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Simple things we take for granted are a tremendous bootstrap: the germ theory of disease; the staff system of organization; education of the young; reading and
by JoeAltmaier 4y ago
Simple things we take for granted are a tremendous bootstrap: the germ theory of disease; the staff system of organization; education of the young; reading and writing; arithmetic; agriculture; static analysis.
It's not all about gadgets and electricity.
- AnimalMuppet 4y agoI find it a bit weird to have static analysis on that list. Other than that, I agree. Why static analysis?
- JoeAltmaier 4y agoe.g. Building a hut, with cross-bracing so the square-lashed frame doesn't collapse in a light breeze. Or hanging the ridgeline of a shed roof from a post so it doesn't push the walls out of line. Or building a truss for a bridge over a creek, instead of a huge arch of stone. Lots of places statics comes in handy. And we take it for granted, that we know this stuff!
- AnimalMuppet 4y agoOh, that static analysis. I, um, was thinking of something else with the same name. Yes, knowing how to build things that don't fall down is pretty fundamental.
- YZF 4y agoYou gotta have `lint` in a post-apocalyptic world though.
- imoverclocked 4y agoYeah, it's useful for starting fires.
- renewiltord 4y agoLittle known fact: Rome collapsed because they did not use a language that was amenable to type-checking.
- ntoskrnl 4y agoThankfully Rome 2.0 didn't make the same mistake. https://rome.tools/ https://rome.tools/
- toomuchtodo 4y agohttps://youtube.com/channel/UCAL3JXZSzSm8AlZyD3nQdBA https://youtube.com/channel/UCAL3JXZSzSm8AlZyD3nQdBA
- Ishmaeli 4y agoAlso, it seems like just knowing some of the dead ends would be a huge step up. Like maybe we don't waste a ton of time and resources trying to turn lead into gold, or teaching left-handed kids to be right-handed, or trying to figure out which ritual to perform to which deity to make the crops grow.
- Archelaos 4y ago> Also, it seems like just knowing some of the dead ends would be a huge step up. This makes me think, how Knowledge in a post-apocalyptic society would really work. Some fundamental and comparatively easy technologies might not need to be rediscovered (directly jump to iron and omit bronze). But more advanced Knowledge needs a lot of special training, dedicated institutions, etc. And even if they had access to tales from the Ancients, they would still have to distinguish between valid and invalid information. Otherwise, we could end up with a culture of Flat Earthers.
- bluefirebrand 4y agoYou wouldn't just have access to the knowledge via tales, but the world around you. You want to say the earth is flat? Why did the ancients have globes, then? You want to say man made flight is impossible? Here is an airport with planes. Sure we have never gotten them running but what else could they do except fly? Granted... Never underestimate the willful ignorance of the masses I suppose.
- Archelaos 4y agoI wanted to emphasis the necessity to re-establish a scientific culture. Knowledge without experience and only from lore would be no real knowledge. Without a collective scientific practice there would be no ground to destinguish between true and false lore. They need to discover science for themselves again. It might be a bit easier and faster though, considering all the hints they would have, as you described it.
- jerry1979 4y agoIn terms of doing the work of rebuilding civilization, I bet that you have under-rated the role of organized superstition. At the very least, it seems to play the role of superego for the group, and thereby it can prevent incessant bickering and can guide group efforts.