Well framed question, David.
As you know, The Long Now Foundation is well along with the design
and prototyping of Danny Hillis's 10,000-year Clock. A $2 million
version has been commissioned for the British Science Museum. Part
of a mountain in Eastern Nevada adjoining a National Park has been
purchased for building a massive version of the Clock inside its
white limestone cliffs. That project will cost on the order of $40
million. The idea is to build a mythic mechanism with the effect of
the photos of Earth from space---temporally reframe thinking so that
taking the long view becomes common instead of rare.
Kevin Kelly has been pushing his idea of what we've been calling a
Global Biocensus---set about identifying ALL of the species on Earth.
The process itself and the results and side effects could outweigh
(and incidentally build on) the Human Genome Project. Kevin can
spell out the emerging details. It's a billion dollar project---a
bargain for the value it would generate.
Stewart Brand sb@gbn.org
3E Gate 5 Road 415 331-9241 fax 331-6123
Sausalito, CA 94965 USA
The Long Now Foundation http://www.longnow.org/
PO Box 29462, Building 116, Presidio, San Francisco CA 94129
415 561-6582 fax 561-6297
I have a new book, THE CLOCK OF THE LONG NOW. $10.40 at
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0465007805/ref=ed_oe_p/103-4910
299-4269441
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu Jul 27 2000 - 14:06:09 MDT