4 ms·

One major benefit of microfilm in my book is precisely the simple tech - even after the zombie apocalypse, just about anyone will be able to quickly figure out

by lb1lf 8y ago

One major benefit of microfilm in my book is precisely the simple tech - even after the zombie apocalypse, just about anyone will be able to quickly figure out how to read what's on them. (Yes, 'zombie apocalypse' is just a placeholder for any massively disruptive event...) (That being said, digital copies would be way more useful here and now; let's do both!)

Animats 8y ago
There was an effort in the 1950s and 1960s to stock major fallout shelters with a set of microfiche on how to make just about everything, along with readers that just needed sunlight. Wonder if any of those are still around. (This wasn't a joke back then. Everybody remembered the wrecked cities of WWII. They had to be built back up. You might need those instructions.)
- blattimwind 8y ago
  > Everybody remembered the wrecked cities of WWII Is this actually a thing in American memory, given that no American city was bombed in WWII?
  - EvanAnderson 8y ago
    I think it's fair to say that American soldiers brought back those memories. My grandfather served in the Army towards the end of the conflict in Europe and, when he would speak about it, he spoke about seeing destruction. (It was not something he spoke about easily or lightly.)
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - forapurpose 8y ago
    >> Everybody remembered the wrecked cities of WWII > Is this actually a thing in American memory, given that no American city was bombed in WWII? To veer off-topic a bit, I think this is an interesting question brings up two important points: First, as the WWII generation has died out, people seem to have become less averse to war and to care less about the institutions built to prevent it (the UN, EU, international law, etc.). They were built because the survivors of WWII thought war was the worst scourge of humanity, and that another war - with ~1945 technology - could destroy civilization. Second, the U.S. experienced very little direct harm in WWII, and even the overseas casualties were orders of magnitude less than those of the European and Asian countries (e.g., the U.S. lost 200,000; the USSR lost 20 million). If the worst happens and the U.S. fights another major war, the enemy likely will be able to strike the U.S. with missiles. Even North Korea can do it to a limited degree. With the loss of the WWII generation, I think Americans have become cavalier about war, and because the WWII didn't affect the U.S. nearly as badly as the Europe and East Asia, they don't conceive of a different kind of war, such as one where missiles rain down on every American city. We can assume the Bay Area would be a priority target, for example; it's hard to imagine what that would be like; it's hard to imagine the consequences of it.
deleted 8y ago
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mjevans 8y ago
Ideally let's also have various colleges create new versions of the source instructions and collectively create a better modern set to use as bootstrapping (and feed this back as the foundation for future education as well).

by lb1lf 8y ago

Animats 8y ago

There was an effort in the 1950s and 1960s to stock major fallout shelters with a set of microfiche on how to make just about everything, along with readers that just needed sunlight. Wonder if any of those are still around. (This wasn't a joke back then. Everybody remembered the wrecked cities of WWII. They had to be built back up. You might need those instructions.)

blattimwind 8y ago
> Everybody remembered the wrecked cities of WWII Is this actually a thing in American memory, given that no American city was bombed in WWII?
- EvanAnderson 8y ago
  I think it's fair to say that American soldiers brought back those memories. My grandfather served in the Army towards the end of the conflict in Europe and, when he would speak about it, he spoke about seeing destruction. (It was not something he spoke about easily or lightly.)
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- forapurpose 8y ago
  >> Everybody remembered the wrecked cities of WWII > Is this actually a thing in American memory, given that no American city was bombed in WWII? To veer off-topic a bit, I think this is an interesting question brings up two important points: First, as the WWII generation has died out, people seem to have become less averse to war and to care less about the institutions built to prevent it (the UN, EU, international law, etc.). They were built because the survivors of WWII thought war was the worst scourge of humanity, and that another war - with ~1945 technology - could destroy civilization. Second, the U.S. experienced very little direct harm in WWII, and even the overseas casualties were orders of magnitude less than those of the European and Asian countries (e.g., the U.S. lost 200,000; the USSR lost 20 million). If the worst happens and the U.S. fights another major war, the enemy likely will be able to strike the U.S. with missiles. Even North Korea can do it to a limited degree. With the loss of the WWII generation, I think Americans have become cavalier about war, and because the WWII didn't affect the U.S. nearly as badly as the Europe and East Asia, they don't conceive of a different kind of war, such as one where missiles rain down on every American city. We can assume the Bay Area would be a priority target, for example; it's hard to imagine what that would be like; it's hard to imagine the consequences of it.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

mjevans 8y ago

Ideally let's also have various colleges create new versions of the source instructions and collectively create a better modern set to use as bootstrapping (and feed this back as the foundation for future education as well).