Homo Habilis

[poliphilo]

I press a button. Morgan Freeman appears in front of me and says, "Shit". It's raining where he is. I press another button. He disappears.

I take this power for granted, but I don't have a clue how it works.

If our technology were to disappear tomorrow I wouldn't be able to do a thing to get it back. I don't even know how to smelt metal.

Maybe I'd have the wherewithal to go make myself a hand-axe, though I understand there's quite an art to knapping flint.

Left to my own devices I belong in the stone age- if that.

I have about as much aptitude for tool-making as a chimpanzee.

Comments

[lblanchard.livejournal.com]

I've been reading An Army of Davids by Glenn Harlan Reynolds (aka Instapundit). He posits that there are enough geeky types who are fascinated with obsolete technology and/or re-enactment that we'd be able to find mentors to help us knap flint, etc.

I have...

[jubal51394.livejournal.com]

Enormous aptitude for tool-making, though little else... Look me up. I will happily craft any such tools as you might need... for a price of course.

And so it all began... *crafty leer*

[thewayupward.livejournal.com]

Now I can't remember who said that a citizen is a person who, if need be, can recreate his own civilisation. Which is weird, because this quote used to bug me out. One of my favourite nightmares is being sent back in time accidentally!! and realising omfg I can't do anything. I figure I could probably create electricity (you need ... a lemon ... and, like, metal bits. And wire. hoo yeah) but then what would I do with it? Build a computer??

Anyway, I totally resolved my dilemma: I would teach everyone the scientific method and wait for the great minds of the age to work out computer-building for me. Views? ho ho ho

[cataptromancer.livejournal.com]

There's a quirky movie called Happy Accidents - it starts out as a typical wacky guy meets girl-who's-been-hurt-too-much romantic dramedy, but then the guy starts claiming he's from the future (and it's relatively well done so you're not sure until the end).

Anyway, okay movie, but it has one scene which I thought was absolutely great. The guy starts talking about time travel and one of the girl's friends, understandably skeptic but also drunk and obnoxious, says something like, "Oh yeah, well how does your time machine work?" The future guy says he doesn't know. "Well, how are we supposed to believe you if you can't even tell us how it works?" And then the future guy gets really angry and starts asking her friends to explain how cars work, and none of them can.

[forestdweller.livejournal.com]

Aye, I've thought about that myself. Were civilization as we know it to disappear I would be able to do some rudimentary flint-knapping and foraging, but I would be hard-pressed to build a fire or to hunt with more than pit traps or snares.

We do need each other, utterly and completely.

[jackiejj.livejournal.com]

I still smile when remembering your comment that, if left behind on a desert island, you would lie down and wait to die...