<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16850" name=GENERATOR></HEAD>
<BODY>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=671361615-03072009><FONT face=Arial size=2>An earlier comment
about 1000 humans on an island caused me to recognize that we, like the ants,
carry most of our knowledge externally.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=671361615-03072009><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=671361615-03072009><FONT face=Arial size=2>Thought experiment:
Q decides to see if modern humanity can be placed on an earthlike planet devoid
of technology to see if we can bootstrap ourselves back to modernity, or if we
would fall back to the prehistoric mean existence in which we spent so much of
our history. He takes an unlikely subset, those who read ExI-chat and
poofs them to a pristine earth-like planet, along with their mates and children,
but none of their books or technology. He realizes the odds are against
us, so he puts them in a friendly temperate environment, with lush vegetation,
optimal rainfall, tasty beastage and so forth. Q is a cruel bastard, but
he wants to give them a fighting chance, so he poofs them with the clothing they
are wearing right now, and if you read ExI-chat nude, well your first few days
are likely to be unpleasant.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=671361615-03072009><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=671361615-03072009><FONT face=Arial size=2>Assume a few hundred
of us proles and our mates and children, with only the knowledge we currently
carry in our heads. (If you are single, assume the mate of your choice,
not a fantasy woman, but rather someone you already know, with their
knowledge.) We already have one technological advantage you perhaps hadn't
even considered, for we stand on the shoulders of very tall giants: we share a
common language. We share a roughly congruous ethics system, so we
don't immediately begin devouring each other. We share a
common goal: to bootstrap humanity back to where we were before the bastard
Q showed up with his experiments.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=671361615-03072009><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=671361615-03072009><FONT face=Arial size=2>OK fine, we can
teach each other what we know. I am a rocket scientists, specializing in
control systems. But most of my knowledge is in the form of books in my
office. I can't build a control system from that which is in my
head. But it doesn't matter because I can't build a satellite
anyways, nor a rocket to lift it. But I do know how to slay a
beast and prepare it to be devoured. But can I catch it with no
tools? And if I do, can I dress it? No. </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=671361615-03072009><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=671361615-03072009><FONT face=Arial size=2>A lot of us here are
code jockeys. We want to record what we know, but do you know how to
build a computer? Do you know how an integrated circuit works? Could
you write down for the next generation the basics? How would you
write it? On what, with what?</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=671361615-03072009><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=671361615-03072009><FONT face=Arial size=2>Assume a lake or
sea. Can you catch a fish without any hooks or string? If you catch
one, then what?</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=671361615-03072009><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=671361615-03072009><FONT face=Arial size=2>Do you have any
guess how the first humans melted iron? Don't google on it, think,
how would YOU do it? </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=671361615-03072009><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=671361615-03072009><FONT face=Arial size=2>We stand on the
shoulders of giants, and most of the time we don't even realize
it.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=671361615-03072009><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=671361615-03072009><FONT face=Arial
size=2>spike</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=671361615-03072009><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=671361615-03072009><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=671361615-03072009><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=671361615-03072009><FONT face=Arial size=2>
</FONT></SPAN></DIV></BODY></HTML>