The Forkmakers

LessWrong is hosting a speculative essay by Mikewins that imagines a future civilization digging through our ruins and concluding that the defining artifact of the 21st century is the humble stainless steel fork. Because concrete crumbles, paper decays, and hard drives die, the most durable and useful objects we leave behind may be our cutlery. The essay predicts that future scavengers in the Bay Area, called Oaklanders, will build an Aluminum Age from recycled metal before they rediscover bronze, and will treat plastic as a mysterious but workable material. It closes with a lament that our digital records will likely vanish, leaving forks as our most enduring legacy.

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