But What if We’re Wrong? Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past

Think for a second about how stupid people in ancient Greece were.

Aristotle thought that the Earth was the center of the universe. As such, rocks fell to Earth when dropped because they were trying to get back to their natural place, the center of the universe. This is how Aristotle understood gravity, and since he was the smartest guy in the world at the time, everyone thought it sounded pretty good.

But we know it’s stupid. We know about gravity now. You and I may not understand all the specifics, but we get the gist.

It’s the truth, right? And we’re sure of it. But so was Aristotle until Newton came along.

So what about when the next Newton comes around? What if we don’t really understand gravity?

This is just one subject taken up by Chuck Klosterman in this book. How will we be viewed in the future? What things that we know will be stupid in the future?

Also, who will be remembered as defining figures in music in literature and why? Will Elvis or Dylan be remembered as the standard for all rock music. You can see how that would make a difference in how future people view rock music.

And more than anything, it comes down to what future people find important, not what we find important. They’re going to like things from our time that strike a chord with what they find important. This is why some of the greatest artists died poor and unknown, only to explode onto the scene years later. They were just ahead of their time.

But we know it’s stupid. We know about gravity now. You and I may not understand all the specifics, but we get the gist.

So how to we know who those people will be?

Chuck has some ideas, but like he says in the opening sentence, “I’ve spent most of my life being wrong.”

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