Got to
Have the Books, You Know
a
“Why are
you hoarding all these books?”
This is
what the millennial asked us, and he wasn’t the first to question our
attachment to hard copy reference material.
“I bet you
haven’t opened most of them in years.” He was right, of course. “look at this.
A full set of Encyclopaedia Britannica. What year was it published?”
“1984. The
year we were married.”
“1984?
That’s more than 40 years ago. You know how much knowledge has been accumulated
in four decades? It’s all there on your smart phone. No, you really don’t need
to keep all these dusty old books.”
I kind of
agreed with him. What was available on the Internet was so vastly superior to
our home library, it didn’t make sense to hold on to all that obsolete
material.
“That’s
rubbish,” my wife said. “Knowledge doesn’t become obsolete. It might be updated
or added to but, appreciated in context, it is still of value.”
So, we kept
the books and, as it has turned out, we made a wise decision not to rely solely
on a digital store of information.
Not long
after this interaction with the millennial, we heard that Russia had begun to
rip up undersea cables in order to disrupt NATO communications, and China did
the same to isolate Taiwan before launching a full-scale invasion, it became
clear that World War Three was under way.
“You know
what?” I said to my wife. “I wouldn’t be surprised if this madness leads to the
elimination of the Internet.”
“You may be
right. And that might not be such a bad thing, what with all the mindless drek
there is on social media.”
Before it
was too late, I decided to engage with ChatGPT and ask it to predict what the
consequences would be if the Worldwide Web was torn to shreds. In a matter of
seconds, this is what it spat out:
A global conflict that simultaneously severed undersea communication
cables, destroyed satellites through a cascading orbital debris event (known as
the Kessler syndrome),
eliminated GPS, and disabled the internet would trigger an unprecedented global
crisis.
Financial markets would be among the first casualties. International
banking, stock exchanges, and payment systems would become unreliable or cease
functioning, disrupting trade and causing widespread shortages of food, fuel,
and medicine. Modern supply chains, dependent on real-time data and global
coordination, would rapidly break down.
Military operations would become more dangerous and less predictable.
Without satellite reconnaissance, secure communications, or GPS navigation,
armed forces would rely on older methods of navigation and intelligence,
increasing the likelihood of miscalculation and accidental escalation.
Civil aviation and maritime shipping would face severe disruption.
Aircraft and ships could continue operating using backup navigation systems,
but efficiency, safety, and capacity would decline dramatically. International
travel and commerce would be drastically reduced.
Emergency services, hospitals, power grids, and water utilities would
struggle as digital communications failed. Although many critical systems have
local backups, prolonged isolation from global networks would make maintenance,
coordination, and recovery increasingly difficult.
Scientific research, weather forecasting, disaster monitoring, and
climate observation would suffer major setbacks due to the loss of satellites.
Spaceflight could become impossible for decades if orbital debris made launches
too hazardous.
Socially, the world would become more localized. Governments would likely
impose emergency controls, while communities would rely more heavily on local
production, radio communications, and face-to-face coordination. Nations with
robust domestic manufacturing, food security, and resilient infrastructure
would fare better than those dependent on global trade.
Recovery would likely take many years, requiring massive investment in
rebuilding communications infrastructure, clearing orbital debris where
possible, and redesigning critical systems to operate with far greater
resilience and redundancy.
And it came
to pass, as night follows day, the AI chatbot was proved spot-on in every
respect.
As elderly
pensioners, we live frugally, and the hardships that have come in the way of
shortages has not affected us too badly. ESKOM manages to keep the lights on
most of the time, and basic foodstuffs, although in limited supply, are
available in the shops that have not closed their doors. Cell phones are
useless other than for paid voice calls and SMS’s. Life goes on, after a
fashion, and we can be thankful that, despite the deprivation and misery that
abound, the country has not been drawn into the armed conflict ravaging most of
the world.
“Aren’t you
glad you listened to me and we didn’t get rid of our books?”
Of course I
am glad. When I see the effect of having no access to the Internet has had on those
we interact with, I realise how rich we are. Initially, it was as if people had
been afflicted with a form of cerebral paralysis. They walked around with a
dazed look in their eyes, as if they were on heavy psychiatric medication to
alleviate their feelings of bereavement, impotence, abandonment and loneliness.
It has been especially hard for the digital natives, many of whom had become
almost entirely dependent on their phones to find their way through every aspect
of modern life. Their access to knowledge, be it academic, political or social,
has been severely curtailed, and they are still floundering with nothing to
fall back on. At least we have our books, most of which are older than 20
years. We consult them more and more, and this helps us to remain
psychologically grounded.
Interestingly,
I have noticed that this has meant that our frame of reference has gradually
retreated in time. Only half serious, I asked my wife if she felt any younger
than before the Internet crashed.
“You mean
mentally? I don’t know about that, but what I have noticed is a change in attitude
towards us, as if we are no longer seen as irrelevant old fogeys.” She paused,
and then said, “somebody at the door?”
It was the
millennial. His demeanour had gone from condescending to deferential, and he
had come to borrow another book.
