The Knowledge: How to Rebuild Our World from Scratch

Howwouldyougoaboutrebuildingatechnologicalsocietyfromscratch?Ifourtechnologicalsocietycollapsedtomorrow,perhapsfromaviralpandemicorcatastrophicasteroidimpact,whatwouldbetheonebookyouwouldwanttopressintothehandsofthepostapocalypticsurvivors?Whatcrucialknowledgewouldtheyneedtosurviveintheimmediateaftermathandtorebuildcivilizationasquicklyaspossible—aguideforrebootingtheworld?Humanknowledgeiscollective,distributedacrossthepopulation.Ithasbuiltonitselfforcenturies,becomingvastandincreasinglyspecialized.Mostofusareignorantaboutthefundamentalprinciplesofthecivilizationthatsupportsus,happilyutilizingthelatest—oreventhemostbasic—technologywithouthavingtheslightestideaofwhyitworksorhowitcametobe.Ifyouhadtogobacktoabsolutebasics,likesomesortofpostcataclysmicRobinsonCrusoe,wouldyouknowhowtore-createaninternalcombustionengine,puttogetheramicroscope,getmetalsoutofrock,accuratelytelltime,weavefibersintoclothing,orevenhowtoproducefoodforyourself?Regardedasoneofthebrightestyoungscientistsofhisgeneration,LewisDartnellproposesthatthekeytopreservingcivilizationinanapocalypticscenarioistoprovideaquickstartguide,adaptedtocataclysmiccircumstances.TheKnowledgedescribesmanyofthemoderntechnologiesweemploy,butfirstitexplainsthefundamentalsuponwhichtheyarebuilt.Everypieceoftechnologyrestsonanenormoussupportnetworkofothertechnologies,allinterlinkedandmutuallydependent.Youcan’thopetobuildaradio,forexample,withoutunderstandinghowtoacquiretherawmaterialsitrequires,aswellasgeneratetheelectricityneededtorunit.ButDartnelldoesn’tjustprovidespecificinformationforstartingover;healsorevealsthegreatestinventionofthemall—thephenomenalknowledge-generatingmachinethatisthescientificmethoditself.ThiswouldallowsurvivorstolearntechnologicaladvancesnotexplicitlyexploredinTheKnowledgeaswellasthingswehaveyettodiscover.TheKnowledgeisabrilliantlyoriginalguidetothefundamentalsofscienceandhowitbuiltourmodernworldaswellasathoughtexperimentabouttheveryideaofscientificknowledgeitself.