Information Processing in the Middle Ages …

I read something this morning that made me think.

It said something about how we have dealt with more information this morning than a person in the middle ages had to think about all year. I want to say it is wrong. Sure we have thought about different things this morning than a person did back then … but it is September. Any person from that time period would be thinking of how much fodder was already put aside and how much more needed to be set aside for the animals that you wanted to keep. How much food for your family? How much taxes to the land-owner? How much tithe to the church? Would your child be apprenticed out to the (fill in the blank)? Just because the information was different, didn’t mean it was inconsequential. More than likely … the decisions then were more life threatening if answered without serious thought.

Sure when we are contemplating federal taxes and changes in deductions — it seems very important and it is. The last thing anyone wants is to be audited by the government and find out that things were done incorrectly. We all know stories of fraudulent tax filers and people loosing houses and businesses; but there is a process that is followed in those cases. Most times it takes years to actually loose your home. During the middle ages if the land-owner decided to raise rent or taxes … it was done and if you couldn’t make it – you had to move.

If you didn’t set aside enough fodder for your animals, they died of starvation for there wasn’t a Blue Seal store around the corner or in the next town where you could purchase more food. If you didn’t set aside enough turnips, oats, or grain … your family went hungry.

Maybe people didn’t read or maybe people couldn’t do calculus; but figuring was important and information processing helped get them from one harvest to the next… and the truly intelligent and forward thinking people kept things for when the harvest developed poorly and you needed help from a previous harvest.

So maybe people are more educated now and we can think about comparative religion and the pros and cons of hybrid cars … but could you go to the middle ages and prosper?