Time magazine: Guide for Rebooting Civilization After the Apocalypse
The latest feature article linked to the book is out this morning on the Times magazine website: a seven-step guide for rebooting. Read the full article here
The Awl: What time is it and Where am I?
In the modern world we’re never more than a glance away from a digital display of today’s date or the time to the nearest second. The use of GPS devices in cars or even in our own pockets with smartphones has all but eroded the art of map-reading and navigation. This is all exceedingly convenient, of course, but I think that many of us in developed nations are feeling increasingly disconnected from the fundamental principles and processes that support our lives, sensing that our basic skills are atrophying and perhaps feeling anxious of being a little too reliant on the magic of modern technology.
So let’s try a thought experiment. If you’re forced back to the absolute basics, how could you use simple observations to tell the time, reconstruct the calendar and work out your location anywhere on planet Earth? Being able to tell the time enables a society to regulate and synchronize its civic activities—marketplace trade or congregation (perhaps for religious purposes) are all choreographed to the beat of the hour. The reason the calendar was devised in the first place was to ensure successful agricultural practices, and thus sufficient food for the population, and accurate navigation is crucial to prevent getting yourself lost in the wilderness.
Read the full article on The Awl website here
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 Morning News: Demolish Me
The present-day lust for ruins is nothing new. In fact, it’s nearly as old as any ruins themselves. From a flattened Louvre to Percy Bysshe Shelley, a journey to the dawn of ruin porn.
My feature article on the allure of our wrecked constructions and the history of ruin lust was published by The Morning News today. Read the full article here.
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.
On The Anatomy Of Thrift: Side Butchery
One of the goals I hoped to achieve with The Knowledge was to show how the very fundamentals of the world around us actually function – most of us living now in developed nations are entirely sealed off from the basic processes that support our lives. Perhaps the most fundamental of all is how civilisation ensures sufficient sustenance for itself; providing both crops and livestock, and just as importantly how the plants and animals are actually disassembled and processed to be edible. Here is an elegantly filmed video from Farmstead Meatsmith on how “with just four tools you can break down a pig quite proficiently and beautifuly” – the demonstration (tastefully and sensitively done) starts at 6:10 but the whole film is fascinating.
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 Sun: Apocalypse HOW?
Our modern world is by no means invincible – plenty of civilisations have collapsed and disappeared in the past. So what are the greatest hazards to our way of life, how likely are they to happen – and what chances would survivors have for rebooting humanity?
My double-page spread appeared in The Sun newspaper today, including a run-down of the most likely doomsday events and a quiz on the knowledge post-apocalyptic survivors would need to thrive. You can read it on-line here.
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.
Creating the cover: The Animated GIF
A few behind-the-scenes photographs of the photo-shoot for the book jacket are given on another post, and here for your viewing pleasure is the stop-motion-capture-style film of the creative process, produced by the designer Kris Potter. It’s a 7Mb animated gif so make take a few seconds to load.
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.
Creating the book cover
The elegantly simple and clean graphics for the jacket cover were created by the UK publishers, Bodley Head (Random House), to resemble the emergency cabinets for escape tools or fire alarm buttons. The designer, Kris Potter, did a sterling job with this, and actually built a bright red box complete with safety glass front and emergency hammer to photograph.
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.
How to start fire with IKEA products
One of the topics in the second chapter of the book is how to start fire – a critical survival skill for the immediate aftermath of the cataclysm. We look at a few options using unconventional means for when you can’t find any matches or a lighter lying around (and also watch my video here). In this brilliant video below, an artist/designer named Helmut Smit shows how to make fire using only items found within an IKEA store. He repurposes a coat hanger, rope, wine rack, egg cup, napkins, and floral embellishments to create a hand drill, a piece of ancient fire-starting technology that works by friction.
Also check out The Knowledge post on How to start a fire with everyday items!