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Ask Slashdot: Permanent Preservation of Human Knowledge?

Posted by Soulskill on from the you-mean-facebook-won't-survive-the-apocalypse? dept.

Wayne2 writes "While there have been many attempts to preserve human knowledge in electronic format, it occurred to me that these attempts all assume that human civilization remains more or less intact. Given humanity's history of growth and collapse with knowledge repeatedly gained then lost, has anyone considered a more permanent solution? I realize that this could be very difficult and/or expensive depending on how long we want to preserve the information and what assumptions we make regarding posterity's ability to access it. Alternatively, are we, as a species, willing to start over if we experience a catastrophe, pandemic, etc. of significant magnitude on a global scale that derails our progress and sends us back to the dark ages or worse?"

5 of 277 comments (clear)

  1. Easy! DRM is the answer! by erroneus · · Score: 5, Funny

    It "protects" content right?

  2. This one gives an idea: by SYSS+Mouse · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Terminal_Event_Management_Policy

  3. A Canticle... by MeepMeep · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ...for Leibowitz

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Canticle_for_Leibowitz

  4. Rosetta Project/Long Now by joshv · · Score: 5, Informative

    Check out the Rosetta Project - http://rosettaproject.org/about/

  5. Deadman switch courier ships by Intrepid+imaginaut · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Periodically send up long distance spacecraft loaded with not just data but the means to view it and the means to rebuild from first principles, assuming a child was viewing it - here is how you find iron deposits, mine and refine them, this is how you forge ploughs, these are the basics of algebra. Have them programmed to circle around somewhere just inside Jupiter's orbit, and have multiple stations here on earth sending out a deadman signal - when they stop broadcasting, the vessels begin to return in waves seperated by ten years or so, with the last waves arriving once a century.

    When they make it home, have them attempt to locate likely inhabited areas whether by thermal imaging looking for fires at night or just vegetation profiling for fields, then drop down nearby, broadcasting light and sound, even radio, until someone comes to investigate.

    It's relatively easy to permanently preserve all of mankind's knowledge, just pack it in a rocket and send it Oort-cloud bound. Well permanently as in astronomical timescales. The trick is to preserve all of humanity's knowledge in a way that's useful to humanity in the future.