So how far would it set us back if all written information was lost

MooseJam

Imagine it - all books, all computer files, absolutely any form of recorded information was lost, the only information left was that stored in peoples memories, how far would this set us back, answers on a postcard to ...

Terry

2 weeks.

funk-you

About 600-700 years? Do i win a The Den T-Shirt?

-Funk

Overheal

youd be talking an instant loss of any computer or telecom network. we might never recover. if we did it would take decades. if not centuries.

Flukey

We wouldn't be able to respond to the question.

Magpie!

Is the written word gone forever or do we get to start writing stuff down again?

I'd say technically and what have you we'd recover pretty quick. People would still have the skills on hand and the memory of their job to do what needs to be done.

Culturally it would be a huge set back. Not many people could rattle of literary classics by memory these days unlike in the past and non-literate cultures in the less developed world now who pass down their history and lore orally.

IvaBigWun

Terry wrote: »

2 weeks.

Overheal

good luck getting computers back online: we'd have to start back at binary and work our way back up to Assembly Code. it would be madness.

thelordofcheese

Overheal wrote: »

good luck getting computers back online: we'd have to start back at binary and work our way back up to Assembly Code. it would be madness.

They called me mad when i went and learned assembly... WHO'S MAD NOW!?

mbwhahahahahahahaha

Magpie!

Overheal wrote: »

good luck getting computers back online: we'd have to start back at binary and work our way back up to Assembly Code. it would be madness.

But but but it could be done, right? right? :eek:

thefinalstage

Magpie! wrote: »

But but but it could be done, right? right? :eek:

Of course it could. The open source community would be our saviors.

CHD

who cares?

funk-you

CHD wrote: »

who cares?

You enough to reply?

-Funk

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

What's the betting taht the first things up and running would be text/phone polls, x-factor and tabloids...?

FunkZ

1 year and 46 days.

KnifeWRENCH

It would have benefits: we could rewrite the Bible and make some slight adjustments.

ABORTIONS, HOMOSEXUALITY, MASTURBATION AND ADULTERY FOR ALL.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

square_igloo wrote: »

It would have benefits: we could rewrite the Bible and make some slight adjustments.

ABORTIONS, HOMOSEXUALITY, MASTURBATION AND ADULTERY FOR ALL.

We're men - how can we have abortions?

miju

FunkZ wrote: »

1 year and 46 days.

ah come on thats way too optimistic. I'd personally say not a pip over 411 days

KnifeWRENCH

Ikky Poo2 wrote: »

We're men - how can we have abortions?

Science, my good man - we can get pregnant if we're willing to do a bit of self-adjustment! So we can therefore get abortions too.
A man having an abortion could make MILLIONS if you display him at a gallery of pretentious modern art.

Bottle_of_Smoke

A lot of Muslims learn the Quran by heart.

Any mods ever get a "this thread is a threat to national security" message on a reported post?

hussey

miju wrote: »

ah come on thats way too optimistic. I'd personally say not a pip over 411 days

John McClane will prevent it

chopperbyrne

Ikky Poo2 wrote: »

We're men - how can we have abortions?

Okay, but we can fight for our right to have abortions!

Wibbs

All written info gone? We would be completely fubar. Healthcare/transport/government/financial markets/food/power supply would collapse and within a month what we would recognise as civilisation would be gone pretty much. Even Your Ma would be in trouble.

kowloon

Need to be careful walking around blank signs, probably didn't say minefield, but you can't be sure.

r3nu4l

Well considering that literacy rates are falling and textspeak is rising I'd say we may find out in the next 10 years or so.

Kids won't understand our current text books and a massive Government project will be undertaken to translate great literary works into textspeak.

2 b r nt 2 b? Dat is d q?

Wl u b dr 2 c it? Wl u ndrstnd it?

rowlandbrowner

hussey wrote: »

John McClane will prevent it

Internet Savvy terrorists are no match for him.

kowloon

r3nu4l wrote: »

Well considering that literacy rates are falling and textspeak is rising I'd say we may find out in the next 10 years or so.

Kids won't understand our current text books and a massive Government project will be undertaken to translate great literary works into textspeak.

2 b r nt 2 b? Dat is d q?

Wl u b dr 2 c it? Wl u ndrstnd it?

I'd laugh if it wasn't true

dee8839

Everyone would have to "remember":rolleyes: what their bank balance was. Mortgages, loan info, credit card history - gone!!

Sounds fun...

Quazzie

Every one would start afresh and it really would be a battle of the fittest to claim stock, land, money, all possesions would be up for grabs. I know for one I could easily forget that BIFFO was our country's leader

Steve_o

WHY SO MANY CAPITALS???

OP: it would take approximately 0.0008 seconds to recover, thats how long it would take for the new DNA bio computer things, to tap into our minds, take our knowledge, fix everything and then take over the world...