Doomsday Prep for the Super-rich • Hacker News Board

Re: Doomsday Prep for the Super-rich

#61

Post by aaron-lebo » Mon, Jan 23, 2017, 6:42 PM UTC

virmundi wrote: post #19

blhack wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean...I guess arrows are reusable and much more easily created by hand than bullets? I guess?

They are an a lot quieter. But don't be fooled. Even with shitty long guns (not even riffles since they weren't riffled), the American Indians swapped bows for guns. They still used bows, but took to guns due to their power.

Interestingly, in the American Southwest guns didn't really challenge bows until the introduction of the Colt revolver.

Even Kentucky long rifles which were very effective against infantry were pretty much worthless against mounted natives who could fire dozens of arrows a minute.

This was the case up until about the 1850s.

Re: Doomsday Prep for the Super-rich

#62

Post by vkou » Mon, Jan 23, 2017, 6:43 PM UTC

dmode wrote: post #46

Having grown up in poverty in a third world country that is extremely chaotic, the doomsday obsession in America is laughable and a little disturbing at the same time. Society doesn't break down like that. Can someone explain why is there such paranoia in the US about societal collapse ? It it video games, movies, media frenzy, hyper partisan politics ? All of it ? I know people who have created bunkers and stock pil…

The wost-case scenario is civil war - in which case society very much does break down like that.

Things will have to get much worse before that outcome is likely, though.

Re: Doomsday Prep for the Super-rich

#63

Post by jly » Mon, Jan 23, 2017, 6:43 PM UTC

> The fears vary, but many worry that, as artificial intelligence takes away a growing share of jobs, there will be a backlash against Silicon Valley, America’s second-highest concentration of wealth. (Southwestern Connecticut is first.) “I’ve heard this theme from a bunch of people,” Hoffman said. “Is the country going to turn against the wealthy? Is it going to turn against technological innovation? Is it going to turn into civil disorder?”

This is already happening and I would expect it to get worse. We have a chance now to develop policies that will help mitigate the negative effects, if we choose to.

Re: Doomsday Prep for the Super-rich

#64

Post by gloriasuziekim » Mon, Jan 23, 2017, 6:44 PM UTC

And what's up with the beefed up security guy with a kalishnakov who looks like he's some steroid version of Neal Stephenson? At least they got their marketing for this article right.

Re: Doomsday Prep for the Super-rich

#65

Post by woofyman » Mon, Jan 23, 2017, 6:44 PM UTC

dmode wrote: post #46

Having grown up in poverty in a third world country that is extremely chaotic, the doomsday obsession in America is laughable and a little disturbing at the same time. Society doesn't break down like that. Can someone explain why is there such paranoia in the US about societal collapse ? It it video games, movies, media frenzy, hyper partisan politics ? All of it ? I know people who have created bunkers and stock pil…

Most of it is due to Fundamental Christian beliefs along with extreme right wing political beliefs.

Re: Doomsday Prep for the Super-rich

#66

Post by vkou » Mon, Jan 23, 2017, 6:44 PM UTC

It amuses me greatly that Peter Thiel is listed as one of the people who will bug out if things turn bad.

I suppose that's the backup plan when his libertarian utopia doesn't work out?

Re: Doomsday Prep for the Super-rich

#67

Post by VLM » Mon, Jan 23, 2017, 6:45 PM UTC

Alex3917 wrote: post #5

lawless123 wrote: post #3

>lot of people stocking up on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, A post apocalypse in which internet survives seems far fetched.

> A post apocalypse in which internet survives seems far fetched. The apocalypse is already here, it's just unevenly distributed.

And disasters / apocalypse are distributed by a power law or exponential. The lead subject in the linked article is almost certain to live long enough to experience the inevitable next San Francisco earthquake, at which time he will absolutely die if his glasses are broken and he can't get around, so his prepping by fixing his eyes makes sense.

Most prepping means your survival on the "oops" scale goes up. The media making fun of anything other than business as usual focuses solely on preppers and total thermonuclear war or zombies or utter economic collapse. People sick of journalists, troll them right back, yah bro I'm prepping for the zombie and alien invasion.

In reality, personally I'm very well prepared for legendary blizzards, which makes sense because where I live we get legendary grade "international news story" blizzards perhaps every couple years. Because its very cheap, very easy, and I love my family. But sure, I'd tell a journalist my snow shoes and camping gear are for surviving the thermonuclear winter. Mostly because I hate journalists (just being honest about myself)

Re: Doomsday Prep for the Super-rich

#68

Post by manarth » Mon, Jan 23, 2017, 6:46 PM UTC

voidlogic wrote: post #18

blhack wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean...I guess arrows are reusable and much more easily created by hand than bullets? I guess?

Post apoc. things like bows and crossbows would be more valuable, but I can't see weapon tech falling much below the 1850s. Its much easier to make a lead ball than an arrow and making blackpower is less about infrastructure than knowledge. I have a replica Remington Model 1858 black power revolver. It shoots lead balls which are easy to make, same with its percussion caps. The kicker is, once loaded, its tactically…

  I can't see weapon tech falling much below the 1850s.

I can imagine short-term or more localised effects.

The USA could be viewed as an outlier, given the amount of gun-ownership: 22% of the population (and as some people own many guns, the total number of guns is more than 1 gun per person). By comparison, less than 1% of the UK population own a gun.

So in some countries, there may be guns around for the taking, but in other countries, those guns will be in the hands of very few people.

I'd imagine a period of a year or so where more primitive weaponry took precedence, during which we would have to relearn how to make tools, weapons and ammo without the benefit of technically advanced manufacturing.

Re: Doomsday Prep for the Super-rich

#69

Post by omegaworks » Mon, Jan 23, 2017, 6:46 PM UTC

Glamor-prepping, glepping: the ultimate fuck-you-I-got-mine to any young people still struggling to come up in the society that these wealthy people wield an undue influence over.

What happens when everybody at the top has their private island sanctuary but still holds power in the society we all have to live in?

Re: Doomsday Prep for the Super-rich

#70

Post by sodafountan » Mon, Jan 23, 2017, 6:46 PM UTC

awfgylbcxhrey wrote: post #51

we are skating on really thin cultural ice right now. Nope. Not even close. We survived the Civil Rights movement and Vietnam War protests. For all our online angst and whining, we're not even 1/10th as far toward the tipping point as we were back then.

Not to mention a Civil War, World War II and the Cold War. I think we'll all be alright.