Knowledge ark

A knowledge ark (also known as a doomsday ark or doomsday vault) is a collection of <a href="/facts/Knowledge/joozoaup">knowledge</a> preserved in such a way that future generations would have access to said knowledge if all other copies of it were lost.
Scenarios where access to <a href="/facts/Information/3LdrzXtJ">information</a> (such as the <a href="/facts/Internet/Xw1rVvJU">Internet</a>) would become otherwise impossible could be described as <a href="/facts/Existential_risks/P74aJr4H">existential risks</a> or <a href="/facts/Extinction-level_event/HloJubtR">extinction-level events</a>. A knowledge ark could take the form of a traditional <a href="/facts/Library/hvdQNTtS">library</a> or a modern <a href="/facts/Database/VYcpkevb">computer database</a>. It could also be pictorial in nature, including photographs of important information, or diagrams of critical processes. 
A knowledge ark would have to be resistant to the effects of natural or man-made disasters in order to be viable. Such an ark should include, but would not be limited to, information or material relevant to the survival and prosperity of human civilization.
Other types of knowledge arks might include <a href="/facts/Genetic_material/2tTgcI0v">genetic material</a>, such as in a <a href="/facts/DNA_bank/dnRU4RIQ">DNA bank</a>. With the potential for widespread personal <a href="/facts/DNA_sequencing/hsPsNCQW">DNA sequencing</a> becoming a reality, an individual might agree to store their <a href="/facts/Genetic_code/zUK0bY1B">genetic code</a> in a digital or analog storage format which would enable later retrieval of that code. If a species was sequenced before extinction, its <a href="/facts/Genome/tjhWET4V">genome</a> would still remain available for study.

Knowledge ark open-in-new

Knowledge ark