Imagine sitting there with imposter syndrome and thinking, "there is so much pressure on this conversation. I need to not only entertain someone much smarter than me, but I have to learn something profound that I can use as an anecdote for the rest of my life." Then looking down at your terrible 1920s German food while he nudges you to say something, but you just KNOW he talks about theoretical physics with everyone all day so he's probably bored of it. Besides you don't want to say something stupid like "Wow E=MC2 huh? That's somethin'. I figured it was MC or maybe MC3 but 2 wow."
But like if you talk about your dog he'll think you're simple so you've GOTTA work spacetime into it and learn something about spacetime so you can tell your grandkids and they won't think you're a loser. Imagine eating bread to calm your nerves and show that you're too busy to speak but then fixating on how much bread you're eating and wondering if Albert frickin' Einstein is judging you for that. And oh boy, now you have to say something EXTRA smart and NOT about theoretical physics to prove that you're not a bread-eating simpleton. Imagine having the opportunity to try to explain what you think spacetime is to Albert Einstein himself while your mouth is half-full of sawdust bread.
Thank you for adding another unlikely scenario I will plan for.
Putting this right next to my "whisked away into the medieval past" plans.
That's a careful walk between "Dazzle them with your future tech and knowledge" and "Play it cool so you aren't burned for witchcraft."
Or just grab some guns and ammo and speedrun regicide
I wonder how much a single person from today with moderate technological knowledge could change history.
Like, I can't build a generator or cpu, but I have some knowledge of electricity and logic gates and what modern technology is capable of. Especially if I work with someone properly smart but too early, like Newton (a little past medieval but still). He could probably turn my moderate knowledge into something useful.
materials science is a limiting factor. you could have wiring and a generator but what are you doing with those if nobody can make a lightbulb?
That's where the question has a lot of interesting back and forth between the limits of my knowledge and how well others can use that knowledge. I know incandescent lightbulbs basically use a filament that loses energy in the form of light (and heat although that isn't desirable). I know there's more to it, but could that description be enough to set Newton or someone else on the path of figuring out the rest and actually making it? Even if it doesn't happen in a single lifetime, it would probably end up happening much earlier.
Hand washing alone will save millions of lives
A basic understanding of thermodynamics and early engines would be pretty critical to advance material science to the point where you'd be able to make sure of the higher knowledge.