Information and knowledge

[eb in oregon]

For thousands of years speech and the written word has been the primary source of information and knowledge for humanity. Today we have the internet and access to more information than any human could process.

I've five books for reloading ammunition, but if I want to check a specific power applicable to a specific cartridge I can find that answer within minutes, if not seconds, using the internet. But supposing the internet was down, or otherwise unavailable? Having those books is probably a smart thing to do. Books don't have batteries or need anything other than light to gain information and knowledge.

Just having a random thought.

Read More

 

[Longwalkhome]

It's better to own important information, books are yours forever.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

I prefer books , have a few myself...
( Last count was when we moved...1200 was when I stopped )
Andy

 

[PORSCHE928S4]

I still have Chiltons repair books even though they are available online.

 

[Stomper]

I prefer books , have a few myself...
( Last count was when we moved...1200 was when I stopped )
Andy

MEH, reading is overrated!

You clearly need more toes…. but then you'd need WAY bigger shoes.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

MEH, reading is overrated!

You clearly need more toes…. but then you'd need WAY bigger shoes.

Hmmm....says the guy who read the instruction on the M18A1 Claymore mine....
Andy

 

[powersbj]

I find books put things in context better than the webs. I keep paper copies of things I need to digest or reference later. My true irony is liking paper copies for writing code or using complex software.

 

[Spitpatch]

I prefer books , have a few myself...
( Last count was when we moved...1200 was when I stopped )
Andy

I'm certain that "I read somewhere..." that books enjoy the same exemption status as guns:

If you count them, you might have a problem.

 

[mrblond]

 

[Jory45acp]

Books are great sources but the dat can change with time. As far as the internet going bye bye....it's not complicated to download a spreadsheet with current load data for all your calibers and print it out once a year with updates. I edit my load data and keep it in 3 ring binder with other pertinent info for each gun. It's not complicated.

 

[Member 3687]

I remember when there was no internet for the public to use just the government and it was dial up and slow and not a lot of information was out there and now the kids of today can not function with out it.

Even though the internet is here to stay in some form or another the world is currently going a little crazy and the government and or big business may determine you may not have access to certain types of information.

Just look at YouTube, face book and other platforms when it comes to gun culture, first they demonetize them then all of sudden subscribers are missing and then the web sites are re-routed so nobody can find them.

So, if they say no gun content of any kind then your reloading data will be gone forever and if that is possible then what other content would be deemed not for personal use and removed.

The internet also runs off power and if the grid is taken down then you can have all the batteries in the world to run your gear but servers only have so much back up power to maintain their operation for a few days before back up generators are out of fuel then what.

I too rely on the internet to work on my cars, fix my dish washer and even see how certain guns work but I also have books for key things I feel I may need if the grid goes down. I have Armorer's manuals on the MP5, CZ Scorpion, 1911, Glock, S&W MP pistols and AK/AR type rifles plus medical books and books about living off the land and surviving an apocalyptic world.

Man, currently relies on cell phones, cars with computers, internet, grocery stores and amazon to live so if all that is gone due to war, no power grid or an over thrown government most will not make it as they do not have the knowledge on how to live like are fathers and grandfathers did.

I do not have these books for me even though I enjoy them, its for my kids or their kids because if the grid is wiped out bad enough it could take years before it is up and running again, if ever, and they will need books as they will not have the internet to rely on.

Just my opinion

 

[oremike]

The internet is fine for instant information and it can drag me down the worm hole. But I've always been a book reader. The best way I can describe it is I get into books, they take me on a journey of the mind.

 

[JustSomeGuy]

Excellent topic.

I maintain a pretty extensive library containing everything from light reading down to the step by step procedures for daily operations and tasks to keep the ranch running. Being an old guy, I ain't got a lot of years left and I want to make sure the knowledge is preserved for those that come along after I'm gone. I also maintain backup copies of all vital information in a secure location. The one thing I have to offer to this conversation is to remember that organization is essential, especially when it comes to vital information. It doesn't do any good to think or know you have something if you have to waste time looking for it.

 

[P7M13]

Loads From books and the internet, written into Load journals for workup.
"Sweet spot" loads written onto index cards, consolidated by cartridge, clipped together.

 

[Spitpatch]

With the prophecy of "Fahrenheit 451" seeming ever closer in recent days, I fear I may qualify as a Principal Target.

 

[bradsteen]

I'm certain that "I read somewhere..." that books enjoy the same exemption status as guns:

If you count them, you might have a problem.

If by "problem" you mean suddenly realizing you need more, then yes!

I consider printed information to be an important component of a long-term survival plan. Not necessarily during the immediate crisis, but for helping sustain and survive longer-term events, or to recover and rebuild in the aftermath. Books on growing / gathering / hunting / preparing / storing food, creating medicine, treating wounds and illnesses, construction, woodworking, plumbing, electrical repair, gunsmithing, reloading, automotive repair, sewing / knitting / crocheting, tailoring... all of these things may come in handy during war, famine, depression, natural disaster, or if we or someone we know happen to fall on hard times.

Add to that the fact that you can't "unprint" a book, but someone can deactivate a URL or change data on a webpage. Manuals and instructions on more controversial things like how to build your own guns, explosives, etc are easy enough to find online now, but there may come a time where that is no longer the case. I'm not advocating that people should build bombs in their garages or anything, but there are a few rather extreme circumstances under which that knowledge could prove useful to one's survival and sustainment in a practical manner - mining, tunneling into hillsides, clearing debris, etc.

 

[tac]

I currently have just about two thousand books, spread out over three rooms, in five languages. Needless to say, I also have a bunch of dictionaries. Very few are works of fiction - we are well-provided with extensive libraries as well as mobile libraries. As I read very quickly, so spending money on hardbacks, unless they are of the 'read-again' category, is not what I do.

I don't recall learning to read - in a house where three languages were in everyday use, I could read and write well in any of them before I started school aged 5 years and 1 month. So school was, let's say, difficult to begin with. Sure, I use the internet - I'm doing it now, right? But I lived without it before, and earned my hard-won education - a Masters and two other technically-oriented Batchelor degrees - without being able to cut and paste, as so many people seem to do these days. Everything I served up in my exams and dissertations were derived wholly from my own page-turning and note-taking efforts.

 

[Frank RW]

meh, if the Internet goes down, just gonna kill myself anyway.


seriously tho', there's still a LOT that isn't on the web. found that many times, mostly with reference books.

i haven't read a non-fiction since, oh, the 90s at least. i read to learn. not fond of ebooks when i do read, still have love for paper.

i don't like the idea that every bit of our e-knowledge could be wiped out in seconds.

 

[3MTA3]

I have a lot of information in printed format, but also use Kindle Paperwhites as part of my preps. They are incredibly efficient and get about 2 weeks per charge of fairly heavy use. They can store documents in a few formats that can be uploaded directly. The paperwhite display has the advantage of being readable in sunlight as easily as paper in addition to being very power efficient. One of these and a small solar charger = a very portable library.

Assuming electricity is available I have a (currently) 18 TB RAID 5 NAS that has TONS of eBooks along with hundreds of movies and more FLAC encoded music than you can listen to in a year.

 

[ma96782]

BUT, But, but......sometimes......



Yeah....like with these people.

American Tourists Try To Board Plane With Unexploded Bomb

The family found the ordnance during a trip to Israel and thought it would make a nice souvenir.

www.huffpost.com

Aloha, Mark

PS.........Awwww, that's so old. It's NOT a danger anymore. Rrrrright?

Massive Crater In German Cornfield Likely Caused By WWII Bomb

“We can be glad that the farmer was not in the field,” a city spokesman said of the weekend blast.

www.huffpost.com