A person ahead of their time

       I suspect most people have heard that expression. It is usually a compliment often delivered posthumously.  I always accepted it as such.

            But then I started thinking. Mostly I thought about what it meant to the people at the time, and the alternatives that existed at that time.

            An obvious example exists these days. It's about energy use.

            I think we humans will run out of carbon based energy sources eventually (like in one or two centuries) and have to come up with something new. After all, we humans will still increase in numbers for the foreseeable future, and most individual's energy demands will most likely increase. And I don't know many people who want to return to older time days and less energy demands.  Heck we have worked so hard to have what we have today.

            And why do we have to go from A to Z in a short time? The obvious alternative is to evolve, like include steps B to Y along the way.

            So I've made up my mind that the phrase "a person was ahead of their time", while maybe a compliment, can also be construed as an off-handed condemnation that the person was not very effective during their time.