wouldn't have to adapt. It would just be the way we live. We wouldn't be worried about identity theft, cyber crimes, etc. If all aspects of life stayed at WWII level, crime rates would be lower. One negative (and there are more than one) would be the absence of much medical technology that saves many lives.

Answer 9

It would indeed be difficult for modern man to adapt to life with technology that was 60 years old,but not impossible.

Kids would be lost without T.V.'s cell phones,MP3 players and the general modern tools of communication,these would be sorely missed.

But consider that those who lived back then were not unlike we are,as they too were enjoying cutting edge technological advances of their time the same as we are.You can't miss what you've never had!

Answer 10

Really, what choice would I have? If that was the situation, I could adjust to it. Life would be more difficult but  isn't life what you make of it. It can be easy or hard, it's up to the individual.

True, life would be more difficult but talk to anyone who lived during WW II and you'll find that there were parties, dances, etc. It's not like because  of the technological advances we take advantage of today, life came to a stop. They coped and so would we.

I think MLE had one of the best answers. She summed up everthing I was trying to.