10. What are the most common what-ifs? (soc.history.what-if)
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This article is from the soc.history.what-if FAQ, by Anthony Mayer anthonyemayer@yahoo.co.uk with numerous contributions by others.
10. What are the most common what-ifs? (soc.history.what-if)
Evelyn Leeper's 1999 count using the Uchronia database (see Question 16)
found that World War II was about twice as popular as the American Civil
War, which was about twice as popular as World War I/Russian Revolution.
The last was significantly ahead in a group that also included Waterloo,
the Armada, Kennedy's assassination and the Cuban Missile Crisis. This
roughly matches findings by the late AH buff Mark Keller.
Soc.history.what-if duplicates the literature in the popularity of WWII
and the American Civil War. Certain specific aspects of both conflicts
have been argued into the ground on the newsgroup without reaching
consensus (see Question 5). Some of the most famous points of divergence
are probably not such good choices to change the wars' outcomes as is
frequently believed, and in any case have been debated so often that many
participants will show more interest in exploring other possibilities.
For WWII these include Operation Sealion, the use of chemical weapons (by
either side), Japan not striking at Pearl Harbor (but still attacking in
the East Indies and Philippines) and Japan attacking the USSR rather than
the USA. A similar list could be drawn up for the American Civil War.
While further discussion of such timelines is welcomed, newcomers are
advised to examine the archives to examine some of the oft repeated
arguments surrounding the subjects.
Beyond that, it is hard to say what topics come up most often, or (what is
not the same thing) which sorts of questions are likely to spark a good
discussion. For some reason, several of the newsgroup's most long- lived
and productive threads have concerned alternative versions of the
discovery and settlement of the American continents, and the probability
of a scientific or industrial revolution occurring in a different culture,
country or time. As the commercial, scientific and industrial revolutions
are still much debated topics within real history, it is extremely
difficult to draw conclusions about alternative versions. Nevertheless
these subjects have produced a wealth of interesting debate on SHWI.
Again, newcomers are advised to search the archives.
Despite these points, it is not possible to predict what idea will produce
a good thread. Well worn themes may produced gems as easily as novel
ideas.
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