Opinions sought: what kind of technology would be developed if..

Discussion in 'Plot Development' started by GingerCoffee, Feb 20, 2014.

  1. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

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    "Can be" but isn't required. We are talking about things these people would have created because they needed them. I can see them engineering a compass, but not a clock. Time pieces of some kind like estimating shadow lengths or making sundials, but I can't see them spending resources on making clocks.

    On land, you have landmarks, in particular you can mark the direction/location where the Sun rises and sets, something when the horizon is water in all directions is not possible. You can estimate how far you've traveled, something which on water has compounding errors that make it impossible. Looking at a couple web pages on navigating, they note one can use foot steps or clock time to estimate distance on land.
     
  2. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

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    As I recall, there's a substantial difference between a clock that sits still, and a clock that can be moved. I believe that the longtitude problem was about a clock that could be moved, and also one that had to maintain a high level of accuracy as normal correction mechanisms (time of sunrise, for example) changed due to the change in position of the voyage.

    I would expect that before the clocks in their computers died, your people would have created low-tech clocks, validating them against the computer clocks. Water clocks, hourglasses ("Joey, now that you're six, it's your job to turn the hourglass every day at sunrise.") and so on. Really, if I were one of those people, realizing that when the computers died forever so would the availability of accurate timekeeping, I might have advocated very strongly for one step higher in clock quality, perhaps a clock powered by weights.

    (By the way, after minor research, my earlier theory about photography falls down utterly. Too much chemistry and manufacturing required.)
     
  3. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

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    The villagers in transcribing their books before the readers failed did their best to recreate the images. So they are familiar with images, just not with a photographic level of detail/accuracy.

    I think timekeepers of some kind make sense for processes like cooking though I do believe hunter gathers were able to cook and tan skins long before timekeepers were developed. But for a population that came from a technological society I imagine they would develop means of timing processes. And in this case, they do need timekeeping in the village as the kids attend school. Because there is only one teacher, different age groups start at different times. I've added sundials, I'll make them unique in some way I've not yet decided on.

    Another of the issues I've not yet figured out (I'm thinking maybe a rooster like animal) is the kids attending school in the village may need an alarm clock.
     
  4. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

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    It occurs to me that a large hourglass mounted so that it can be easily flipped, placed in a central location, with markings for the hours, could be a very easy, low-tech shared "clock". It would only measure time since some natural event, like sunrise or sunset, but it would at least give people a common measure of time. Or you could have several of them, and someone who blows a horn at sunset to tell all the clock-flippers to run out and flip it.

    Edited to add: It could be part of the everyday culture:

    "Have you seen Jane?"
    "Yeah, just after the clocks were turned."

    "Joe? You don't want to work for Joe. He doesn't even bother to turn his clock. The Council should take it back."

    "Fred says that his daughter getting married means he's a patriarch. He's applied to the Council for a clock on his property."
    "Sheesh. Getting a little above himself, isn't he?"
     
    Last edited: Feb 26, 2014
  5. AJC

    AJC Active Member

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    This would require making a sundial at every location. It's far easier to just bring a clock with you. The pendulums in clocks are also very useful for surveying, though I don't know much about it.
     
  6. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

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    This thread is a bit off track. My village is quite small, so much so they are concerned they don't have a large enough gene pool to keep the population going. They have gender roles (men hunt, women gather) but no one works for anyone. There is a village council of elders but it's an egalitarian society. There's an important work aspect involving the one teacher but I don't want to reveal that here.
     
  7. Bryan Romer

    Bryan Romer Contributor Contributor

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    Given that they come from a technological society, and given that they have a potential enemy over the horizon, in a couple of generations I would expect -
    1. Some kind of fire starting technology. Flint and steel if they have any steel to salvage, tinder boxes with friction plungers or drills otherwise. Fire is critical.
    2. Some kind of writing materials. Not paper or parchment, too much effort. Most likely some kind of dye/ink on wood strips. They need to record whatever knowledge they have before it is all lost.
    3. Weapons. Both for hunting and defence. Most likely crossbows because they have the engineering knowledge and crossbows require less skill and training time. Bladed weapons, perhaps with salvaged metals, plus spears. Maybe armour, again with salvaged materials or with boiled leather (see 4)
    4. Weaving and tanning. Again, because they already know it is possible. They need clothes, tents, carpets etc. Relatively few people, especially the old and infirm can work on this. Human urine and animal brains can be used for tanning.
    5. Poisoned weapons if there are any poisonous plants or animals around. Both for hunting and combat.
    6. Animal husbandry. They need them for food and transport. Even nomads can rear animals.
    7. Medicines from local materials. Initial analysis upon landing would have told them if this is possible. The greatest threat to primitive man was illness. A simple equivalent to aspirin would save a lot of lives. Some kind of antiseptic. (see 8)
    8. Fermenting and distilling. Alcohol for consumption and for use as an antiseptic. This is easy. Even primitive cultures manage this.
    9. Food preservation techniques. Drying meats, preserves such as jam, pickling, maybe even a simple form of pasteurisation.
    10. Glass making. Again a very simple, very old process which they should already know how to do which will help in 5 - 9.

    There. That should get you started.
     
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  8. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

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    That's an excellent list Bryan.
     
  9. Fizpok

    Fizpok New Member

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    The hunting places the most fierce limitation. If not for it, I'd say there would be 19th century level available immediately (think of people landing in America and Australia) and then they would reach 20th century level AND breed in an amount enough to jump further in two generations.
    But with hunting, you don't have production lines, quality steel, mining worth mentioning... I'd say, 18th century is the ultimate limit, and then it will degrade.
     

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