[ExI] we stand on the shoulders of giants

[Brian Manning Delaney]

spike skrev:

> Everything that has been posted on this topic goes towards my point, which
> is a that huge amount of the human knowledge base is externalized.  This is
> true to such an extent that if our access to our external knowledge base
> were to be disrupted or removed, basic survival itself is far from assured.

Quite right! I was assuming that friendly climate, lush vegetation and 
tasty beastage would make basic survival relatively easy. But even that 
is questionable. And even with the easy availability of the right kind 
of food, there are the numerous social problems that could lead to 
threats to survival.

But I agree completely with your main point. And one practical 
conclusion might be: we need good backups! (In radically different 
media/forms.) -- There have been dark ages before, without humanity's 
having been transported to a diff. planet.

Brian

P.S. But I still think I could make a rudimentary, bellows, if highly 
leaky, with tree branches and animal skin!! But it would take a while, 
and my first attempts would suck.