The second (and much more concerning) question that arose as I read A Canticle for Leibowitz: If I woke up tomorrow and the World had lost its Modernity, would I be able to re-create any part(s) of it on my own?
[Alexis Rockman, The Conversation,]
The Answer is, basically, NO. John Murder pointed out that we WOULD retain our knowledge of the existence of Viruses and Bacteria, which would give us a few millenia's headstart in the Hygeine and Health Departments. But machinery, industry, technology, electronics, thermodynamics? Clueless. This is Unacceptable. I plan to compile a short list of books and/or pamphlets that I will make certain that I both Own and Know. Please add any suggestions as Comments below.
For starters:
1) SIMPLE MACHINES: one of the first things I thought of was that in grade school i learned the "Seven" Simple Machines, of which I could only remember Lever and Pulley. Seven is in quotes because today I looked it up and learned that it was/is actually only Six. These are: Lever, Wheel and Axle, Pulley, Inclined Plane, Wedge, and Screw. We can get lots of things done if we know how to employ these machines, and combinations thereof, properly. Me, right now, I can't figure out what the difference is between a Lever and a Wedge. Hence, a book on this topic, written for children and fools, with pictures, would be helpful. I'm going to research this.
2) BASIC STUFF: Knot-tying, fire-building, first aid, all that stuff. Boy Scouts' Handbook. Seems like this should cover plenty of those basics.
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