Cultural Consequences of Rapid Technological Uplift

[Sindri]

What kind of cultural effects would you predict of a society being rapidly brought from low to ultra-tech? Specifically TL 4 to TL 10.

How would such a society differ from naturally evolving societies of similar technological level?

[jason taylor]

Going by comparable shifts in history, a disproportionate amount would go to the perks of power at first, like luxuries and military spending. Military technology usually gets taken more eagerly for the survival consequences of being behind in that are obvious. Whereas other aspects might pay more attention to cultural difficulties.

[ericthered]

An uneven spread of technologies. They might end up with Lots of infrastructure and not much to use it with. Housing may still look TL4 even though they have TL 10 gagdets.

Socially you may have a literacy problem. the ability to read and write is not terribly widespread in TL4 (its not as atrocious as whats under it though). Fixing this will need to be a major part of your uplift. In the short term, pictographic instructions on items will be incredibly wide spread. Either that or only the literate can use the newest stuff.

[Sunrunners_Fire]

Originally Posted by Sindri

What kind of cultural effects would you predict of a society being rapidly brought from low to ultra-tech? Specifically TL 4 to TL 10.

How would such a society differ from naturally evolving societies of similar technological level?

So, a TL10 culture finds a TL4 culture and goes, "You can play with our toys"? I imagine it'd be some combination of the Three Fs. The uplifted culture tries to kill the TL10 culture (Fight), the uplifted culture tries to kill itself (Flight) or the uplifted culture tries to merge into the TL10 culture (****).

Assuming the TL4 culture is composed of humans, that is.

[Flyndaran]

Advanced culture "eats" the less advanced one with remnants of the old one handing on in tradition and oldsters getting overly nostalgic about the "good old times".

Look at what's left of Native American and Australian Aborigine cultures. Even without racism and violence, the end result would still be the same just over maybe a longer period.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

Advanced culture "eats" the less advanced one with remnants of the old one handing on in tradition and oldsters getting overly nostalgic about the "good old times".

Look at what's left of Native American and Australian Aborigine cultures. Even without racism and violence, the end result would still be the same just over maybe a longer period.

This of course assumes that the two cultures are mingling rather than one doing something like telling just a few people how to make the tech

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by ericthered

This of course assumes that the two cultures are mingling rather than one doing something like telling just a few people how to make the tech

There is simply no way to keep that kind of thing secret... especially when going up 6 TLs.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

There is simply no way to keep that kind of thing secret... especially when going up 6 TLs.

Not the event... the culture. Rather than thinking about societies where the higher tech culture moved in and OUTNUMBERED the natives, think about one where you are giving them technology without moving in.

The example is much meeker, but the modernization of Arab countries is closer. Yeah, you are only jumping a few tech levels, but they didn't do the inventing and they aren't being swarmed with the other people.

[Sindri]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

Going by comparable shifts in history, a disproportionate amount would go to the perks of power at first, like luxuries and military spending. Military technology usually gets taken more eagerly for the survival consequences of being behind in that are obvious. Whereas other aspects might pay more attention to cultural difficulties.

Yep. The parable of the tribes will mean that societies that focus less on military technology will have difficulty competing with those who focus more on military technology. Of course they might not be helped out as much in military technology.

Originally Posted by ericthered

An uneven spread of technologies. They might end up with Lots of infrastructure and not much to use it with. Housing may still look TL4 even though they have TL 10 gagdets.

Socially you may have a literacy problem. the ability to read and write is not terribly widespread in TL4 (its not as atrocious as whats under it though). Fixing this will need to be a major part of your uplift. In the short term, pictographic instructions on items will be incredibly wide spread. Either that or only the literate can use the newest stuff.

Right. What sort of effects do you think uneven tech will have that persists after the tech evens out?

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

There is simply no way to keep that kind of thing secret... especially when going up 6 TLs.

There is a middle ground between secretly developing a societies technology and engulfing their society within your own. Of course there will be substantial transfer from the society with greater technology but there is at least some difference between "Take this stuff and use it like we do!" and "Here's some stuff, now what are you going to do with it?"

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

Advanced culture "eats" the less advanced one with remnants of the old one handing on in tradition and oldsters getting overly nostalgic about the "good old times".

Look at what's left of Native American and Australian Aborigine cultures. Even without racism and violence, the end result would still be the same just over maybe a longer period.

Those were situations where the outsiders actually moved in and occupied the land. My guess is in this case the aliens find our environment inhospitable and find it most cost effective to crash develop us into adequate trading partners and/or military allies. Their logical approach would be to give one ruler the goodies, and let him unite and develop the planet.

Yes there would be significant cultural influence, so the more apt analogy might be Japan and China. But the more alien the critters are, the less likely we are to get anything but tech goodies from them in any meaningful way.