25.2.2009 - GPS and Robinson Crusoe

If I knew everything (I mean everything, from theory to practice) about how to make a computer for instance, starting with raw materials (sand, water, etc), how long it would take for me to actually build one? What is the actual bottleneck? the speed of my motion? the decision making? And what if I know that too (I mean, exactly what decisions I have to make, so there is no waste of time for planning), then could we estimate the time it would take to this modern "Robinson" to build his laptop with GPS and wireless connection and send an email to the distant civilization that would come to help him?

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