If I could take ONE thing with me to Mars, it would be THIS:
This is the US Library of Congress’ reading room. If I could bring it with me, I would – not just for the smell of old books, which is great, and the smooth feel of the lacquered wood and well-groomed carpet, but for the knowledge, the information, the access to the past, present and future that these halls contain. How do I take that with me into space?
As I’ve written in a previous post, I’ve been told that we may have some version of Wikipedia in HI SEAS. That’s great, in a way. As anyone who knows me well knows, I’ve spent hours fixing articles on man’s-greatest-font-of-knowledge-website. As a second year medical student, I first found the article on circumcision. It was…in need of major reparative surgery. Let’s just say that.
While on Mars, I’m hoping to continue the work I’ve been doing: a chapter in a book on Global Health Policy; papers on healthcare communication and lowering the disparity in healthcare in the immigrant population; a book on the past, present and future of organ and tissue replacement (a continuation of my thesis work from USC); plus I would like to write up the research that I’ll be doing in the hab (more on that later). Access to resources for this work is critical to the work getting done, and being of good quality. Does anyone out there have ideas about how to transport the mass of human knowledge to Mars?