Monday's Food for Thought

So this 2012 apocalypse talk isn't just about the whole Mayan countdown thing. There's scientific projection that we (as a planet) are going to be passing through solar flares next year. What will this do? Well, some speculate that it will interfere with our radio waves and electricity. It's happened before, but perhaps this time the fear is that it will occur on a grand scale.

So of course, that got me thinking. WHAT IF the solar flares wiped out all of Earth's electrical... everything? Technology. Computers. Radios. Internet. There are plenty of dystopian books written about things like this... but really. What if it actually happened?

You wouldn't have any idea that the rest of the country was experiencing such difficulties, let alone the rest of the planet. World politicians wouldn't be able to contact each other to find out what was going on. No one would be able to drive very far before petrol ran out.

How would you react to something on such a grand scale? Would you be afraid? Would you mount a horse and gallop across the country to bring news to other people? How do you think the government would react? Would there ever be order?

And if we were never able to recover technology, do you think the world/humanity/individuals would be better off, or die out? Do you like the idea of this new world, like a modern middle ages?

Just a little something for your Monday mind to munch on...

ETA: A very interesting view on dystopian world-building taking trade, distribution of wealth, and feasibility into account can be found here.