I can't live without my...

[moondust]

Curious, what is it about the internet you would like to carry with you? a particular website? social media? knowledge like wikipedia?

definitely knowledge. use the world wide web without thinking at this point. would be annoying to not find answers to things. also my laptop is my main writing tool so it'd be my number one pick with or without the internet, obviously would need everything it needs like outlets (electricity), headphones, and whatnot. I don't use many electronics in my day to day life. I do dishes by hand, I know how to cook without a stove, how to keep food cool in the ground if I don't have a fridge, I let my hair dry naturally usually, so my laptop and internet access would be the only thing I would TRULY miss.

 

[Jean P. R. Dubois]

What level of technology?

Basically, if you had to leave earth and go to another planet, ala stargate, to inhabit a world with bronze age technology, what would you want to take with you. what would be a priority to try and re-establish as a new society. If its internet, sure, you can take servers to get it started and everyone in your colony would have devices then find ways to replicate that in the new world.

 

[Jean P. R. Dubois]

Coming to this thread for the first time, it strikes me that no one gadget could save me in a world where nobody else had gadgets. It’s not the device that we need, it’s someone on the other end. The internet isn’t a network of computers, cell phones, tablets, and servers. Those are just the glue that holds it together. The internet is made of thee and me.

(ETA: Pay no attention to that profit-hungry bot slavering in the corner)

Thats the question I'm trying to get at. if you, as the leader of a fleeing society from earth to the bronze age, what would you want to prioritize with you to start the new world. If its internet, you would have servers to get it started and every colonist would have a device, from there you would adapt to the existing level of technology.

Its kind of a social experiment I have looking to see what people value the most out of our current society. I'm surprised, and not surprised, that internet seems to come up the most. I would have thought electric stoves, refrigerators, transportation, lab equipment, that sort of thing hasnt been mentioned at all. Well, except for a dishwasher.

 

[Jean P. R. Dubois]

definitely knowledge. use the world wide web without thinking at this point. would be annoying to not find answers to things. also my laptop is my main writing tool so it'd be my number one pick with or without the internet, obviously would need everything it needs like outlets (electricity), headphones, and whatnot. I don't use many electronics in my day to day life. I do dishes by hand, I know how to cook without a stove, how to keep food cool in the ground if I don't have a fridge, I let my hair dry naturally usually, so my laptop and internet access would be the only thing I would TRULY miss.

I would have to agree, if you can take knowledge with you, you can replicate most of what you want once you get there. It would also be a good repository for new information as its aquired.

 

[Fi Webster]

Wow. Your post is the perfect to-do list for what I’d call a go-bag. “Bugout bag” is even more poetic!

Yeh, that's a compelling notion. But for me that sort of "bugout bag" would be of no use. I am way too deeply connected to and dependent on books, art, and music. If I had to leave all (or most) of that stuff behind, I can't imagine wanting to survive.

Spoiler: Talk of self-harm

It's hard enough for me to want to keep living as it is. At least once a month I seriously consider killing myself. I haven't ever tried such a thing, but it's never very far away from my thoughts. I've stocked up on exactly what I would use to 100% successfully bring my life to an end. I keep those items in a small fabric bag in the top drawer of a dresser. They're all the "bugout bag" I need.

I have a friend who doesn't want to cope with living in the US anymore. She spent five years getting fluent in Italian, then moved to Italy. When several of us gathered to wish her Bon voyage, all the other people expressed their envy, saying, "You are so lucky! How I wish I could leave, too."

I was the only one who said, "But I'm stuck here. My tens of thousands of paper books alone mean I can never leave." Books and art, neither of which require being on the grid, are keeping me alive. So if the apocalypse comes knocking on my door, I might stick around until the water was shut off, or until I ran out of food, and then... =shrug=

 

[dickson]

Thats the question I'm trying to get at. if you, as the leader of a fleeing society from earth to the bronze age, what would you want to prioritize with you to start the new world. If its internet, you would have servers to get it started and every colonist would have a device, from there you would adapt to the existing level of technology.

Its kind of a social experiment I have looking to see what people value the most out of our current society. I'm surprised, and not surprised, that internet seems to come up the most. I would have thought electric stoves, refrigerators, transportation, lab equipment, that sort of thing hasnt been mentioned at all. Well, except for a dishwasher.

Flush toilets and garbage removal? I recall reading somewhere decades ago that these two social innovations accounted for almost all the increase in human lifespan in the industrial world, despite the awe-inspiring advances in medical technologies.

Public health, not individual medical care.

Seeing a pattern here, much?

 

[Unimportant]

I was the only one who said, "But I'm stuck here. My tens of thousands of paper books alone mean I can never leave."

You can fit a metric fucktonne of books into a shipping container and move, with them, anywhere on the planet. I speak from experience.

 

[Mevrouw Bee]

You can fit a metric fucktonne of books into a shipping container and move, with them, anywhere on the planet. I speak from experience.

I have 12 boxes worth of stuff arriving here in Holland tomorrow morning from Canada. Including a metric fucktonne of books. Only takes five months!

 

[Maryn]

We need to close this up after a massive derail, with this final, caring, and seemingly urgent message:

If you or anyone you know is considering suicide or is anxious, depressed, upset, or needs to talk, there are people who want to help:

In the US:

Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 from anywhere in the US, at any time, about any type of crisis.

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988 to contact what was formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The original phone number, 1-800-273-TALK (8255), is available as well.

The Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386

Outside the US:

The International Association for Suicide Prevention lists a number of suicide hotlines by country. Click here to find them.

Maryn, saying please, please, please