This really does depend on a lot of factors. A lot of the time, a society will be advanced enough to be on the precipice of an industrial revolution but the spark to make that happen sometimes just doesn't show up so progress gets stalled.
Personally, I would like to see reincarnation enter into novels a bit more realistically. If you examine people who claim to be reincarnations in this life they fall into a couple categories. 1. They remember a lot as children but have a tendency to 'forget' over time. One thing I don't like about some reincarnation MC's is they act entirely separate from the world they are in because they remember their past selves. The memories should be vague, if there at all, so they can integrate as a part of the world. Only giving them slight inspiration for change. Which brings us to 2. People remember their past lives in flashes. (A man suddenly knows how to speak a local Italian language flawlessly, or a certain event triggers a memory.) This is something that can also be used to various effects in a story. I honestly would like to see more MCs reincarnated to the same world, rather than a completely different magical one from this one. It would be more interesting. The point is, whenever an MC comes to a different world, with the entirety of their memories intact, it feels wrong and contrived to me. I don't know if reincarnation exists, but at least take inspiration from real life claimed examples and work from there. It seems like it would make better more integrated characters, and you could still do a lot with the plot.
Personally, I like reincarnations better than transmigrations. At least when it's reincarnation the MC has the time to adapt to the new world, like "MC made the problem? MC will solve their own problem!" and he really gets a second shot at life, and doesn't get thrown into a strangers body whose life wasn't theirs and have to clean up their mess after them. Sorry it's just that I have went through so many kinds of transmigrations that I had enough. Spoiler: All the trasnmigration types that I had seen 1. Transmigration into cultivation waste illegitimate daughter 2. Transmigration into cultivation waste and negleted legitimate daughter 3. Transmigration into negleted daughter 4. Transmigration into ML's white moon light 5. Transmigration into the novel's villainess 6. Transmigration into the novel's side characther 7. Transmigration into spoiled daughter 8. Transmigration into 3rd Prince' wife 9. Trasmigration into 6th Prince' wife 10. Transmigration into 7th Prince's wife 11. Transmigration into 9th Prince's wife 12. Transmigrated into the general's wife 13. Transmigrated into the scandalous actress 14. Transmigrated into negleted princess 15. Transmigration into the Young Master's negleted wife 16. Transmigrated into the Otome Game's villainess 17. Transmigrated into scum male 18. Transmigration into a cannon fodder 19. Transmigration into the second FL 19. Transmigration into the villain's mother 20. Transmigration into the ML's stepmother If you read it, you also probably had enough of it.
because being innovative, even if they do have the knowledge isn't a personality. (I've encounters some bad series.) it sounds like you adore "capitalist frontier" stories, and they're not bad, they're "feel good series". not to mention honestly, with how saturated the market is with protagonists who "bring over stuff", it's kind of getting on my nerves. facts aside of whether or not people need to sh*t in fiction, it's not like there way of life was impossible. for example there are people living the victorian life-style, today by choice and they're hygiene is probably better than most people who live with electricity. with due study, the idea of it being filthy is an overstatement. it sure is by today's standards but it still was viable given they don't have as much convenience. I get what you mean by, it doesn't bring anything to the story, or character even. it sincerely doesn't make an impact where it should be utilized. memories from another life is a cheap trick to introduce protagonists and to ground their perspective as a "20th century" person. and honestly it's deplorable but sometimes the execution is worth the cheap premise.
The reason I have no problem with the reincarnation trope is normal birth is way more of a cliché when you think about it
Certainly that's true but in certain novels like reverend insanity. The whole reincarnation trope isn't really that important after a while. The philosophy and the mindset of the main character is what really makes the novel one of the greatest.
Issue is memory is different from the application of knowledge, and who in their right mind would experiment? Under what circumstance, usually urgency of competition or war. That's how plastics were created
Well , it adds value to the MC that you normally cant in that world. For example, the brotherhood, the idioms or the nationalism of chinese. The craving of rice and the politeness to society of japanese. Or maybe referrencing to real life modern stuff to certain situation. But storywise I do agree that they bring nothing to it. Its purpose is just to flavour the MC in a certain way.. either by nation or maybe past trauma that the author dont have to write again except as background story.. But I got used to it and it doesnt bother me at all..