The Knowledge: How to Rebuild our World from Scratch

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In considering this, I was impressed by the scale of the task. The task needs to be scaled in both time and space. The population density of the UK is currently about 0.0037 km2 per person. After the catastrophe described (but unspecified), the density would change to 24.3 km2 per person - roughly a box of 5 km by 5 km per person. There is a step whereby the survivors find each other and form a viable small community before a combination of hunger and thirst starts to impose themselves on the new death rate. Me ha divertido este libro en tiempos de cuarentena por el COVID-19, y coincide bastante con la apreciación de que en las sociedades modernas hemos perdido mucho del conocimiento básico que nos ayudaría a iniciar una civilización desde cero. My own field of research, in astrobiology, is engaged in the search for life beyond the Earth. In some ways this is one of the newest areas of science, made possible with recent developments in our understanding of the limits of life on Earth, our capability in building sophisticated robotic probes to explore the other planets and moons in our solar system, and space-based telescopes able to spot new worlds orbiting other stars in the galaxy. But in one sense it’s also one of the most ancient forms of human inquiry – the ages-old curiosity with whether we are alone in the universe, or perhaps there are beings somewhat like us out there within the twinkling heavens.

Tengo que reconocer que empecé este libro por equivocación, pero, como sucede a veces, los errores se convirtieron en aciertos. Al menos en parte. Me explico: llegué a esta obra pensando que sería una especie de ensayo de género, un estudio sobre qué hacer si de pronto nos viéramos correteando alegremente en medio de algún tipo de apocalipsis propio de una novela de género. In the broad sense, The Knowledge is a compendium of information useful to post-cataclysmic persons and societies. The near-term object is to help survive and thrive in collapsed conditions, while the greater goal is renaissance. Dicho lo cual, tengo que reconocer también que, pese a que en ocasiones tenía que volver varios párrafos atrás para entender lo que estaba leyendo, algún tipo de curiosidad intelectual me impedía dejar de pasar páginas. Los mecanismos o el mero funcionamiento de la naturaleza que Dartnell describe resultan tan atractivos que a veces uno sigue leyendo por el placer del descubrimiento, de la maravilla ante lo desconocido. A medida que vamos repasando disciplinas la cosa se complica y el poder replicar lo que explica el autor resulta más complejo. Empezamos con la agricultura, una práctica tremendamente artificial y hambrienta de nitrógeno, fósforo y potasio, así como pesticidas. Hay que volver a la agricultura tradicional. Nos explica la composición del suelo: arena, limo y arcilla en proporciones ideales 40/40/20. Habrá que reinventar el arado, una máquina para dar la vuelta al suelo; la grada, para aplanar; la sembradora. Plantar las tres principales: maíz, arroz y trigo. Y ya después cebada, sorgo, mijo, avena y centeno. Para evitar el barbecho, plantar leguminosas: guisantes, alubias, trébol, alfalfa, lentejas, soja y cacahuetes. Es lo que se llama el sistema Norfolk: Leguminosas, trigo, tubérculos y cebada. Los tubérculos nos ayudarán a alimentar el ganado, que nos dará estiércol y carne. El estiércol humano hay que pasteurizarlo a más de 65 grados. Y para obtener fosfatos: harina de huesos y ácido sulfúrico para dar fosfatos. So, if the apocalypse does come, I really hope I'm not here to deal with it. Maybe I'll be off traveling while it happens or something. Yeah, that sounds good.

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You will need to demonstrate a good working knowledge of London's suburbs by learning an additional 25 routes. Stage 7: Licence application and pre-licensing talk

You may want to attend one of several Knowledge schools to help you study for appearances. These are independent schools that are not controlled or regulated by Transport for London. E4 Knowledge School This is where it is vitally important to specify the nature of the catastrophe. Will all of the land be equally accessible and free from contamination? Will there be the remnants of a plague like event that keeps people apart? How much damage has been caused to our current infrastructure? What will continue to be usable? If we assume away these issues - as the book does - then we are overlooking a number of key factors that could affect our ability to rebuild our society, even if we wanted to. Also, these peaceful souls will spend their time loving animals, not hunting and eating them. In one place, Dartnell grudgingly admits that rebuilding medicine “may also call for disagreeable practices like animal testing.” I’m pretty sure the inhabitants of post-apocalyptic Earth won’t be much concerned with animal welfare, other than preparatory to their consumption. I found the agricultural, medical and chemistry bits the most fascinating and accessible, based on my previous knowledge. We’ve already got some sourdough starter and homemade cider in the corner of the room, so we’re ahead in our preparations, at least when it comes to yeast. Some of the engineering bits went a bit over my head. In practical terms, it gives only a brief overview of what you’d need to know, if you have no prior knowledge you would struggle to do all the things in the book.Qué pasaría en los primeros meses? ¿Qué hay que hacer? Lo primero, buscar cobijo, alimentos y agua. Necesitaremos 3 litros de agua por día. Nos explica cómo filtrar el agua con carbón vegetal y arena. También las botellas de agua servirán, y mejor al sol para esterilizarlas. El pegamento nos servirá para cerrar heridas. En cuanto a comida, un super nos durará 55 años, con las latas y conservas. La gasolina no durará tanto, 10 años máximo. También explica que hay que ir a un campo de golf para buscar las baterías de los cochecitos, alternadores de coches para disponer de generadores eléctricos. Los plásticos, mejor PET. There is a book to be written not for the future (as this one purports to be) but for the present which describes exactly what would happen under various apocalyptic scenarios to the species using the insights of the social sciences and humanities alongside the history of technology. Such fundamentals as the scientific method, physics, chemistry, biology, medicine and select mathematics. Technologies such as accounting, electronics, mechanics. Skills such as first aid, weather forecasting, sailing and navigation. Identification guides for wild edibles, birds and animals, and survival techniques. Concise summations of a wide range of disciplines and skills rendered in durable medium – able to resist rough handling or exposure to the elements – will increase the chances of success.

El ejercicio mental parte de la premisa de que quedamos unas 10.000 personas vivas tras una pandemia, con el planeta básicamente como está ahora, tipo "Soy Leyenda". La catástrofe nuclear no nos permite arrancar de nuevo. Como se ve en tiempos de cuarentena, lo primero que llama la atención es cómo la naturaleza reclama su sitio y se abre camino. Habría muchos incendios, especialmente en ciudades. A medio plazo habrá que huir de ellas, no serán seguras. Demasiado gas almacenado, explosiones. Hay que ir al campo, y mejor hacia la costa. Apocalypse is dark stuff. Some of the attention being paid to it now is frankly a little neurotic. There are people wasting their existences on worrying about it. However, greater awareness of the fragility of our condition might be useful to everyone.For this reason, humanity which has reached a certain level of consciousness is projecting a rendered directly by the reality of unified humanity, to all ofthe universal totalities (including our planet). I have to admit that I struggled to read this book. It's not very engaging or well written. In many cases it reads like one of those science text books that I hated when I was at school. However, despite this, it does have an interesting premise, even though I consider it to be flawed. The premise is that the population of the United Kingdom (and elsewhere) is largely killed off by some unspecified catastrophe. Of the 65,000,000 inhabitants of the UK, only 10,000 remain. How do the survivors rebuild the UK to a standard of technology broadly similar to that of today? The book seeks to answer that question. Going further, you look at the post-apocalyptic world and realise that Dartnell - as a good Enlightenment liberal - misses the key survival move on which everything else depends, including decisions on which of science or magical thinking are more going to help human survival.