Interesting conversation. There has been a huge revolution in astronomy, among other things, in my lifetime.
I was born in 1962, my father in 1924, his father in 1895. We three, whose lives overlapped, have witnessed things that prior generations could not have imagined. My great grandfather and all before him for 10, 20 generations or longer lived in times that did not change much from one life to another. An adult living in 1700 would not feel out of place were he suddenly dropped into 1800, drop him into 1900 and he would see some amazing changes (mainly as a result of the steam engine) but nothing too outlandish. But bring him to the year 2000, nothing would be as he knew it in 1700.
