Real world possibilities for schizo-tech.

[Richard Osborne]

So I was interested in why alternate tech pathways are rarely used in alternate history. LTTW and "A martian stranded on earth" are prominent examples of alternate technologies used in alt-hist. Some things I was interested in were wired music, eugenic breeding of animals for task (purposely domesticating animals), stenographs, pedal powered vehicles, and more interest in undersea colonization.

 

[The Tai-Pan]

Because it is hard to do. @Thande is a very gifted author, he makes it look easy .

 

[Valdemar Daae]

I've always been fascinated by the possibilities for biotech in earlier decades, but maybe that's me. It's assimilated so much into modern sciences by now it'd be fascinating to see it during the Cold War or in a basic form pre-biochemistry.

Another piece of technology that has interesting applications is graphene filtration, and how from what I've heard it might be the next phosphene-fertilizer-esque invention for opening up and eliminating strain on water resource usage.

 

[Thanksforallthefish]

The basic principles of heredity, ecology, evolution, are easily available for any society willing to use basic observation.

Photography, optics and filming are also remarkably low-tech and could be discovered by enterprising alchemists.

 

[NiGHTS]

There are plenty of real life examples according to TV Tropes.

 

[Analytical Engine]

The problem with schizo tech is that there are so many technologies that are contingent on other technologies.

You can't do advanced biotech* without electronic computers to sequence DNA quickly, for instance.


*or at least reliably and consistently

 

[oshron]

there are plenty of other interesting possibilities based on other advancements instead, though. a few that i'm incorporating into my ASB ATL are the rediscovery of Greek fire, which results in flamethrowers seeing using during numerous wars from the 18th century onwards, (particularly in American theaters) the earlier discovery of photography which, i was informed when i was first looking into this, would actually mean that smokeless gunpowder would be developed sooner, and the Antikythera mechanism never becoming a lost technology which ultimately causes clocks to develop much earlier than IOTL and wristwatches are a thing by the colonial period because of that. you really just need to look into early examples of "modern" technology and extrapolate them for if they were more prolific: baghdad batteries and leyden jars, the Iron Hand of Gotz von Berlichingen, the CSS Hunley, the Mondragon rifle, and just about everything invented by Tesla and da Vinci, for example (there was also an Islamic inventor who pre-dated da Vinci and was similarly brilliant, but i unfortunately can't remember his name--if memory serves he created a robotic band that could play music)

if anyone wants to use TV Tropes for further resources on this, then i recommend looking into the Older Than They Think page and the various articles on the -punk subgenres (steampunk, cyberpunk, dieselpunk, etc.)--honestly, just looking into various tropes and seeing how they can apply to real-life is a big part of how i come up with new ideas for my own writing projects

 

[Thanksforallthefish]

The problem with schizo tech is that there are so many technologies that are contingent on other technologies.

You can't do advanced biotech* without electronic computers to sequence DNA quickly, for instance.


*or at least reliably and consistently

Not quickly, or reliably, true, but genome mapping is entirely possible with the application of basic mendelian laws. Scientists were able to map the chromosomes of fruit flies just by using statistical analysis and breeding. Now, breeding flies is different than breeding crops or or cattle, but similar techniques could (and have) been used to produce genetic maps comparable to those of computers. The discovery of the more fine genetic machinery, including DNA itself, would take until the 20th century, but heredity is easy enough.

Once you have microscopes to observe cell cycles, mathematical tools to do the calculations, laboratory protocols, and good model organisms (there was a reason why Mendel choose pea plants and Morgan fruit flies: they have conspicous genetic traits and are easy to breed), you're halfway to discovering heredity and genetics. It could have been potentially discovered soon after the microscope.

True genetic engineering, however, would probably need computation, that's true. The understanding of DNA structure requires more advanced techniques. But once you have good enough microscopes, you can start to deduce the basics.

As for evolution, there were many people in antiquity and the middle ages who had similar thoughts. However, IMHO, you need to have a society that has determined an old age for the Earth, and has become interested in paleontology and natural sciences. From there, the dots connect themselves. I actually think that non-European societies might have even an easier time on accepting an old Earth and the kinship of humans with other forms of life.

Ecology has always existed as a natural science, as long as people have observed nature ('Natural History'). A rational, predictive and scientific understanding of nature depends on mathematical and statistical tools to predict population behavior and resource usage. Not outside the realm of any society with advanced enough mathematics.