Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.
Title details for The Knowledge by Lewis Dartnell - Available

The Knowledge

How to Rebuild Our World from Scratch

by Lewis Dartnell
John Lee
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
1 of 1 copy available
How would you go about rebuilding a technological society from scratch?

If our technological society collapsed tomorrow, perhaps from a viral pandemic or catastrophic asteroid impact, what would be the one book you would want to press into the hands of the postapocalyptic survivors? What crucial knowledge would they need to survive in the immediate aftermath and to rebuild civilization as quickly as possible—a guide for rebooting the world?

Human knowledge is collective, distributed across the population. It has built on itself for centuries, becoming vast and increasingly specialized. Most of us are ignorant about the fundamental principles of the civilization that supports us, happily utilizing the latest—or even the most basic—technology without having the slightest idea of why it works or how it came to be. If you had to go back to absolute basics, like some sort of postcataclysmic Robinson Crusoe, would you know how to re-create an internal combustion engine, put together a microscope, get metals out of rock, accurately tell time, weave fibers into clothing, or even how to produce food for yourself?

Regarded as one of the brightest young scientists of his generation, Lewis Dartnell proposes that the key to preserving civilization in an apocalyptic scenario is to provide a quickstart guide, adapted to cataclysmic circumstances. The Knowledge describes many of the modern technologies we employ, but first it explains the fundamentals upon which they are built. Every piece of technology rests on an enormous support network of other technologies, all interlinked and mutually dependent. You can't hope to build a radio, for example, without understanding how to acquire the raw materials it requires, as well as generate the electricity needed to run it. But Dartnell doesn't just provide specific information for starting over; he also reveals the greatest invention of them all—the phenomenal knowledge-generating machine that is the scientific method itself. This would allow survivors to learn technological advances not explicitly explored in The Knowledge as well as things we have yet to discover.

The Knowledge is a brilliantly original guide to the fundamentals of science and how it built our modern world as well as a thought experiment about the very idea of scientific knowledge itself.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    April 17, 2014

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781452696133
      • File size: 258303 KB
      • Duration: 08:58:07

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      John Lee narrates this postapocalyptic "survival manual" in steady, crisp tones. After a long introduction that focuses on the various ways our civilization might destroy itself, Dartnell discusses how to rebuild everything from soap and fabric to rubber, plastics, glass, and thermal energy. In long discussions of how technology works, Lee describes how to make numerous items common in today's society. Lee's no-nonsense performance is perfect for a book about rebuilding society. But, of course, in the event of an actual apocalypse that wipes out power supplies, one would need the print version. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      August 4, 2014
      With breezy aplomb in this fast-paced, detailed guide, Dartnell (Life in the Universe) takes us through a hypothetical post-apocalyptic scenario. He covers not only the little steps for making it through the first 48 hoursâfinding shelter, clean water, foodâbut through the longer processes of "rebooting civilization" such as reinstating agriculture, recovering medicine and medical knowledge, and re-establishing communication, among others. This isn't simply a bare bones guide to how many water bottles or rolls of duct tape to stockpile in anticipation of a global disaster. Dartnell draws deeply on the scientific fundamentals of each step required to rebuild society to the level at which we now live. For example, as we re-establish communication with others, the first step will be writing. In order to make paper we'd need to "pour a dollop ofâ¦sloppy cellulose soup across a fine wire mesh or cloth screen, bounded on the sides by a frame." To get the power back on, we'd need to build four-sail windmills or waterwheels to harness the natural forces necessary to generate electricity. If a nuclear catastrophe or a viral epidemic destroyed our world tomorrow, this would be a vital survival guide.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Loading