The First Metal Plate Will Have...

The Encyclopedia Foundation got started in 02008 with the purchase of one house. Condemned. We fixed it first, before buying a second one. Why? Obviously so that if we ran out of money, we’d still at least have one working house. No sense worrying about a second house till the first one was done. Not if safety, security and stability are our watchwords. And they are.

Likewise our approach to preserving the knowledge of mankind. What if we run out of money? What if we are interrupted by a disaster that arrives sooner than expected?

We therefore made the determination that we would preserve one single plate of knowledge first, such that if that was all we ever did, it would serve as better than nothing. Then, after that was safely done, we would focus on additional knowledge, but such that it would only be an expansion of the first plate.

The first plate will have 20 volumes of children’s textbooks, including the six volume McGuffey Reader set for that time period (early 20th century, pre-1911) The 32 volume set of the 13th Edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica (1911). The 51 volume set of the Harvard Classics (1910). The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (17th century). And the King James Version of the Holy Bible (17th century).

These total 105 books of varying sizes. You could picture it as a basic 100 volumes, but it is not the “100 books to reboot civilization” described in another article.

It’s something that we are hoping can be micro-engraved on one metal page. The Encyclopedia Foundation strongly believes that if your culture at any level had that one plate, that there would be some hope for rebuilding, and having a storehouse of mankind’s cultural, literary and historical treasures.

You would, after all, be able to read the educational books of that early 20th century time (the McGuffey’s Readers), you’d have the complete reference work of that time (the Encyclopedia Britannica), you’d have what then Harvard President Dr. Eliot said would give someone the equivalent of a liberal arts degree from the Harvard University of that time (the Harvard Classics), AND, you’d have the two most popular books to own at that time – Shakespeare and the Bible.

Having that plate would make you in every way conceivable a well educated man of 1911. With even a few “advanced” ideas that could be gleaned by the more modern children’s textbooks on the sciences. And don’t discount the “well educated man of 1911”. Humanity was at the top of it’s game, then, and it’s those guys who then started us on all that we have – and take for granted – today.

After that first plate, we will have that as a safe base. If we did nothing else, that would have achieved and fulfilled our mission statement.

But we will then start on a second plate. And that one will have the works described in “100 books to reboot civilization” described elsewhere, minus that which was already included on the first plate.

1. 3 books on measurements and scientific data: The Machinists Handbook. The Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. The Handbook of Biology, Biochemistry and Chemistry.

2. 9 books on Medicine: A general book on medical theory. A general book on surgical procedures. A general book on the history of Medical Science. “Gray’s Anatomy”, “Obstetrics and Gynecology” by Beckman, “Where there is no Doctor” by David Werner, “Where there is no Dentist” by Murray Dickson. “Diseases of Women” and “Pediatrics”.

3. 24 books on general information and mathematics. “Five Acres and Independence”, the “Foxfire Series” (There are 12 of those). A book each on Carpentry, Masonry and Bricklaying, Blacksmithing, Plumbing, Sewer Systems, and Electricity. Basic Mathematics, Algebra, Geometry, Calculus and Trigonometry.

4. 5 books on guns, ammo, gunpowder making, explosives, and survival. The U.S. Army guides are good for some of these.

5. 3 books on how states can survive: “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu, “On War” by von Clausewitz, “Guerrilla Warfare” by Mao Tse-Tung.

6. 2 books to help leaders lead and followers keep watch: “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand. “The Rights of Man” by Thomas Paine.

That’s 46 more volumes. If you noticed some differences – like listing “Atlas Shrugged” instead of “The Wealth of Nations” it is because the Harvard Classics contain “The Wealth of Nations” in their 51 book set. And the Harvard Classics contain “The Prince” so that’s not on this specific list.

And yet to the extent that we can put about 100 books on one metal page, in a fashion that is appropriate to be read without an enormous electron microscope, we will fill out that list with another fifty four volumes. Such as several volumes on farming, agriculture, agronomy and Norman Borlaug’s works!

And that will be plate two. We may even make one plate – eventually – that has the plate covered on either side, so that all that – 200 volumes! – will be on one plate!
However, that said, it may be that for reasons of practicality that we have to just have fifty volumes per plate. In which case our first plate would actually be two plates, and those 46 volumes would make up Plate Three.

Now, however that works out – one double-sided plate, two plates of 100 or three plates of 50, that will be another stopping point. Such as if we had those, and could do no more, then that would well serve to reboot civilization and preserve a lot of mankind’s cultural heritage.

As we believe we’ll continue, then we’ll have more plates on specialized topics. Philosophy. Electronics. Computers. Rocketry and Space Travel. And more literature. Henry David Thoreau, Samuel Clemens, Isaac Asimov.

But picture our excitement at the thought of being able to get 100 volumes on a side and thus have two hundred volumes on a single plate! What a treasure such a plate would be!