I’ve done this with fictional characters before. I am often dismayed about how little I know about how stuff works. How am I supposed to explain to Legolas how a microwave works, huh? I don’t know if that’s more or less dorky than fantasizing about meeting Abe Lincoln by the side of the road. 
Wow. Yet another checking in who thought he was the only one. Mine is always Beethoven. In fact, I wrote a blog entry about it a few years ago.
I think this is a really great habit, by the way; it gets you in the mental habit of keeping a grip on the big picture. I think it was Kurt Vonnegut, or maybe Buckminster Fuller, who said something like, “Anyone who can’t explain his job to a six-year-old is a charlatan.”
But are you driving a Lincoln?
I do this pretty much every time I get on an airplane. I wonder if people from 100s of years ago would be awed or terrified of riding on an airplane. I have a hard time believing in them myself…I mean, they look so heavy on the ground, how can they just stay in the air like that?
I also have a similar fantasy of being thrown back in time and trying to explain the world I come from to people. Where would I start? Trying to explain the modern world to someone from 1700 would be just as hard as to someone from 1900. How far we’ve come in just 100 years!
Mine involves Leonardo.
We’re driving on the freeway and I’m explaining relativity, electromagnetism, the periodic table, digitization, electronics, quantum mechanics (or, at least my grasp of it), nuclear energy, aviation, cosmology, etc… and I’m watching the tears come to his eyes.
This is one of my favorite mental exercises for long road trips, air travel, or nights that I just can’t sleep. I am also surprised at how many of us do this. A few of mine are Benjamin Franklin, Mozart, George Washington, Queen Elizabeth 1, Da Vinci, and also just ordinary folks from (usually) either the middle ages or the nineteenth century.
I have been doing this for as long as I can remember. Thanks for starting this thread.
Wow, all the time. And count me in with the “I thought I was the only one!” crowd.
With me it’s either a random generic well-spoken caveman, a past musician or (if relevant) someone from the time period of whatever drama thing I may be involved with at any given time.
ETA: Also, similar thing with aliens. You know, like E.T. I blame the media.
So would you start with the year 1984?
Founding fathers I can understand, but I wonder why so many of us (myself included) think about this with Mozart? Is it because his personality (likely the one shown in Amadeus) is more accessable? I guess you’d have to yell at Beethoven all the time, and what’s the fun with that…
“A PLANE! IT’S CALLED A PLANE AND IT FLIES THROUGH THE AIR! DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT… YOU’RE GONNA LOVE THIS!!!”
Another historical figure I do this with occassionally is Martin Luther. I don’t think he’d be too happy. “What do you mean that hundreds of millions have rejected religion as a long-term consequence of my Reformation?” He’d have another shit-throwing fit.
Yeah, he’d post the 21st century equivalent of the 95 theses on the SDMB and no one would reply. Either that or we’d all ridicule him.
But how much do theses weigh?
Oooops. Wrong thread.
I think of Mozart as a musical savant, who was known for working in a wide variety of styles and music forms - and offering quintessential examples of those forms. So he was open to - and apparently mastered - a wide variety of styles. That suggests to me he’d be more open to musical innovation than most composers, who would likely be locked into their ways.
I would point you to the B-grade 1989 horror film “Warlock”, starring Julian Sands. While highly cheesy, it does have some fun with the concept. 16th century Warlock and Warlock-hunter transported to modern day.
Just the way Giles reacts to the heroine owning an entire box of Morton’s salt, trying to board a plane with a six-foot weather vane, and giving driving tips are worth the watch. I especially like that the only guy in modern times that Giles could communicate with effectively was a grandpa-aged Mennonite.
For me it’s Ben Franklin. I show him the TV, the computer, cars, etc. I think about it this fairly regularly too. Glad to see it’s a somewhat common thing.
I am no conservative, but I would dearly love to bring Ike back on a speaking tour of talk radio, TV and conservative organizations.
“JEEESUS H., PEOPLE!! WHAT THE FUCK DID I TELL YOU DIRTBAGS ABOUT THE MILITARY-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX??!!”
Heh. I’m an agnostic who does this with Jesus in my head all the time. I always assume that I’d have to start VERY slowly. The current state of things might just be too much for the poor fella to bear.
For me, it’s Gottfried Leibniz (felt like I got to know him after reading Neal Stephenson’s The Baroque Cycle), and it’s me going back to 17th century Germany, dazzling him with all the wonders of our brave new world. And he gets the distinct pleasure in knowing that Newton was wrong about a bunch of stuff.
This exercise is used to help me sleep - letting the mind wander everything I know about computers or physics or biology (every night, he quizzes me on another topic), keeps the mind sharp while lulling me to sleep. Which almost makes sense. 
(By the way - I’ve been lurking here for years, and finding that you people talk to the imaginary dead too has finally prompted me to post. Yay dead people!)
I don’t have a particular person in mind but I do think about bringing someone from the past into the present.
It usually involves someone from the 1800s and we arrive in a heavily wooded area so they don’t notice any differences.
Then I lead them to a clearing where I have my 2000 Honda Accord parked and explain the entire vehicle to them. It is entirely sealed, has it’s own heating and cooling system, can run in the dark with headlights, can run in the rain with wipers, has it’s own musical entertainment system, etc. etc.
And the best part, it can typically cover 70 miles in an hours time.
Of course they are amazed at the machine and ask how many are in exsistance.
Oh, millions.
Then of course we start the car up and drive down the dirt path through the woods going about 15mph.
How do you get it going so fast without being so bumpy?
Easy, we paved roads to pretty much everywhere coast to coast including a non-stop interstate freeway system, as I turn onto the paved forest road and pick up the speed.
He’s amazed. Wait till I show him air travel.
My idea usully involved taking Einstein or another famous scientist or mathematician and giving them a full univeristy education.
Then I would see if they could advance the math/science world any further.
Wow . . I’ve played this game ever since I was a kid. And never mentioned it to anybody!
Sometimes I imagine fictional characters; Sherlock Holmes is quite common. Historical characters include Julius Caesar, Queen Elizabeth, Ben Franklin, Tutankhamen, and Shakespeare.
I never would have imagined anyone else doing this.