Re: The Long Now

From: Michael S. Lorrey (mike@datamann.com)
Date: Fri Mar 24 2000 - 12:47:51 MST


Robin Hanson wrote:

> Hal Finney wrote:
> >What we need is, prompted by Robin's file naming convention, a Clock of
> >the Long Grow. It should be an artifact that does give us a long term
> >view, but that view is not one of a static structure which stays around
> >for 10000 years. It should show us that the one constant in life is
> >change, and that we must expect changes tomorrow that exceed those we
> >have had in the past. ...
> >The point would be to create an artifact which only made sense if the
> >future was one of unimaginable power and wealth.
>
> A frozen head seems to me the obvious thing to make this last statement.
> Imagine renting a small "shop window" on something like Time Square NY,
> with dewar holding a frozen head, and and lights illuminating it
> via a dewar window. Quite a fashion statement, eh? (Maybe rent out
> the space next to it for a mannequin wearing whatever futuristic dress
> some store wants to show? You *know* people will look at it.)
>
> Maybe next to it you could have a large "sands of time" clock. It is
> in two sections, a large container above filled with sand, and a large
> container below mostly empty. Over each ten year period, it mimics
> that data I used on the history of humans on earth from one million
> years ago to today. So up until new year's eve there are just a few
> grains on the bottom of the bottom container, then over the last
> few days, hours and minutes the sand falls increasingly fast. As the
> ball falls from where ever it falls, the bulk of the sand falls in
> one big "fwump".

How about engineer a plant, like a tree, that grows at a constant rate for 10000
years, then reproduces...

Mike Lorrey



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