Imagine a medieval serf, tractor-beamed from behind his tiller and plopped down into a contemporary, middle-class kitchen. The appliances alone would have him shaking in his cow-effluvia-stained boots! He would have so many questions. “Where is the tiny wizard conjuring blocks of ice from this magical metal box?” “How does this humming wheel make food hot without any fire?” And, of course, “What’s a middle class?”