Friday, June 17, 2011

Doomer Porn

I haven't written much lately, because I've been busy doing things.

Anyway, last night, the wife and I watched 'Collapse', a lengthy, jeremiad interview with Michael Ruppert. Peak Oil, Peak Money, Peak Population. A lot of stuff there I already had heard before (likely sourced originally from Ruppert and similar doomcrows). Ruppert has both a blog and a website, Collapse.net

One issue he raises, I believe in error, is the need to invest in gold. I know that gold is hot right now in both conservative and doomer circles. If there is a complete collapse of socio-economic systems, I do believe that gold will not avail you anything.

What will the currency of post-collapse society be? Ability. What abilities? Not networking, not web design, and all the MSCEs will probably starve. The abilities that will be critical in post-collapse society will be:

1) Agriculture - We'll need food, textiles, etc. (Farm Ville experience doesn't count here)
2) Metalsmithing - We'll need tools, especially for agriculture
3) Engineering - We'll need houses, plows, and the Wheel would be nice as well

So, make sure to send your kids to the nearest A&M, eh. And perhaps join the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism), as they'll teach you Iron Age skills of weaving and metalworking. There will be a scavenger/recycler class that will help post-collapse transition by taking discarded tech and repurposing it. But, most metals will have rusted away within two generations of the Peakalypse. The quicker we get back to at least the Iron Age, the better.

Like I've said before, I'm not worried. Just doing due diligence.