All the confusion, subtlety, ambiguity, and overall lack of information in Shin Sekai Yori was, for the most part, cleared up in episode 4. Explaining the history of the setting four episodes in probably didn't benefit them too much, since the first three episodes were very difficult, if not impossible to follow, due to the lack of context to what was going on. Some people probably enjoyed that, and, to an extent, I did as well, but I can see it being a turn-off for some people.
That said, the events that lead to where the show is are very interesting. As I suspected, there was a war that tore apart civilization as we know it. I was surprised to find that the decline of civilization started as close to the our current time, though. I assumed the False Minoshiro to be some form of futuristic technology developed closer to the middle of the millennium. Instead, it seems to be some kind of organism, for lack of a better word, created with PK. Since the show seems to be set in a time where there isn't any modern technology, and is in an era of early civilization, that's the only conclusion I can come up with. The fact that the False Minoshiro had a Shame Death failsafe programmed into it reinforces the fact that it was designed after the Dark Ages.
All that aside, I'm glad we've been clued into what exactly is going on in Shin Sekai Yori, because it really is interesting. Political deception, inhumane social rules, and, presumably, an imminent overthrow of the societal structure are hard-hitting concepts that aren't often as well executed as Shin Sekai Yori has done already. My interest in the show has shot up significantly now. Oh, and I cant wait to see how this turns out:
