Robert Scott Horning (robert_horning(a)netzero.net) [041231 03:00]:
In terms of something realistic that Wikipedians could
do and contribute
toward such a project, it would be nice to gather information on how to
recreate basic industries. This would include things like how to make
steel from nothing but raw iron ore and a few buckets of coal, building
an internal combustion engine, basic dam construction, running a
water-powered mill (sawmill or grain), or how to harness a horse
effectively. Books covering these subjects have been written, but they
havn't been updated for a number of years, and assume a technological
infrastruction that in many cases doesn't even exist now except in some
emerging nations. Besides the doom and gloom scenerios, it could also
be a valuable aid for some of these developing nations on how to make
stuff and build industries on a comparatively small-scale (a few dozen
workers). Once information like this is gathered, finding preservation
methods for the information would be much easier to achieve.
Now, *that* sounds like a project for Wikibooks!
- d.