This week in class the idea came up about why it is difficult to understand the mindset of people from different time periods in the past. In modern society, we have different views and understandings of the world, so some thought processes from people in the past do not make much sense to us. We have a hard time figuring out why certain things were done because it seems very strange and unusual today.

In modern society, we have much more knowledge of science than people did hundreds of years ago. Through science we can understand chemistry and how all matter is made up of atoms. We have insight into the structure of cells and organisms. People can calculate the motion and trajectory of objects using physics. Information is being gathered about the Earth and space to help people get a bigger picture of the Universe. We take this information for granted in our society today. Even if we do not know something for ourselves, the Internet enables us to quickly type something in the search bar and get millions of results in less than a second. People long ago did not have the knowledge or technology that we have today that allows us to be able to have a much more scientific approach to our view of the world.

An example of this is eclipses, particularly solar eclipses. People who did not have the information about the solar system that we have now would have been very concerned by solar eclipses. They could have been just minding their own business when suddenly the sun got blocked out and everything got quiet. When we hear that they thought the world was going to end, we think of it as an absurd idea. But back then, with little to no knowledge of space or the relationships between the Sun and the Moon, people may not have come up with a more reasonable conclusion. Now when we have eclipses, people get excited. They buy special eclipse glasses and travel into the path of totality to see it. The eclipse gets put on TV for people to see who aren’t in the path of totality. Scientists are glad for the opportunity to study parts of the Sun that are only visible during solar eclipses, and lasting memories are made of the times when the Moon blocks the Sun.

Also, people’s social views have changed over time, and some topics are becoming more acceptable to talk about than they have been in the past. In general, I think the world is becoming more open-minded to things that have been rejected in the past. This may be because people are becoming more aware of the imperfections in the world or just because newer generations are more willing to bring them up in discussions. An example of this is what is considered a typical family unit. Before, the traditional family was a husband, wife, and children. Now family units may be blended or have extended family members.

In conclusion, people’s modern outlooks on the world are very different from those of people from hundreds of years ago. We are unable to relate to the lack of information about many topics that we consider basic knowledge today. Our knowledge has expanded greatly, and compared to people in the past, we are able to have a much more logical approach to situations that may seem confusing at first.