Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

To: USFRIENDINVICTORIA

A scuttle full of coal in a modern train in the fuel area would also be an anachronism. So would a horse and buggy on the interstate. Or a mace on a battlefield between 1st world countries. Anachronisms are something that doesn’t match the time in either direction, which is why the word is older than stories about time travel.


46 posted on 11/23/2018 5:18:15 PM PST by Dr. Sivana (There is no salvation in politics.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 45 | View Replies ]


To: Dr. Sivana
While the “chrono” part refers to time — whether past or future; the term “anachronism” almost always refers to objects from the present being depicted in a setting in the past. That's not possible, given out current technology.

However, objects from the past routinely appear in our present. In museums, they're called artifacts. Around my home they're called “that pile of old junk in the basement I'm going to get rid of with a yard sale”.

You used the term critically — as if the wrench appearing in TOS were equivalent to (say) an iPhone appearing in a production of Hamlet. Really, that was not a valid criticism. For instance, Scotty might be a collector of historic mechanic's tools. He might call them artifacts, he might call them “my precious” — but, he'd never call them anachronisms.

47 posted on 11/23/2018 5:41:47 PM PST by USFRIENDINVICTORIA
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 46 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson