Board Thread:Warhammer 40k General Discussion/@comment-7232811-20130518221156/@comment-91.114.202.113-20130519193116

You have literally millions of inhabited worlds in the galaxy which makes drawing conclusions for the generic Imperial mind difficult. However, my own thoughts on the matter fall into

1. The scientific method and the idealisation of progress are alien to the 40k Imperium. After the horror of the Age of Strife attributed to excessive untrammeled scientific development, it is as discredited as astrology is today. Actually, more so. No one ever suffered global annihilation by checking Aries on the same page as the comics.

2. The Mechanicus do keep a star-spanning civilisation going. They view the equipment as more than simply tools combining the religious appreciation of the machine spirits and the practical effects. If they didn't understand ANYTHING then they would not have lasted 10,000 years. I cannot really believe that the Astartes would have put up with a bunch of techno-nerds with tubes in their faces unless they were competent techno-nerds with tubes in their faces.

3. The Mechanicus are very keen on research. The fluff is full of it. Mad researchers on distant planets. Desperate crusades beyond the Halo Stars to find stuff.

4. STCs are the encapsulation of ancient technology. You have to understand something before you can use them, I would propose.

5. How many people really understand technology today? I am a Cambridge graduate and I'm damned if I know how my DVD player works. Likewise the plumbing. If the toilet breaks I call an enginseer, sorry, plumber. I might even vaguely know the principles of plumbing but I'm aware that if I tried to rework that ballcock, then the Machine Spirits would ruin the bathroom carpets.

Overall, the is no galaxy spannng school curriculum. Levels of base knowledge will vary. Fortunately we have the heroes of the Ordo Malleus to protect us from those who know too much.