The Encyclopedia Galactica
editIsaac Asimov introduced the concept of the Encyclopedia Galactica in his book Foundation through the character of Hari Seldon, creating a project to preserve all knowledge prior to the collapse of the galactic civilization:
"The sum of human knowing is beyond any one man; any thousand men. With the destruction of our social fabric, science will be broken into a million pieces. Individuals will know much of exceedingly tiny facets of what there is to know. They will be helpless and useless by themselves. The bits of lore, meaningless, will not be passed on. They will be lost through the generations. But, if we now prepare a giant summary of all knowledge, it will never be lost. Coming generations will build on it, and will not have to rediscover it for themselves...my thirty thousand men with their wives and children, are devoting themselves to the preparation of an "Encyclopedia Galactica." They will not complete it in their lifetimes. I will not even live to see it fairly begun."
If there is any parallel to this Encyclopedia Galactica in our world, surely it is Wikipedia. No more complete or dynamic repository of knowledge exists, and what we write now will form the backbone for this repository of knowledge as it extends into the future, passed down and continually updated through the generations. If humans do ever reach the stars, they will no doubt take this Encyclopedia with them as one of their references, and it will truly become an Encyclopedia Galactica. Deep in the archives of every human ship, the trace of your words will be found, echoing for eternity.
About Me
editI'm a GP in Australia, with a passion for preventative medicine. I hope I can help Wikipedia in being an authoritative source for health information for medical students and the general public. I am also a science fiction fan (in case you couldn't tell).
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