4 ms·

Why should there be?

by bagels 4y ago

mhh__ 4y ago
The next Apollo 13 will probably be a software problem , doesn't hurt if they can read up about it
- tablespoon 4y ago
  > The next Apollo 13 will probably be a software problem , doesn't hurt if they can read up about it What good would an "offline backup of Wikipedia" do in that situation? Wikipedia is good for one thing, and one thing only: getting some cursory knowledge on a topic you're unfamiliar with. It's the tourist map to the "sum of all human knowledge." If you expect to use it for anything else, you're asking too much of it.
  - mjcohen 4y ago
    I have found a lot of the math articles to be quite good.
- PaulDavisThe1st 4y ago
  So, stackoverflow, not wikipedia, then?
- bagels 4y ago
  You're proposing that if something goes wrong on the ISS, the crew will need wikipedia to solve it? Not... talking to Houston or just taking the Soyuz back?
  - mhh__ 4y ago
    I wrote a crap SDR basically just from wikipedia, maybe their radio broke. Presumably you have seen a science fiction film before, use your imagination.
kragen 4y ago
So its contents aren't lost if Earth's surface gets depopulated.
- titoCA321 4y ago
  And what's the point of it in space? Knowledge doesn't disappear when it's not on wikipedia. If humans are still around they will continue contributing to knowledge. Just because it's not printed or recorded doesn't mean that information or knowledge doesn't exist.
  - mynameisvlad 4y ago
    > if Earth's surface gets depopulated There are 14 people on the ISS. If they were the only ones left, they would certainly not have the breadth knowledge of a Wikipedia dump.
    - titoCA321 4y ago
      And how would these 14 survive if they are the only ones left? Do you know that there's a whole support team to support them in space? It's not just 14 people. There are hundreds on the ground supporting them.
      - kragen 4y ago
        Yeah, ISS itself is not that realistic.
- samatman 4y ago
  Putting it on ISS wouldn't help with that, although I'm sure this comes as no surprise to you, given that its orbit is a decaying one. I like the idea of periodic Wikipedia moonshots, although the storage format is kind of an open question, I've wondered for awhile if a DVD made from e.g. quartz, platinum, and titanium might be up to the job. A full backup would fit on 12 double-layer, single-sided disks; I'm being conservative and not using Blu-Ray numbers, since density and longevity are always somewhat in tension. Probably more expensive to put them safely on the moon than to manufacture in the first place.

Why should there be?

by bagels 4y ago

Why should there be?

mhh__ 4y ago

The next Apollo 13 will probably be a software problem , doesn't hurt if they can read up about it

tablespoon 4y ago
> The next Apollo 13 will probably be a software problem , doesn't hurt if they can read up about it What good would an "offline backup of Wikipedia" do in that situation? Wikipedia is good for one thing, and one thing only: getting some cursory knowledge on a topic you're unfamiliar with. It's the tourist map to the "sum of all human knowledge." If you expect to use it for anything else, you're asking too much of it.
- mjcohen 4y ago
  I have found a lot of the math articles to be quite good.
PaulDavisThe1st 4y ago
So, stackoverflow, not wikipedia, then?
bagels 4y ago
You're proposing that if something goes wrong on the ISS, the crew will need wikipedia to solve it? Not... talking to Houston or just taking the Soyuz back?
- mhh__ 4y ago
  I wrote a crap SDR basically just from wikipedia, maybe their radio broke. Presumably you have seen a science fiction film before, use your imagination.

kragen 4y ago

So its contents aren't lost if Earth's surface gets depopulated.

titoCA321 4y ago
And what's the point of it in space? Knowledge doesn't disappear when it's not on wikipedia. If humans are still around they will continue contributing to knowledge. Just because it's not printed or recorded doesn't mean that information or knowledge doesn't exist.
- mynameisvlad 4y ago
  > if Earth's surface gets depopulated There are 14 people on the ISS. If they were the only ones left, they would certainly not have the breadth knowledge of a Wikipedia dump.
  - titoCA321 4y ago
    And how would these 14 survive if they are the only ones left? Do you know that there's a whole support team to support them in space? It's not just 14 people. There are hundreds on the ground supporting them.
    - kragen 4y ago
      Yeah, ISS itself is not that realistic.
samatman 4y ago
Putting it on ISS wouldn't help with that, although I'm sure this comes as no surprise to you, given that its orbit is a decaying one. I like the idea of periodic Wikipedia moonshots, although the storage format is kind of an open question, I've wondered for awhile if a DVD made from e.g. quartz, platinum, and titanium might be up to the job. A full backup would fit on 12 double-layer, single-sided disks; I'm being conservative and not using Blu-Ray numbers, since density and longevity are always somewhat in tension. Probably more expensive to put them safely on the moon than to manufacture in the first place.