Doomsday Prep for the Super-Rich • Hacker News Board

Re: Doomsday Prep for the Super-Rich

#41

Post by analogmemory » Wed, Jan 25, 2017, 5:51 PM UTC

woofyman wrote: post #38

analogmemory wrote: post #27

I find it curious that people prepare for a "Doomsday" scenario. I can fathom a localized catastrophe like an earthquake, or extreme weather, or even a horrible bomb attack. But the extreme examples seem more related to our entertainment consumption than based on a real reality. I feel like we're more likely to die from old age than anything from space or zombies. Maybe I just can't do the level of paranoia that some…

The loss of the electric grid would throw us back to the 19th century but without 19th century technology. There would be mass starvation and disease.

I don't follow, are suggesting that the grid would vanish? Or that all power sources would suddenly be unavailable?

Re: Doomsday Prep for the Super-Rich

#42

Post by zeamaize » Wed, Jan 25, 2017, 5:52 PM UTC

bas wrote: post #35

It is my opinion that one's time is better spent preventing the collapse of civilization than preparing for it.

That ship seems to have already sailed.

Re: Doomsday Prep for the Super-Rich

#43

Post by peatmoss » Wed, Jan 25, 2017, 5:54 PM UTC

rb808 wrote: post #33

FLUX-YOU wrote: post #3

It must be great to be known as a doomsday escape haven like New Zealand. When the world actually goes tits up, you have a whole bunch of rich people bringing supplies and survival gear to your country for you to take.

From what I know of New Zealanders they still are very egalitarian and generally hate wealthy billionaires. I think if these rich people actually move there they'd regret it.

I don't know why you're being downvoted. Having lived in NZ, kiwis are a fiercely egalitarian society. Looking at pretty landscapes in solitude doesn't strike me as a great living.

Re: Doomsday Prep for the Super-Rich

#44

Post by zeveb » Wed, Jan 25, 2017, 5:55 PM UTC

pjc50 wrote: post #9

f- wrote: post #4

The last time this story made rounds on HN, quite a few readers were ripping into the people described in the article, and it sure feels good to do so, but... I don't know about you, but if I had more money than I conceivably ever needed, I sure would contemplate having a helicopter on standby and a luxury compound in some scenic part of the world. You know, just for fun, just in case. In fact, I suspect that once yo…

> ultra-rich may actually have something to worry about True, especially in less-developed or stable countries where kidnap gangs are a real problem. > it's not the cookie-cutter, mixed income, urban sprawl neighborhoods that are going to be set ablaze It tends to be the dense, liminal, downtown areas that are set ablaze. Being well off certainly does help you get away from the fires. But I think a lot of people disl…

> But I think a lot of people dislike preppers because of the implication that this effort is a substitute for being involved in preventing the disaster in the first place

I had literally never heard of this criticism until I read this article and the ensuing discussion.

It seems a little odd, too, like saying, 'why hedge the risk of an unfriendly regime when you can vote?' Even Bill Gates or Carlos Slim can't ensure that a disaster won't happen to him or his family; while I'm sure that they take steps to prevent them, I'm equally sure that they also have plans in place for how to respond to unprevented disasters.

Re: Doomsday Prep for the Super-Rich

#45

Post by mikestew » Wed, Jan 25, 2017, 5:55 PM UTC

analogmemory wrote: post #27

I find it curious that people prepare for a "Doomsday" scenario. I can fathom a localized catastrophe like an earthquake, or extreme weather, or even a horrible bomb attack. But the extreme examples seem more related to our entertainment consumption than based on a real reality. I feel like we're more likely to die from old age than anything from space or zombies. Maybe I just can't do the level of paranoia that some…

I feel like we're more likely to die from old age than anything from space or zombies. Maybe I just can't do the level of paranoia that some people take on.

Or maybe you just settled on different hobbies. I'm not being facetious, we all spend our time and money on different things, and from my POV many put together a narrative that "requires" them to buy fun gadgets. For you, perhaps home automation. For others, prepping for an end-of-world scenario that they themselves know is unlikely to happen.

Or maybe they are all a little nutty, I dunno.

Re: Doomsday Prep for the Super-Rich

#46

Post by zyxzkz » Wed, Jan 25, 2017, 5:56 PM UTC

zeamaize wrote: post #42

bas wrote: post #35

It is my opinion that one's time is better spent preventing the collapse of civilization than preparing for it.

That ship seems to have already sailed.

Yes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5guXaWwQpe4

Re: Doomsday Prep for the Super-Rich

#47

Post by michaelsbradley » Wed, Jan 25, 2017, 5:57 PM UTC

Uninformed by sound teleology, and unguided by divine revelation regarding The Last Things, it would seem many women and men feel driven to construct their own eschatology ~ largely shaped by fear and other basic instincts ~ which is then coupled to rational actions based on that foreseen/considered-probable ending.

Re: Doomsday Prep for the Super-Rich

#48

Post by knz » Wed, Jan 25, 2017, 5:57 PM UTC

FLUX-YOU wrote: post #3

It must be great to be known as a doomsday escape haven like New Zealand. When the world actually goes tits up, you have a whole bunch of rich people bringing supplies and survival gear to your country for you to take.

Kiwi here - no thanks. The last thing New Zealand needs is more politicized money flowing into the country.

C.f: http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/323098/'exceptional-c... and http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/world/323107/nz-back-at-top-of... are both headlines on most major NZ news websites today.

It didn't work out too well for Kim Dotcom either (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Dotcom#Arrest_and_extradit...).

Re: Doomsday Prep for the Super-Rich

#49

Post by jessriedel » Wed, Jan 25, 2017, 5:58 PM UTC

bas wrote: post #35

It is my opinion that one's time is better spent preventing the collapse of civilization than preparing for it.

That's certainly the altruistic choice. But it would be foolishly arrogant for anyone, even Bill Gates, to think they had more controllable influence on the fate of the world than they do on their own safety.

Re: Doomsday Prep for the Super-Rich

#50

Post by semi-extrinsic » Wed, Jan 25, 2017, 5:59 PM UTC

woofyman wrote: post #38

analogmemory wrote: post #27

I find it curious that people prepare for a "Doomsday" scenario. I can fathom a localized catastrophe like an earthquake, or extreme weather, or even a horrible bomb attack. But the extreme examples seem more related to our entertainment consumption than based on a real reality. I feel like we're more likely to die from old age than anything from space or zombies. Maybe I just can't do the level of paranoia that some…

The loss of the electric grid would throw us back to the 19th century but without 19th century technology. There would be mass starvation and disease.

How exactly would we lose the electric grid? Nice thing about a distributed infrastructure is that it's, well, distributed.

Also, (nuclear aircraft carriers and submarines|jet aircraft engines) can be (very|relatively) quickly brought into duty producing electricity locally in every city, way before any pandemics and mass starvation.

Longer term, converting from the refrigerated fresh food system of today, to a system based on pickling/curing/canning/iceboxes/etc. is hardly black magic.