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[Amperzand]

The various inertial-fusion Orion variants are interesting as well, but have the disadvantage of lacking the entirety of that glorious sixties charm, and not making microatomic shaped charges ubiquitous in setting.

Dynamite's also pretty simple, and a lot more powerful than black powder as an explosive.

Yeah, focus on making better explosives: Nitroglycerin, guncotton, eventually picric acid and the likes... To do so on a large scale, you'd need to set up an industry for base chemicals.
Better metallurgy is also not that incredibly difficult, if you know what to go for. Some variant of the Bessemer process could yield large amounts of cheap steel, for example, giving you a major edge regarding materials.

My thoughts exactly.

Additionally, if somebody could set up a very simple hydroelectric dam or something, advanced stonework and crude coils, you might be able to set up enough electricity early enough to fuel the industrial revolution's need for iron with arc smelters.

[Jimmy]

Sci-fi concept: Get transported to arbitrary point in history on earth (relative position in universe over time be damned!) wearing nothing but your underwear. How do you become supreme ruler of the world? Bonus points for how closer to modern history you start from.

[Dirst]

Sci-fi concept: Get transported to arbitrary point in history on earth (relative position in universe over time be damned!) wearing nothing but your underwear. How do you become supreme ruler of the world? Bonus points for how closer to modern history you start from.

That is too easy.  Someone appearing out of nowhere, wearing nothing but underwear, sounds like a viable alternative to this year's two major party candidates for US President.

[Tack]

AND IT'S OUTTA THE PARK.

[Amperzand]

Sci-fi concept: Get transported to arbitrary point in history on earth (relative position in universe over time be damned!) wearing nothing but your underwear. How do you become supreme ruler of the world? Bonus points for how closer to modern history you start from.

That is too easy.  Someone appearing out of nowhere, wearing nothing but underwear, sounds like a viable alternative to this year's two major party candidates for US President.

...I cannot object to this.

[Tack]

Sci-fi concept: Get transported to arbitrary point in history on earth (relative position in universe over time be damned!) wearing nothing but your underwear. How do you become supreme ruler of the world? Bonus points for how closer to modern history you start from.

The real question is, what morals to compromise?
If it's ancient there's almost certainly gonna be slavery, and we saw what happened when America tried to abolish that.

[Rolepgeek]

Yeah, but American Slavery was kinda uniquely bad. Most societies treated their slaves okay. Still slaves, just not 'beaten every other day and had about forty different ways to preemptively brand you to keep you from escaping'. Quite a few paid their slaves, even. It was more like an allowance, really, but still. Slaves were part of the household, not simply a labor force.

Unless you needed to build something or row a boat, that is. (and really that's just conscripted labor anyway) *shrug* Really, just getting people not to be jerks to their slaves would be an improvement there, and that's mostly the government anyway, so...

[ChairmanPoo]

I think you have an idealized vision of greco-roman slavery.

[Tack]

^

Pretty sure once you start playing your slaves they become indentured servants.

Helots, for one, I think had it a little worse.

[Strife26]

Sci-fi concept: Get transported to arbitrary point in history on earth (relative position in universe over time be damned!) wearing nothing but your underwear. How do you become supreme ruler of the world? Bonus points for how closer to modern history you start from.

The real question is, what morals to compromise?
If it's ancient there's almost certainly gonna be slavery, and we saw what happened when America tried to abolish that.

I'm reasonably confident that Tyrant Strife's Army of Conquest and the subsequent Armies of Retribution will do a good enough job at minimizing the bloodshed once a long enough time frame is looked at.

[Culise]

Sci-fi concept: Get transported to arbitrary point in history on earth (relative position in universe over time be damned!) wearing nothing but your underwear. How do you become supreme ruler of the world? Bonus points for how closer to modern history you start from.

For me personally?  I don't.  I speak precisely one relatively modern language (English) well, which limits me to a very narrow period of time (maybe around 500 years) and a very, very limited geographic area for much of that time period.  I do not have the sort of knowledge that would be most useful for technological uplift, or even just to make myself useful in most eras.  I lack knowledge of local social mores, in eras where "foreign" is three towns down the road.  I am likely...socially disadvantaged in other ways as well.  If I don't starve, I die of exposure.

[Rolepgeek]

I think you have an idealized vision of greco-roman slavery.

Who said greco-roman?

[GiglameshDespair]

Sci-fi concept: Get transported to arbitrary point in history on earth (relative position in universe over time be damned!) wearing nothing but your underwear. How do you become supreme ruler of the world? Bonus points for how closer to modern history you start from.

You don't.

I doubt anyone reading this thread has the required charisma, intelligence, knowledge, luck, physical strength, health and endurance, to pull it off, especially as they would begin with no preformed connections to give allies, no currency or resources.

I don't even think it could be done, by anyone - the world is pretty damn big, after all, and men are limited in ability, if not ambition.

[iceball3]

Another issue would be being exposed to now-extinct diseases that haven't been tried and tested against our genetics for many generations, depending on how far back you go.

[Egan_BW]

Either you'll die, or at best, be extremely poor.