Electricity? Candles? Science?

[Arylett Charnoa 4,919]

I would write up a long-winded post about this, but Tom has said everything that I think, so therefore... I will only link you to this TVTropes page. This is probably the reason why the tech is inconsistent. Personally, I like Schizo Tech because it makes things interesting and varied and doesn't confine you to one time. I don't really think about it much, to be honest. And do not think it truly matters in the end.

[Twi Rubix 726]

Do they even have computers? I can imagine websites having cameo appearences like Equestria Daily.

Edited February 14, 2012 by TwilightRubix

[Comet Tail 808]

It’s always debatable when the topic's about the incorporation of our elements into the cartoon world, such as physics and modernization. The one thing that has me a little confused is when the show conflicted with itself in season 1 episode 21. They used colts to pull the train, yet in season 2 the train is propelled by the locomotive. Possible technological advancement between seasons? The construction site in Mare do well cleared a lot up for me though. It shows that they do have a process for building and when things get damaged they have a means of repairing and reconstructing. Also I think their electricity scenario seems to be similar to ours. I mean if they use it for lighting regularly, then they must have at least a substantial supply. And I think that they choose to use candles when they aren’t around electrical lighting or don’t want to use the lights for another reason.

 

 

Ah, the brony-powered locomotive. That bothered me, a bit. I assume the engine just wasn't working, because think of it... There's a train engine there. If you don't have train engine technology... You wouldn't have a train engine

 

Plus, they've ridden self-powered trains before. Like in "The Last Roundup" (IIRC) they rode a self-powered train.

 

The overall technological state of Equestria appears to be approximately turn of the 20th century, but with some mixed things heading both ahead and behind. For example, note the prevelance of cameras that take full color pictures, or the plastic soap bottles in Feeling Pinkie Keen right next to a wooden crate. The Hydroelectric Dam itself is an anomoly a little bit ahead of where one might expect, but so were the cranes.

 

As for Twilight's "computer" in Feeling Pinkie Keen, that thing was more like an oscillator or other similar device. It also had a steam whistle on it. Believe me I wanted it to be a computer, but I just can't come to that conclusion based upon what we saw it do.

 

Still, they do seem to have some sort of electric lighting, given that many times we hear the sound of a lightswitch and the light level flickering on in an instant, just like with any electric lighting. They also have plenty of other devices that use electricity.

 

All in all, they have plenty of technology, but electricity might still be expensive. That, and Twilight just might like using candlelight. Also, ballpoint pens and other pens that carried their own ink are a relatively recent invention, so quills and ink aren't as out of place as you might think.

 

So...ultimately the conclusion I come to is that they have a lot of technology at about a period of 1910 or so, with some things ahead as far as 1960. (The plastic soap bottles and so on mainly.)

 

Okay, I think a big issue is here, that we're assuming that their technology progresses like human tech does.

 

Truth is, technology is built one small invention at a time, usually by some pioneering geniuses. So tech level is extremely chaotic. If Albert Einstein or Isaac Newton weren't born, we could be decades or hundreds of years back on physics. If Konstantin Tsiolkovsky wasn't born, we may not have landed on the moon in 1969. If Bill Gates or Henry Ford didn't do what they did, then cars and computers might still be extremely expensive, and accessible only to very wealthy individuals or businesses. If WWII hadn't happened, we probably wouldn't have common air travel like we do, or jet engines, or radar, or a lot of other technologies. Etc. etc.

 

How we wind up with certain technology in certain years is the result of a very specific series of events that have happened in history, and specific breakthroughs individuals have made. So while a lot of technologies are connected, it's also possible for some fields to be way ahead of others, at least by our standards.

 

They might have hydroelectric power that would seem like 1950's to us; but why does that dam seem 1950's? Is it the strength of steel that led to the dam being built in that shape (steel reinforcement)? Certain advancements in concrete mixing? An idea someone came up with on how to better reinforce steel?

 

So, truth is, they could be in the 1950's with the dam, at the same time they're in the 1910's with transportation (which, seeing as they're quadropedal and some can fly, there wouldn't be much incentive to advance transportation tech), 1940's-50's with computers, 1980's with mathematics, 1950's with nuclear physics (x-ray machines, etc.), etc. etc.

 

So, really, it's not as inconsistent as it seems.

 

Now, add economics into the mix, and it gets even more complicated. Then we could see why the hospital might provide firefly lanterns, while they use X-ray machines with backlights.

 

 

Here's something from an economics standpoint:

The larger a market is, the cheaper it is. A perfect example is cars. Cars are extremely complicated machines that have a huge amount of R&D put into them. They're only cheap because they have so many customers. If there were only 10,000 people in the world that had cars, then they might be more expensive than airplanes!

 

Now, look at Equestria. If they have a population smaller than ours, then in the same way, everything would be more expensive, from light bulbs, to radios, to electricity. That will also effect what the average person has, and how they use them. There's flashlights, but the bulbs are probably very expensive, so you'd only use it for shorter amounts of time when you need a lot of light. But, if you can get by on a firefly lantern, then it's a much better choice.

(Especially if you're providing one for a patient)

[Queen Cassie 3,057]

Those are...all very good points. I will admit, I was a bit too locked into how our own technological development progressed to really see how it could have progressed differently in Equestria and still be internally consistant. How silly of me, especially since I'm a member of a massive Alternate History forum...you'd think I'd have learned by now.

 

In particular you have an excellent point regarding the economics of the situation. We have no idea how much access to energy the Equestrians have...if they don't have abundant coal or oil reserves, they might be forced to stick purely to hydroelectric and other methods of electricy generation, which would limit their ability to use electricity for day to day life. Even with access to weather control, which would enable them to make much more effective use of solar and wind energy, both of those methods of power generation require a certain level of material science, chemistry, mathematics, and other little aspects that would make it hard for them to deploy solar cells or wind generators en masse.

 

So they may have plenty of technological capability, but they're rather limited in how they can deploy it. Energy is the key element.

[DrOphthalmos 497]

I have enjoyed reading this discussion and I was wondering... how many of you noticed the arcade in the Hearts and Hooves Day episode? There are three arcade machines in that episode. The players did not have horns so they were not using magic to power their games themselves. But then again, the machines seem to just be out in the open and I did not see any electric cords coming out of them. Battery power? Batteries that maybe store magical power? Arcade machines seem hi-tech to me.

[Eenohay 318]

THE HAVE OR DONT HAVE ALL THE TECHNOLOGY THEY WANT!!! (the last two episodes just killed all my theories)

[cuteycindyhoney 13,282]

I have enjoyed reading this discussion and I was wondering... how many of you noticed the arcade in the Hearts and Hooves Day episode? There are three arcade machines in that episode. The players did not have horns so they were not using magic to power their games themselves. But then again, the machines seem to just be out in the open and I did not see any electric cords coming out of them. Battery power? Batteries that maybe store magical power? Arcade machines seem hi-tech to me.

 

They could be charged daily/weekly with magic by an arcade unicorn employee.

[DrOphthalmos 497]

They could be charged daily/weekly with magic by an arcade unicorn employee.

 

Arcade unicorn employee... I love that idea! Would the cutie mark be a joystick?

[cuteycindyhoney 13,282]

Arcade unicorn employee... I love that idea! Would the cutie mark be a joystick?

 

Either a joystick, or go totally retro and the cutie-mark could be pac-man eating some ghosts.