Post-Apocalypse: Back to the Stone Age

[Cornelius]

Well, I'm afraid you're seeing the problem from a first world prospective. There are large parts of the world where people is far less depending from technology than us. Usually this means shorter and nastier lives, but in your scenario they would recover much faster than the first world people.


A solution could be moving the whole scenario in the far future.

The higher they are, the harder they fall.

The human race has mostly left Earth for the deep space, leaving only a minority of enhanced humans on the planet.
These Eloi would live a life of pleasure and bliss, served by robots (or genetically enginnered biodroids) and slowly forgetting the hard won knowledge of their fathers. On the other hand why bother when it's easier to ask a robot?
The Earth would have been restored to a pristine state, maybe resurrecting old species exticed in the past (like in TH). Only The great monuments would be spared, or maybe the Eloi would have ancient cities from the past rebuild for their fun (Augustus' Rome, Pericles' Athen, victorian London, Wu Ming 5' Neo Aztlan...).
One day, the machines suddendly stop working, the biodroids die or go wild into the forests and the robots slowly stutter to an halt, trying to impart some knowledge, some pratical knowledge to their helpless masters...

Jack Vance wrote many tales on these themes (a couple won Hugo awards). Also Robert Silverberg's Sailing to Byzantium, an Hugo award too, could be interesting (the whole tale just shouts "adapt me to a rolegame!"). You could also check out Olympus by Dan Simmons.

[Anders]

Originally Posted by Cornelius

Well, I'm afraid you're seeing the problem from a first world prospective. There are large parts of the world where people is far less depending from technology than us. Usually this means shorter and nastier lives, but in your scenario they would recover much faster than the first world people.

The Amish spring to mind.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by Asta Kask

The Amish spring to mind.

Amish are an essentially monastic deliberately nineteenth century society living as a protectorate of a 21st century society(Federal Government) and in alliance with another 21st century society(Mennonites who act as their "Sabbath Goys"). No real comparison with a hypothetical post-apocolyptic society reduced to the stone age.

[Anders]

But you must admit they are less dependent on technology than, say, valley girls.

Survival nuts on the other hand...

Aren't LDS supposed to store a year's supply of canned food? Or is that a stereotype?

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by Asta Kask

But you must admit they are less dependent on technology than, say, valley girls.

Survival nuts on the other hand...

Aren't LDS supposed to store a year's supply of canned food? Or is that a stereotype?

Oh probably. Amish do have some degree of survivability in case of catastrophe. Their chief weakness is other humans most of whom are from, shall we say, less amiable traditions. They can protect themselves against starvation, probably not against plundering or enslavement except by flight. Or by rejecting pacifism.

I never heard that about Mormons. I did read that Swiss are required by law to maintain 60 days. Part of keeping the Swiss Porcupine prickly. I thought it was kind of cool myself. Part of maintaining ancient hoplitish virtue and all.

[Sam Cade]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

and in alliance with another 21st century society(Mennonites who act as their "Sabbath Goys").

Just no. Not at all.

Where do you get this?


Our Amish shop at wal-mart just like everyone else, they just drove a buggy to get there.

[Sam Cade]

Originally Posted by Asta Kask

Aren't LDS supposed to store a year's supply of canned food? Or is that a stereotype?

It used to be a year but I think they have rolled it back to 3 months now.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by Asta Kask

But you must admit they are less dependent on technology than, say, valley girls.

Survival nuts on the other hand...

Aren't LDS supposed to store a year's supply of canned food? Or is that a stereotype?

LDS store varying amounts of food. The amount varies from 3 months to 2 years (1 year feeding yourselves with enough to buy off your neighbors). Somehow, the people with two years are always the ones with massive families, so you can get some pretty impressive grain stashes.

[sjard]

Originally Posted by Asta Kask

Aren't LDS supposed to store a year's supply of canned food? Or is that a stereotype?

Yes, they are supposed to keep a years supply of food, not just canned. So you'd have a couple hundred pounds of unground wheat in storage containers, 50 or so pounds of rice, etc. This is also in addition to the highly recommended 72 hour kits (food and emergency supplies for each person for three days, in a quick to access location).


Now, does every LDS member have this, of course not, but last I'd heard it was estimated that about 70% do have it. At least here in Utah.

It is a pervasive enough concept, that it is also estimated that at least 40% of non LDS members also have such a supply here in Utah.

Originally Posted by Sam Cade

It used to be a year but I think they have rolled it back to 3 months now.

I haven't heard anything about it being reduced, and considering my parents (and most of my family) are really big into the food storage and 72 Hour kit thing* I would be surprised if they had just forgotten to mention it to me.


* We recently had a forest fire about 15 miles away, and for a family home evening, most members of my family had a "time to refresh our 72 hour kit" event.


If it makes any difference, for the last year or so we've been having tv ads by one company that specializes in "Gourmet food your years supply." Some place called Dailybread.com.

[Turhan's Bey Company]

Originally Posted by Asta Kask

But you must admit they are less dependent on technology than, say, valley girls.

Steel plows, domesticated crops, domesticated animals, and weather forecasting are technologies. To put it another way, we're tool-using animals. Every Homo sapiens every born has been dependent on technology. It's a question of which technologies we're dependent on.

That said, it may very well be that the specific technologies the Amish use are likely to be more resilient in the face of a general economic and societal collapse, though partly because they are doing things that could be converted into subsistence agriculture relatively easy. Then again, not really knowing where they get and repair their plows, where they get their seed grain, and how much they use irrigation, maybe not.