Category: Videos

How to open can without can opener

For the launch of the book, we created a series of five short films to showcase different techniques that would be vital for surviving the immediate aftermath and rebuilding the capability of your post-apoclyptic society. This first one in a series of three shows how to open a tin can without a can opener, or any other tool. If you understand a little about how the tin can is constructed, you can exploit a neat trick to open the lid very easily. Also see (2/3): How to start a fire with everyday items and (3/3) How to make a gasifier stove, as well as How To: Electrolysis.

The Knowledge Want to read more about the behind-the-scenes fundamentals of how our modern world works, and how you could reboot civilisation if you ever needed to...? Check out The Knowledge - available now in paperback, Kindle and audiobook.

PIXELS

PIXELS is a new short film from Patrick Jean is a very nice retro-take on the apocalypse movie. The Earth is attacked by a horde of 8-bit baddies, all familiar from classic childhood video games. Look out for the Space Invaders, PacMan, Pong, King Kong, Tetris, and BomberMan, all convincingly rendered into the New York cityscape.

The Knowledge Want to read more about the behind-the-scenes fundamentals of how our modern world works, and how you could reboot civilisation if you ever needed to...? Check out The Knowledge - available now in paperback, Kindle and audiobook.

Electrolysis of water and brine

ElectrolysisFor the launch of the book, we created a series of five short films to showcase different techniques that would be vital for surviving the immediate aftermath and rebuilding the capability of your post-apoclyptic society. This one shows how to use a scavenged deep-cycle battery (perhaps from a golf buggy, mobility scooter or caravan) and the alternator from a car to keep your community electrified, and to perform electrolysis for creating crucial substances for yourself. Also see the linked series: (1/3) How to open a can without a can opener, (2/3) How to start a fire with everyday items and (3/3) How to make a gasifier stove.

The Knowledge Want to read more about the behind-the-scenes fundamentals of how our modern world works, and how you could reboot civilisation if you ever needed to...? Check out The Knowledge - available now in paperback, Kindle and audiobook.

Cosmic Genome teaser

This is a teaser video for the March edition of the Cosmic Genome, run by Robin Ince, and featuring myself and Alice Roberts. I’m talking about the book, the key knowledge for keeping yourself healthy after the apocalypse and the delightful phrase used by doctors ‘faecal-oral transfer’.

 

The Knowledge Want to read more about the behind-the-scenes fundamentals of how our modern world works, and how you could reboot civilisation if you ever needed to...? Check out The Knowledge - available now in paperback, Kindle and audiobook.

The Longevity of human civilisation

In December 2013, the US Library of Congress hosted a panel discussion on whether the longevity of human civilisation will be imperilled or enhanced by world-changing technologies. A broad spectrum of fascinating thinkers were assembled, including scientists, humanists, journalists and science-fiction authors. Watch the debate on YouTube here.

The Knowledge Want to read more about the behind-the-scenes fundamentals of how our modern world works, and how you could reboot civilisation if you ever needed to...? Check out The Knowledge - available now in paperback, Kindle and audiobook.

James Burke : Connections

The first episode of James Burke’s great documentary series, Connections, summarises many of the points covered in The Knowledge. ‘The Trigger Effect’ discusses how specialised each of our own skill sets, and how interconnected and interdependent all the components of modern civilisation have become,  so that a failure in one part can cause a cascade that collapses the whole system. What would you personally be capable of doing if this technological support network disappeared?

Update: This scene is no longer available to watch on YouTube, but you can watch the entire series with this DVD boxed set

The Knowledge Want to read more about the behind-the-scenes fundamentals of how our modern world works, and how you could reboot civilisation if you ever needed to...? Check out The Knowledge - available now in paperback, Kindle and audiobook.

There’s a hole in the bucket

One of the challenges that would be faced after an apocalypse in keeping remnant technology running or trying to accelerate a reboot are the inherent chains of dependencies. This point is made wonderfully clearly by the classic Sesame Street song ‘There’s a hole in the bucket’…

The Knowledge Want to read more about the behind-the-scenes fundamentals of how our modern world works, and how you could reboot civilisation if you ever needed to...? Check out The Knowledge - available now in paperback, Kindle and audiobook.

Best post-apocalyptic movies

RoadFilmHere is my selection of the best post-apocalyptic movies, and other films that focus on the themes covered in The Knowledge – of surviving in the aftermath of the apocalypse and rebuilding from scratch. But in this list I’ve not included films that cover only the catastrophe itself or dystopian futures in general. Also see The Knowledge’s list of the Best Post-Apocalyptic Books, Best Post-Apocalyptic Games and Best Post-Apocalyptic Apps.

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The Knowledge Want to read more about the behind-the-scenes fundamentals of how our modern world works, and how you could reboot civilisation if you ever needed to...? Check out The Knowledge - available now in paperback, Kindle and audiobook.