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For anyone who has seen the 1960 movie, The Time Machine (based on the HG Wells novel): which 3 books would You have taken back with you to rebuild civilization, and why?

Which ones did he take back, I forget.

Originally posted by Mindship
For anyone who has seen the 1960 movie, The Time Machine (based on the HG Wells novel): which 3 books would You have taken back with you to rebuild civilization, and why?

Did the Time Traveler's selection have some influence on the time stream?

That, I thought, was the charm of the movie: it was never said which books he took. It was up to the viewer to answer the question for him/herself.

For those who have no idea what this is about:

An inventor from 1899 builds a time machine and travels to the year 800,000 AD (or there abouts). He finds that the human race has evolved into two races: the monstrous, subterranean, machine-using predators called the Morlocks; and their passive, topside-dwelling, very attractive prey (like herd animals) called the Eloi. For the Eloi, there is no progress, no personal ambition, not even anger or resentment at this set-up. They've been bred/controlled to accept their fates. There are no books, no databases of any kind. Man's quest for knowledge and advancement has long since died.

The Time Traveler finds this state of affairs unacceptable. So (long story short), he sabotages the Morlocks' operations to free the Eloi. But this isn't enough. Civilization needs to be restarted, so the Time Traveler returns briefly to his own time to grab what he needs (also, to let his friends know where he's been) and return to the Eloi world.

The movie ends with the Time Traveler's 1899 friend noting that 3 books are missing from the Traveler's bookcase. His maid asks, "I wonder which books he took?"

The Traveler's friend says, "If you were going to rebuild civilization, which books would you take?"

Excellent ending. The 2002 movie didn't have it, and I don't believe even HG Wells' novel had this ending (I could be wrong; it's been years since I read it).

So: which 3 books would you have taken?


Not directly, AFAIK (though scifi author Stephen Baxter wrote an excellent sequel to Wells' book, called The Time Ships, which takes your question into account in a major way).

Thats a tough one......
I don't think I have read many books that would come in handy for rebuilding civilization...

And this is assuming that I'm working with intelligent people who already know how communicate and how to survive and so forth in their environment right? sorry i've never read the book or seen the movie.
I mean, do they know how to make a fire and basic nutrition?

Ill just throw these out there I guess...

1 Siddhartha by Herman Hesse

2 some sort of a comprehensive math/engineering book..

3 some sort of a comprehensive book on sustainable farming...

I know those answers are kind of cheating but, its a really tough call, especially not knowing what the situation is exactly.

Should you immediately focus more on improving quality of life through science/mathematics or focus more on your civilization having a healthy mental/spiritual/social set up in the beginning?

One book I would definitely NOT bring: the bible.

Oh sorry, forgot to put why..

Siddhartha because I think the story has a lot of good wisdom that would help a lot in starting a civilization and at the same time it is not imposing.

Comprehensive math/engineering - well because I think it would help make life easier for my civilization to know how to work with there environment through engineering. Being able to build effective housing, irrigation, accurate tools, measure distance effectively ect..

Comprehensive farming - Well, this one is pretty obvious.. basically farming is a very effective way to sustain a civilization. I guess my civilization would be agricultural.


Other interesting ideas that come to mind..a book about nutrition and health, or something on the history of governments..

The Behavior of Organisms: An Experimental Analysis, B.F. Skinner
Beyond Freedom and Dignity, B.F. Skinner
I believe these two provide plenty of information to start a proper civilization.

The Kama Sutra
I think every society needs to have access to a decent sex manual.

A solid book on applied Maths - for Engineering etc.
A solid book on chemistry with a large section on polymers and Alloys
A solid book on Medicine

or I could just take the bible that wouldn't help.

All Baxters books are great Mindship.

Originally posted by Regret
The Behavior of Organisms: An Experimental Analysis, B.F. Skinner
Beyond Freedom and Dignity, B.F. Skinner

I should have known you'd take books by Skinner (fanboy).



I'd take books with information simple practical engineering as well as information on building mechanical devices (too far back in time and anything complex would be meaningless).

The Morlocks provided the Eloi with basic food and shelter. Basically all the Eloi did all day was play in the sun like children, not really caring about anything, even when one of their own was drowning (the Time Traveler had to jump in). I doubt they knew how to make a fire, but that was okay: their Morlock-powered habitat was quite the paradise. No one minded being herded, even when the dinner siren sounded from the nearby Morlock Sphinx. The Eloi just went into a kind of trance and walked quietly to their doom (Sphinx doors opened to the Morlock underworld, letting several in before closing...til next meal time).



Truly.


I was thinking:
Farming
Engineering
Medicine
If I could bring a fourth book, it would be one on ethics.

As tempted as I would be to bring some spiritual/mystical work, I would prefer to see what developed naturally (if anything).

Originally posted by Symmetric Chaos
I should have known you'd take books by Skinner (fanboy).

You betcha Besides I am a behavior analyst, and I have a rather solid position on Skinner's work.

Originally posted by Symmetric Chaos
I'd take books with information simple practical engineering as well as information on building mechanical devices (too far back in time and anything complex would be meaningless).

I figure technology isn't necessary for civilization, advances are a byproduct of a decently functioning society. Thus for me texts that may lead to a decent society are more important than technical prowess

Originally posted by Mindship
The Morlocks provided the Eloi with basic food and shelter. Basically all the Eloi did all day was play in the sun like children, not really caring about anything, even when one of their own was drowning (the Time Traveler had to jump in). I doubt they knew how to make a fire, but that was okay: their Morlock-powered habitat was quite the paradise. No one minded being herded, even when the dinner siren sounded from the nearby Morlock Sphinx. The Eloi just went into a kind of trance and walked quietly to their doom (Sphinx doors opened to the Morlock underworld, letting several in before closing...til next meal time).



Truly.


I was thinking:
Farming
Engineering
Medicine
If I could bring a fourth book, it would be one on ethics.

As tempted as I would be to bring some spiritual/mystical work, I would prefer to see what developed naturally (if anything).


ah, I see, well then, I must say siddartha would probably not be very effective given these guys don't seem to put much thought into life..haha, probably is not such a good idea to introduce such a book when they seem hardly capable of independant thought.

And yea, I agre with your choice of seeing what develops naturally then trying to introduce something else as well..

I guess replacing siddhartha with a book about alternative and traditional medicine would probably be the best choice.

Ethics probably wouldnt be to hard to teach without a book about it.
Though the thing about the one drowning and nobody giving a crap about it does sound pretty discouraging...

An encyclopedia.
A book with our entire history.
A book concerning philosophy and the different schools of thought.

- Engineering(perhaps more focused on civil and agricultural engineering)
- Philosophy (for a political, social, spiritual and scientific basis, I think philosophy will be important for starting a new civ. as it cover many points.)
- Medicine

The rest I would have to trust in my knowledge of the subject...

I been ask this before and usually my response changes everytime. Here are my three choices at this time and period in my life.

The Bible
The Origin of Species
The New Gods by Jack Kirby (Technically a comic book but it would have an impact)

I was just waiting for the first to choose the Bible.

The Lotus sutra
The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

It will be a strange new world.

Originally posted by Storm
I was just waiting for the first to choose the Bible.

Proceed with your questions.

Originally posted by Regret

The Kama Sutra
I think every society needs to have access to a decent sex manual.

Outstanding...no need for a sexual revolution.

the dummies guide to building civilizations

Originally posted by Shakyamunison
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

It will be a strange new world. The demand for towels may just increase exponentially, and flight may be discovered in a whole new manner