The Knowledge: How to rebuild our world from scratch

the-knowledge.org

3 points·warrenm··6 comments

Great book!

In the introduction(IIRC) the author mentions Thomas Thwaites' TED talk "How I built a toaster from scratch" - which is a great example of the hidden complexities of "from scratch" (and also just a fun talk) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ODzO7Lz_pw

Kind of reminds me of the Carl Sagan quote "If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe."

Forgot to add that "The Knowledge" is an unfortunate title. Its accidental similarity to things like "The Secret" means any attempt to recommend it has to be promptly followed by an explanation that it is not in fact a self-help book.

FWiW toast from scratch is much much easier, grow wheat, thresh and seperate, grind for flour, evaporate sea water for salt, bind with fresh water, make damper, slice damper with flint, toast over fire.

It was a staple here until recently and all achievable with no more than one can carry.

Nice!

Forgot one step though: "invent Carl Sagan"

Never let a YouTuber dissuade you from making a pinhole camera from scratch; that video implies you need a wood shop and glue… you need any light tight container, a needle, and at worst some electrical tape.

If this world and all it's technology were to disappear and leave me with a bunch of friends in sole possession I do not think that we would want to rebuild this horrible situation from scratch.

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