New York Times: Civilization’s Starter Kit
My op-ed for the New York Times appeared on page SR8 of the Sunday print edition. ‘Civilization’s Starter Kit‘ begins with my own incompetence at all things pragmatic, and indeed how useless most people today are when it comes to repairing or maintaining the everyday devices or appliances that we take for granted. How many of us have any real understanding of how the objects in our pocket were made, or even where the food we eat has come from or how to make clothes from scratch. I think that because of this there is a growing feeling of disconnect among all of us in the developed world today from the basic processes and principles that provide for us. But what if this life-support system of modern civilisation were to collapse? What starter kit would you need to rebuild it all from the basics? Read the full feature here.
