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5 books for the survival of Mankind...
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Nov 2004
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You are stranded, isolated in a Library. (I am watching The Day After Tomorrow).
The cold is getting to your bones.
To survive, you have to burn the books, but you suspect that Humankind might survive the Ice Age...
You have a choice of 5 books which could ensure a continuity for Humankind.
Which ones and why?
(bookcovers are welcome)
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Senior User
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Minneapolis
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well i don't think I'm well read enough to fully answer but I'll try:
1. The Elegant Universe - Brian Greene
2. The Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
3. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
4. Something by Tim O'Brien
5. Mein Kampf
These may not ensure the survival of mankind but I think they are all very important books in understanding our modern history
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Professional Poster
Join Date: Jul 2001
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You know the rest of this thread is going to be about porn.
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"Curse my metal body, I wasn't fast enough!"
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Professional Poster
Join Date: Oct 2002
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Originally posted by TubaMuffins:
5. Mein Kampf
Maybe you should have included a history book or two to go along with this bad boy.
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"You rise," he said, "like Aurora." 
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Theory - everything works in theory
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Originally posted by TubaMuffins:
well i don't think I'm well read enough to fully answer but I'll try:...
Same here, which is why I wont even suggest books 1 through 4, but I will say that book five should be The Art of War by Sun Tzu. After all, "as a species, [we] human beings define [our] reality through suffering and misery." Might as well be prepared for it 
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Senior User
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Minneapolis
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Originally posted by Stradlater:
Maybe you should have included a history book or two to go along with this bad boy.
Originally posted by TubaMuffins:
5. Something by Tim O'Brien
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Posting Junkie
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Brisbane, Australia
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Oct 2001
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Nothing. I'd burn them all. Then I could act them out and take credit for the creativity of our literary greats like in the equally plausible end-of-the-world scenario in Reign of Fire.
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Chuck
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"Instead of either 'multi-talented' or 'multitalented' use 'bisexual'."
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Posting Junkie
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Originally posted by Chuckit:
Nothing. I'd burn them all. Then I could act them out and take credit for the creativity of our literary greats like in the equally plausible end-of-the-world scenario in Reign of Fire.
And I would do the opposite. Burning all those books for my own survival would be incredibly selfish.
I would go find something else to burn for heat.
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Jun 2003
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http://www.mafia-designs.com
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Jun 2004
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Originally posted by Disgruntled Head of C-3PO:
You know the rest of this thread is going to be about porn.
No.
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<some witty quote that identifies my originality as a person except for the fact everyone else does the same thing>
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Sep 2001
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you can learn everything about life in Swank.
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Jan 2004
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"Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world." -Archimedes
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Mac Elite
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http://www.mafia-designs.com
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Mac Elite
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The Art of Happiness cowritten with the Dalai Lama.
Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy (1st 3 books)
Some super excellent camping/survival book that I've yet to discover.
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Do you want forgiveness or respect?
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Addicted to MacNN
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Make sure that Ben Franklin's autobiography is in there, plus "Lucifer's Hammer" by Niven and Pournelle, and finally either "Atlas Shrugged" or "The Fountainhead" although AS would be better, I think. If nothing else, the John Galt speech could be used as a sleeping aid.
Plus, we'd want at least one copy of The Holy Bible and/or The Koran, depending upon who was smart and lucky enough to be in the room at the time.
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He can be fixed -- you can't.
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Baninated
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Illinois might be cold and flat, but at least it's ugly.
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(Last edited by budster101; Mar 28, 2005 at 03:59 PM.
)
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Nov 2004
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Originally posted by SimpleLife:
You have a choice of 5 books which could ensure a continuity for Humankind.
Which ones and why?
(bookcovers are welcome)
Well,
Thank you all. So far suggestions were.. interesting... but I was aiming at something different:
1) something medical
2) something about carpentry
3) something about survival
4) something about hunting and trapping
5) something about engineering
Of course, any books coming from the series "..For Dummies" could be acceptable I suppose.
What do you think?
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Mar 2002
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I imagine other libraries would still be intact... but I'd save the Bible... that's about it...
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: My Powerbook, in Japan!
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Originally posted by SimpleLife:
Well,
Thank you all. So far suggestions were.. interesting... but I was aiming at something different:
1) something medical
2) something about carpentry
3) something about survival
4) something about hunting and trapping
5) something about engineering
Of course, any books coming from the series "..For Dummies" could be acceptable I suppose.
What do you think?
Clearly you're the only one whose thinking practically.
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Baninated
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Illinois might be cold and flat, but at least it's ugly.
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Why? Will the buildings all be gone?
Be more specific...
Medical books won't help you if you don't have any practical way of practicing. A doctor surviving would be the best resource to pass the information on to his "Students"... etc.
Is the internet still available? 
If so, screw the books.
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Nov 2004
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Originally posted by budster101:
Why? Will the buildings all be gone?
Be more specific...
Medical books won't help you if you don't have any practical way of practicing. A doctor surviving would be the best resource to pass the information on to his "Students"... etc.
Is the internet still available?
If so, screw the books.
Key word: Ice age.
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Originally posted by SimpleLife:
Well,
Thank you all. So far suggestions were.. interesting... but I was aiming at something different:
1) something medical
2) something about carpentry
3) something about survival
4) something about hunting and trapping
5) something about engineering
Of course, any books coming from the series "..For Dummies" could be acceptable I suppose.
What do you think?
The Columbia Encyclopedia, as well Inventions and Discoveries, would impart both medical, engineering, and carpentry knowledge. I believe that there has got to be stuff about hunting and trapping, as well. What about survival? I'm sure there are references to that, too. I think, though, that it is also important to retain knowledge about our past, rather than just ways to surive. Survival, carpentry, and hunting would, in my opinion, not be that hard for survivors to pick up. We've all watched movies, and seen carpenters in action. Plus, there are bound to be a few survivors with those skills. Maybe I'm just stupid, though.
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"Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world." -Archimedes
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Madison, WI
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Originally posted by SimpleLife:
You are stranded, isolated in a Library. (I am watching The Day After Tomorrow).
The cold is getting to your bones.
To survive, you have to burn the books, but you suspect that Humankind might survive the Ice Age...
You have a choice of 5 books which could ensure a continuity for Humankind.
Which ones and why?
(bookcovers are welcome)
Duh, pull all the books off the shelf and burn the shelving . . . or the table chairs and other furniture.
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One should never stop striving for clarity of thought and precision of expression.
I would prefer my humanity sullied with the tarnish of science rather than the gloss of religion.
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Senior User
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Minneapolis
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