Which three books?

[PrinceofWands]

It's time to re-visit an old favorite discussion: At the end of the 1960 movie A Time Machine (from the H.G. Wells story) Alan Young's character David Filby learns that his friend George (played by Rod Taylor) has returned to the year 802,701AD to help rebuild civilization for himself and the gentle, but wholly uneducated, Eloi.

It appears that all he took with him to accomplish this undertaking were three books and he muses to the housekeeper, "Which three books would you have taken?"

Ignoring the obvious outs like 'he has a time machine, he can go to any time and get other stuff', or 'by that time in the future scientific phenomenon x will have made the Earth unlivable', which three books would you take with you to rebuild all of civilization?

Be prepared to defend your answer.

For extra credit, differentiate between what three books you could have chosen at the time of the story (1900), and which three you'd choose today (if they're different).

 

[Gunslinger08]

Three Goosebumps books, because they're spooky. Maybe the giant killer hamster trilogy.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Seeking Wisdom: from Darwin to Munger

It's more or less a psychology book about why people make misjudgments.

 

[Possessed Freak]

A mathematics book.
A physics book.
Some engineering book on building basic engines and whatnot.

 

[InflatableBuddha]

Bible
Q'uran
Torah

/flamesuit

 

[Matthiasa]

A mathematics book.
A physics book.
Some engineering book on building basic engines and whatnot.

This!

 

[edro]

Only one book has all of the answers: Dianetics

 

[nick1985]

Everybody Poops x3

 

[Blackjack200]

I wish people would take this thread seriously, it's actually pretty interesting.

#1: On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life - Charles Darwin.

The foundation of modern biology and the glue that holds most of the life sciences together, its insights do more than probably any other text to inform our view of biology, sociology, etc. etc.

#2 On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres - Nicolaus Copernicus.

By learning astronomy the civilization can make great advancements in navigation and timekeeping, among other things.

Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy - Isaac Newton
Sets the mathmatical foundation for the civilization...

 

[angminas]

A mathematics book.
A physics book.
Some engineering book on building basic engines and whatnot.

You and I must have wildly different ideas about what constitutes civilization. I don't think that giving an ape a tool or weapon makes him civilized. Put another way, hard science isn't life...it's just stuff.

 

[Blackjack200]

You and I must have wildly different ideas about what constitutes civilization. I don't think that giving an ape a tool or weapon makes him civilized. Put another way, hard science isn't life...it's just stuff.

Hmm. Then what does constitute civilization? I think that really what the OP is asking anyway.

 

[Pegun]

Organizational Behavior, 5/e
Steven L. McShane, University of Western Australia

Basically it's a psychology book which addresses the psychology of individuals, teams and organizations and how roles or culture formed within each will affect the other two.

US Constitution/Bill of Rights

Perhaps some won't consider this a book but if you really want to you could include the court rulings for cases which cited each of the Bill of Rights. While there are a lot of issues within the US Government and a lot that could be improved upon (politics, corruption, favoritism, electoral college), we do in fact have one of the best types of government.

An Engineering book which covers everything from basic physics to combustion and thermal dynamics.

Self explanatory.

 

[techs]

Guinness Book of World Records

How to make wine and spirits using only items found in nature.

Physicians Guide to Home Remedies

 

[SlitheryDee]

I dunno maybe

Formulas and Theorems in pure Mathematics.
Molecular Biology
Whatever the most complete world history book is.

 

[Cogman]

A computer is about the size of 3 books, so I would take one of those loaded up with all ebooks I could find, and a generator.

 

[bobross419]

Write a script to rip out all posts on AT and compile it into one book.

 

[Blackjack200]

Write a script to rip out all posts on AT and compile it into one book.

It would be a good civilization, but would keep getting nuked from orbit and they'd have to keep starting over.

 

[pontifex]

Kama Sutra?

 

[Kadarin]

Kama Sutra?

That would definitely be one of my choices, as sexual repression is not a good thing. Though I don't think that was something the Eloi had a problem with.

Come to think of it, from the perspective of the time traveler, why would you necessarily want to rebuild civilization? Given that his experience was that civilization failed, maybe it was time to try something else.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

A computer is about the size of 3 books, so I would take one of those loaded up with all ebooks I could find, and a generator.

and gas and a printer and paper and ink refills and ...

 

[elmer92413]

A wilderness survival book
farming (plants and animals)
book on distilleries

 

[InflatableBuddha]

That would definitely be one of my choices, as sexual repression is not a good thing. Though I don't think that was something the Eloi had a problem with.

Come to think of it, from the perspective of the time traveler, why would you necessarily want to rebuild civilization? Given that his experience was that civilization failed, maybe it was time to try something else.

Exactly - if you don't have a written record of what failed in previous civilizations, what's to stop you from making those same errors when building a new civilization?

Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it...or something.

 

[Kadarin]

I've been talking about this with coworkers, and our thinking is that the Eloi in the movie had their needs provided for by the Morlocks, and when the Morlocks were neutralized the Eloi have to learn how to survive on their own. So:

1. A book on farming and agricultural principles. (how to grow food)
2. A book on basic engineering and construction principles (how to build shelter)
3. A book on basic medicine (how to deal with injuries, germs, and diseases)

The idea being to get the Eloi started on providing for themselves with the least amount of suffering and death. Remember that in the movie most of the Eloi were basically mindless idiots (for generations) thanks to the fact that none of them had to think or exert any effort to survive comfortably.

 

[F1N3ST]

None, books are for dumbasses. Everyone knows this.

 

[angminas]

Hmm. Then what does constitute civilization? I think that really what the OP is asking anyway.

Well, libraries could be written in an attempt to answer this question, and I'm not going to spend forever writing this post like I do sometimes, so permit me to condense and simplify.

Science is about things. Science is real in a physical sense. Science doesn't change according to our whims. Science doesn't take requests, and it doesn't have life-changing epiphanies. The only choice associated with science is whether we obey its laws or suffer the consequences. It's like any other form of power- it's only useful when aimed in the right direction, for the right reasons. It's a good servant, but a poor master.

Civilization is about realizing this and acting accordingly. Civilization is real in a spiritual sense. Civilization is about people. Civilization is about choices. Civilization is about being more than just an animal. It's about thinking about how we treated people yesterday, using that to guide us today, and choosing to do even better tomorrow. It's about looking below the surface when we try to understand who a person really is. It's about understanding our limitations and using that knowledge to surpass them.

Science is about getting rockets into space. Civilization is about getting people to touch the stars.

Science is about making new chemicals. Civilization is about helping people to recover from diseases so they can continue or improve their lives, loving others and being loved by them.

Science is about using electrons to open and close switches. Civilization is about being able to communicate with your friends and family on the other side of the world.

Science is about controlling things outside ourselves, while civilization is about controlling things inside ourselves...and I could go on. I pity any "civilization" which worships science as its god. The end result of such a thing is a complete lack of civilization. It's as sure as science itself.