Changing History

[naomi24]

Something someone on television said that got me thinking. If you could change one historical event, what would it be ?

[jim360]

Well, Mohammed if he was a warmonger wasn't the only one. Like anything else, who knows what the effect would have been had he never existed? Rather like it's not altogether clear that removing Hitler would have changed much.

I'd quite like to have seen various ancient libraries survive for far longer than they did. Undoubtedly the loss of Greek knowledge in particular held back development of the Sciences for many hundreds of years. Take your pick from any one of the incidents on these pages:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_destroyed_libraries

By the way, some -- most -- of these events are new to me, I was thinking initially of just the Library of Alexandria and the Chinese one, but all of those book-burnings in the Arab world caught me by surprise. (Well, four major library destructions in 500 years is perhaps not all that many really, but more than I'd thought.)

[naomi24]

Boxy, Hitler. Thinking about that, his influence is not restricted to WWII and the holocaust. His actions changed the world forever. Palestine is no longer Palestine, the continuing war continues, and the ripple effect of that is 9/11 etc, so there’s no doubt that this planet would have been better off without him.

[ichkeria]

That Mao had not lived. Probably the greatest killer in history (even extending to trying to wipe out a species of bird) and yet the consequences had he never ruled China are slightly easier to contemplate.

[mushroom25]

caution should be exercised if there was ever an opportunity to alter history, as unexpected unsolicited side effects are bound to be created.

as an example, I cite Stephen Fry's novel "Making History".

[ichkeria]

Yes the further back in history you go the less point there seems to be wishing it to have been different. However there are certain points where it is interesting to speculate had things happened differently.
For example as reflected by Roy Hattersley on the radio yesterday, had Jim Callaghan been less stubborn he'd have got the Ulster Unionist votes he needed to win the 1979 vote of no confidence - and that could certainly have changed things

[sandyRoe]

I wonder if individual acts not happening would have changed the course of history? Imagine the Sarajevo gunmen had missed the Duke. There probably would still have been a war because belligerant countries were looking for an excuse. If Hitler had died in that war there would have been someone else to lead a blustering Germany into another one.

[janbee]

OMG, the list is endless really, but I think I'd have to start with the idiot who invented The Birdie Dance !!! KILL....

[murraymints]

Or agadoo...push pineapple...hug a tree...

[jim360]

A lot of what went on in Palestine/ India/ the MIddle East etc., was the "fault" of the British occupiers (e.g. Balfour Agreement). Don't see how Hitler can be blamed for it really.

[naomi24]

sandyRoe, //If Hitler had died in that war there would have been someone else to lead a blustering Germany into another one. //

But would that someone else have had the same plan in mind as Hitler? We'll never know, so perhaps we'll stick to what actually happened rather than what might have happened.

Janbee, I'm with you on that one - although it does make me laugh! :o)

[atalanta]

I'd have saved the ancient Goddess-centred religions from being defeated by the male-god-centred religions.

[modeller]

The Balfour declaration. It set the scene for a century of strife and is still going on.

[modeller]

May I add the second one which in part followed on from the first.

The failure of the League of Nations to support Haile Selassie when Ethiopia was invaded by Mussolin's Italy in 1936. This gave the green light to Hitler and other dictators that the LON was toothless. This resulted in WWII.

[doctordb]

Waddle and Pearce would've slotted home from twelve yards.

[keyplus90]

Karen Armstrong wrote in her book “Muhammad” that majority of the people in Europe still believe in the fiction written during crusades in which writers did their best to show Muhammad is any bad way possible. And she continues that today even after knowing that these fiction characters were nothing more than mere cooked stories, people still are not willing to read and know about the life of a person who changed the history for the whole mankind.

I always knew that Naomi,s in particular (and many others) knowledge about Muhammad (pbuh) was based upon fiction written during those crusades. Today I have got confirmation. I know you don’t believe in hereafter but I do. I am sure God will give you a chance to explain your reasons to have the desire to change what you would have changed had you had a chance.

To answer your question, I would only say that who am I to change what has happened and what would happen as I know nothing more than anyone else do. Whatever has happened is beyond our reach so forget about it, think what you can do today so that you do not have to regret it tomorrow.

[Kromovaracun]

I would have prevented the library of Alexandria from being burned. I think there's a good chance that had our access to classical science and knowledge been more intact, then something similar to the early scientific enquiries of the Renaissance could have begun centuries earlier than they did, with obvious implications for today.

Carl Sagan discusses the issue here:

[Kromovaracun]

(didn't originally see Jim's post 'cause I was too lazy to read the thread... sorry.)

[jim360]

Not at all. Glad someone else had the same idea!

[sandyRoe]

"So perhaps we'll stick to what actually happened rather than what might have happened. "

If we do that what's the point of the original question?

[naomi24]

Keyplus, the best I can say for Karen Armstrong is that as an ex-nun and ever sympathetic towards religion, she is not the most discerning observer, but having said that may I suggest you read her book on Mohammed again?

As for //Whatever has happened is beyond our reach so forget about it//, we learn valuable lessons from the past – or perhaps not.