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submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by qyron@sopuli.xyz to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

The title is a bit over dramatic but, per the title, if you could contribute with one piece of knowledge to a book that every single individual should learn from in order to kickstart a civilization, what would be yours?

My personal choice would be the process of soap making, from scratch.

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[-] bool@lemm.ee 60 points 1 year ago

Professional scientist here. I would take a table of logarithms. In a world without computers, the logarithm table and slide rule are the essential tools of how things got built. We built the Golden Gate Bridge and put a man on the moon using nothing more than log tables.

Any one person can remember the gist of the scientific method and write it down on a page. To write down a quality logarithm table you would need 500 pages.

[-] Blizzard@lemmy.zip 45 points 1 year ago

 

But seriously - no religions allowed.

[-] ininewcrow@lemmy.ca 18 points 1 year ago

There will always be religion, especially if and when the civilized world ends.

A better way would be just to remind everyone that there were countless religions before and that they were all man made, corrupted and fell apart after a certain amount of time.

Remind everyone that there is no one true religion because there never was one before, there isn't one now and there never will be be one.

But I'm afraid that as much as we'll try .... people will always be dumb enough to want to believe in fairy tales, an after life, eternal bliss / hell and that one group is better than another.

[-] evatronic@lemm.ee 10 points 1 year ago

Remind everyone that there is no one true religion because there never was one before, there isn’t one now and there never will be be one.

"Yes, all the religions before were false, but ours is the right one!"

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[-] Axiomatose@lemm.ee 42 points 1 year ago

Resist the urge to fall in line behind a “strong man.” Once a community is beholden to an individual, it’s tainted.

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[-] PeepinGoodArgs@reddthat.com 26 points 1 year ago

Two lines:

"Axiomatically, those with the greatest material wealth will do everything to enrich themselves further. They must fail."

[-] ansik@kbin.social 23 points 1 year ago

The scientific method, we’ll be able to extract most information of the world around with just that and time

[-] w2tpmf@lemmy.world 22 points 1 year ago

'In the beginning the Universe was created.This had made many people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move.'

[-] CassowaryTom@lemmy.one 20 points 1 year ago

I can periodically dust the book. When I'm not dusting, I can stand somewhere conspicuous, and say "This way to the book" if asked.

[-] Venicon@sopuli.xyz 7 points 1 year ago

Can I give you holiday cover? I’d like this job, like some sort of holy librarian.

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[-] qyron@sopuli.xyz 5 points 1 year ago

The All Mighty Guardian of the Book, Keeper of Knowledge.

You will also be required to know it by memory cover to cover and read it on request for anyone.

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[-] guazzabuglio@lemm.ee 17 points 1 year ago

Brewing beer. It might not be "essential," but the apocalypse is gonna be bad enough, might as well have beer.

[-] guyrocket@kbin.social 8 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Apocolpse probably needs something stronger like distilling skills.

Or how to make edibles.

[-] SomeBoyo@feddit.de 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Distillation alone would be useful for disinfection and conservation.

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[-] PrinceWith999Enemies@lemmy.world 14 points 1 year ago

This exercise recurs regularly and there have been a few formulations.

One of the big ones is atomic theory. It took a long time to figure out - and I’m intentionally discounting the Greek version and monads here because I’m talking about actual atomic theory and not a philosophy of essences.

Darwinian evolution and Mendelian genetics are a second option, especially if you could squeeze in things like the germ theory of disease.

I’m not familiar enough with pure math to say that there’s one concept that would have let the Greeks or Mesopotamians develop the calculus millennia earlier than we did, but that would also massively accelerate scientific progress.

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[-] Anomalocarididae@pawb.social 12 points 1 year ago

Basic logic gates for the most basic computational math As well as binary, octal, hexadecimal systems

[-] Anomalocarididae@pawb.social 5 points 1 year ago

I'm pretty sure you can make logic gates with water so maybe that'll be of some use

[-] Franzia@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 1 year ago

Omg will they have redstone? :3

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[-] trafguy@midwest.social 11 points 1 year ago
  • Crafting bows to hunt. Wood selection, shaping, tillering, natural bowstring materials.
  • Some edible wild plants
  • Some basic farming knowledge
  • Some construction/shelter repair techniques
  • Algebra and concepts of calculus, and why they're useful
  • How to preserve foods
  • Basic concepts of electricity's importance and how to make it, but someone would need to explain how to go from raw material to a functional wire, find some rare earth magnets, and figure out how to make LEDs or something else worth using the electricity for.
  • The scientific method
  • Concepts of how to engineer/design a solution to a problem
  • Troubleshooting techniques
  • Some basic concepts of boat stability and construction
  • Some concepts of modern psychology
  • Concepts of critical thinking and rejection of groupthink
  • Basic physics. Loose explanations of kinematic equations, gravity, friction, pendulums, air resistance, aerodynamics, basic concepts of rocketry and flight/parachutes/gliders
  • Evaporative cooling? I could describe the concepts of modern air conditioning, but that doesn't seem useful yet.
  • I could probably work out how a windmill works, how to make a wagon, how to purify water, how to make water-tight storage.
  • Germ Theory
  • The Paradox of Tolerance
  • How pasteurization works
  • Fermentation, concepts of distillation
  • Basic oral hygiene? Habits of at least rinsing sugar out of your mouth afterwards, if brushes aren't available.
  • Use of alcohol and heat as antiseptics. Suggestion to use honey in a pinch
  • Basic concepts of how magnifying lenses work and why they're important
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[-] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

The basics of manufacturing fertiliser. It's a lot easier to build a civilisation on a full belly.

Also, funny story, I already have a disk like this started.

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[-] Hobo@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago

Basic system and web security might not seem important now, but let me tell you, if you adopt good cyber security practices early it will help you create a much more secure environment...

What're you guys doing with those rocks?

[-] Thavron@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 year ago

To create a firewall you must first create fire!

[-] mobyduck648@beehaw.org 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I’m so far from an expert it’s not even funny but I’m a hobbyist for old valve (tube on the other side of the Atlantic) electronics. You need an industrial base to make semiconductors but if you can do flamework with glass and build a good enough pump that opens the door to amplifiers, radio, telecommunications, and even crude computers which in turn opens the door to a lot of creature comforts and social improvement that wouldn’t otherwise be possible.

[-] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

You actually can make simple semiconductors artisanally, once again plugging Sam Zeloof. The biggest trick is getting the silicon in the first place, since you need an electric furnace to smelt it with any efficiency. Then, it's just a matter of distilling it to high purity and growing a crystal.

The pump is the biggest trick for vacuum tubes. If you have a primitive metalworking civilisation to start with, you probably have enough mercury for a Sprengel pump and/or a master craftsman who could make a mechanical pump, but if we're starting really from scratch that could be an issue. Steam to displace air + a chemical getter is another option I've been wondering about.

Also worth mentioning are electrochemical diodes, which you can make with just brine, iron and a piece of aluminum. Aluminum is tricky to make but if you can produce it it's also pretty good for wires, in case you don't have a copper mine handy.

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[-] guyrocket@kbin.social 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I wonder if a book along these lines already exists. The nearest I can think of is The Art of Manliness website.

I would probably buy a book that covered a lot of the basic skills needed for a society if it were done well. I want to try a lot of those things like smelting, house construction, metalworking, etc. I'm sure books exist for each of these but I doubt one book tries to give overviews of all.

Also an interesting question: What ARE the skills needed for a civilization? Start from skills needed when dropped off alone in the wilderness and work your way up to "needing" bureuacrats.

[-] Xariphon@kbin.social 6 points 1 year ago

There's also the "How To Make Everything" YouTube channel. I wonder if the guy that runs that has written a book yet? If not, he should.

[-] can@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

There's How to Invent Everything by Ryan North.

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[-] 1rre@discuss.tchncs.de 8 points 1 year ago

I can't help but feel soap making itself wouldn't be as much use as why/when to use it?

Mixing oil with the ashy water (which is as simple as soap's gonna get) is reasonably easy to do and so useful that even without a civilisation people would probably be doing it either through discovery or by keeping doing it?

I think things like "how to build a wooden bridge so it will hold a laden cart and not fall down" are more likely to be lost without civilisation while still being incredibly useful (although I can't say I'd be very good for that)

I might add a section on refrigeration methods like zeers or wind towers/yakhchāls if the civilisation would be somewhere hot and dry, otherwise maybe something on using rivers for powering looms, mills etc.

[-] Xariphon@kbin.social 4 points 1 year ago

I think the instructions for how to make soap would be less important to a civilization than why to make soap. Germ theory and basic hygiene practices would save a lot of lives.

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[-] dbilitated@aussie.zone 8 points 1 year ago

how to make good anesthetics. the horrors of medical interventions without anesthesia blows my mind.

maybe something about dentistry too.

[-] Xariphon@kbin.social 8 points 1 year ago

Since I mentioned it in a response to another poster:

I would include everything I know (or had access to for the sake of this scenario) about germ theory. Admittedly my own off-hand knowledge is not much, but basic hygiene and sanitation and how to avoid getting sick would save a lot of lives. What germs are, how vaccination works, etc.

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[-] reverendsteveii@beehaw.org 8 points 1 year ago

Who's ready to learn a lot about fermentation?!

[-] 0gr3@lemm.ee 7 points 1 year ago

No person can grant you rights. Rights are those things you are capable of doing for yourself providing it doesn’t infringe on the liberty of another. You are physically capable of speaking and thinking. Of moving, of tending to property, of attempting to defend yourself, your family, those who request assistance, and your property. You can build anything you have the knowledge and means to build. You have the right to determine your own safety, this includes what you ingest and any precautions you opt out of. What is not your rights are anything that limits the liberties and rights of another person or property.

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[-] Devi@beehaw.org 7 points 1 year ago

Caring for animals in a humane way. Post apocolypse civilisation will be kind to our fluffy friends.

[-] myrrh@ttrpg.network 7 points 1 year ago

...print stills from primitive technology into a picture-book...

[-] sapo@beehaw.org 7 points 1 year ago

Some of the inventions that historically took way longer than you'd expect: the shoe, the wheelbarrow, and the stirrup.

Also archival techniques so that history's not as messy the next time around.

[-] M1ster2@lemm.ee 7 points 1 year ago

The meaning of life is very very simple, love yourself and those around you as much as possible and have as much fun as you can. If it doesn't hurt anyone or anything and you have fun doing it, do it a lot. When you genuinely love everyone around you, living becomes a lot easier and the meaning of life becomes simple.

[-] schema@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

"We took all the easy to reach resources. Better get used to being primitive, suckers!"

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[-] TheBananaKing@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

All these tasty nutritious facts are great, but they're doomed without a robust immune system.

They need to know how there's a drunkard's walk or one-way tropism for wealth and power to accumulate in the hands of the few, how the noblest intents get degraded and corrupted over time, how rich people get to make the rules and thereby get even richer, giving them even more control over the rules.

How this is what killed our civilisation in the first place, and how it will kill theirs if they let it. How you need to water the roots, not the leaves, unless you want the whole tree to collapse.

What rent-seeking looks like, how tribalism works, how propaganda and psyops and PR campaigns work, what narcissists and sociopaths are like, what abusive relationships look like (since they use the same tactics), how to spot demagogues, grifters and think-of-the-children paternalism. How internecine conflict is encouraged and used to distract from actual oppression. How the church maintained a vast grip on power for millennia just by manipulating shame, fear and self-righteousness.

How you can (and should!) make a bunch of rules to slow or mitigate this, but cancer finds a way; it will worm its way past your defenses in time. And when it does, you can't fix it from within the system, pretty much by definition, because it subverts the law and the entire social contract to protect and serve itself.

How the only fix is to step outside the law, step outside the system and root it out the hard way, from the top down. You can't put a formal trigger condition on this, as the failure mode will game its way round it: just say that when you need it, you'll know.

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[-] gandalf_der_12te@feddit.de 6 points 1 year ago

Laws of Electromagnetism

[-] BuzzCola@beehaw.org 5 points 1 year ago

Fire safety, fire prevention, fire fighting. Y'all got the rest covered already. These things were and still are learned the hard way. No reason for us to repeat the experiments with more lives.

[-] cannacatman@kbin.social 5 points 1 year ago

Combination of food safety and basic food recipes/methods of cooking for every biome.

[-] Bishma@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 1 year ago

Why allowing elbows on the table is the first pebble in the avalanche downfall of society. /s

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[-] AceFuzzLord@lemm.ee 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I would need to do a lot of adjusting for being made over a fire and do a whole lot of temperature, time, pot used, and ingredient amount/type used, but I could provide a cheesy tuna noodle casserole recipe.

Obviously this restarted civilization probably wouldn't have canned goods, an oven, a stove, a 9x13 glass pan, a clock for timing, and spray oil, so I would have to adjust the recipe to account for all of that before submitting it for that type of book.

Though, what I assume would be the hardest ingredient to come by would definitely be the cream of mushroom and cream of chicken.

Edit:

Looked up what exactly goes into cream of mushroom and it still probably would be the hardest to get due to the diversity of ingredients depending on the recipe.

[-] schmorpel@slrpnk.net 6 points 1 year ago

'If you have no store-bought cream, hunted and foraged is fine'

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[-] WeAreAllOne@lemm.ee 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

What is and how to fight for Democracy.

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this post was submitted on 27 Aug 2023
171 points (98.9% liked)

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