A clock that will last for 10,000 years.

[DAL59]

http://longnow.org/clock/

[HebaruSan]

This extra "0" is cute:

Quote

ABOUT LONG NOW

The Long Now Foundation was established in 01996* to foster long-term thinking and responsibility in the framework of the next 10,000 years.

 

[DAL59]

Aparrently there's a second clock planned for Nevada:

http://longnow.org/clock/nevada/

 

[YNM]

Quote

... powered by day/night thermal cycles, synchronized at solar noon, ...

What about the tides ? They're pretty accurate that in some parts of this country they're used to tell when New Moon occurs...

But yeah, no clock tells years I guess !

[DAL59]

Quote

By September 27th 2071 long extinct trilobites (or direct descendents of) will be found in the deep waters of the seas possibly, but not exclusively, around underwater hydrothermal vents. 

The long now foundation has many interesting branches.  For example, they have Rosetta and PanLex, to create a global language datbase, de-extinction, and the Long Bets division, which has bets about the future(money donated to chairities) that rnage from short term economic predictions to what I just quoted.  

[mikegarrison]

There's got to be some reasonable middle ground between thinking about your next meal and thinking about 10,000 years from now.

[NSEP]

Ok cool. See if it lasts, and doesn't get destroyed by post-apocalypse rebels who scavange for precious metals of some sort.

[p1t1o]

1 hour ago, NSEP said:

Ok cool. See if it lasts, and doesn't get destroyed by post-apocalypse rebels who scavange for precious metals of some sort.

Easy to prevent, just build a technology-worshipping cult that sees the clock as a literal God, throw a few sinners into its inner workings, that sort of thing.

***

In the Guardian yesterday there was this headline:

David Davis: Brexit will not plunge Britain into 'Mad Max dystopia'

The first thing I thought: HOLY HOT DANG, THAT WAS A RISK!?!?!?

 

[Antstar]

Just LOL.

When I first went to uni, we were shown around the place. I remember being shown the "unbreakable clock" build by a group of engineers. Apparently it took about 5 years before another group of engineers figured out how to break it.

The rate of change in our culture is higher than ever in history, and accelerating.

I put my money on it lasting less than 250 years. It only takes one generation to rip it down, it takes every generation to preserve it

[Green Baron]

And people run after a new silly idea every other day. As if it had any impact on real life.

 

@p1t1o, English tabloids like Sun and Express reported people in fear and hundreds of earthquakes on La Palma island (where i live, right above the quakes on the western slope). Tourism here was concerned about such sort of "information" and i can tell you the Spaniards are extremely relaxed usually.

The truth: a swarm of earthquakes mag 1 to 2.5 in the upper mantle (depth 25-30km) since last November may be a hint of a slow intrusion of highly viscous material. Period. No panic, people here where informed by the usual news channels and frankly, microquakes are not unusual. Nothing could be sensed, it only got to our knowledge because the southern part of La Palma, being regarded as an active volcano, is watched over by several seismic stations, laser measurement of ground movement and gps stations for the same reason.

9 hours ago, YNM said:

What about the tides ? They're pretty accurate that in some parts of this country they're used to tell when New Moon occurs...

Well, the other way round, the movement of celestial bodies (mainly moon, sun, Jupiter) is used to determine time and height of the tides and the connected streams :-) More info e.g. via Admiralty Tide Tables (ATT) which are sort of a nautical standard.

 

Edited February 21, 2018 by Green Baron

[p1t1o]

24 minutes ago, Green Baron said:

And people run after a new silly idea every other day. As if it had any impact on real life.

I dunno, its stated purpose is to stimulate long-term thinking, which personally I think is a good idea, whether the clock lasts or not.

People get all excited about space travel and colonising Mars, and they want it NOW or in the next coupla decades. Whereas in reality it will involve some real long-term thinking, maybe not on the 10-millenia scale, but longer than we are used to.

[Green Baron]

Well, yeah, but the longest theoretically possible thinking term is a human life time minus something at the beginning and at the end. Irl the term is much shorter and connected to a reporting term, an election period or in general to the momentary circumstances.

In this special case: Bezos is short term thinking, bringing a brand and a name into the headlines. He would be really long term thinking if he built schools and colleges for example in central Africa from his money instead, to give moar opportunities to the next generation.

Hey, this is only my personal opinion, which might be totally wrong and leaves room for others :-)

[DAL59]

2 hours ago, Antstar said:

I put my money on it lasting less than 250 years. It only takes one generation to rip it down, it takes every generation to preserve it

It is designed to not need mantainance.  The only risk is scrap metal.

He should have made it count down, to confuse future generations. 

[Antstar]

2 hours ago, DAL59 said:

It is designed to not need mantainance.  The only risk is scrap metal.

Scrap metal is one possibility. Or perhaps future America will find the idea of thinking long term culturally disgusting. Perhaps they will decide that the first 30 years of the third millennium were the most shameful and remove all traces of it from the Earth. Or a nationwide cult of technological regression. Or a hundred other things I can't even imagine...

2 hours ago, DAL59 said:

He should have made it count down, to confuse future generations. 

yup

[YNM]

4 hours ago, Green Baron said:

Well, the other way round, the movement of celestial bodies (mainly moon, sun, Jupiter) is used to determine time and height of the tides and the connected streams :-) More info e.g. via Admiralty Tide Tables (ATT) which are sort of a nautical standard.

Yeah, if you found a correlation, you can continue track it.

2 hours ago, DAL59 said:

He should have made it count down, to confuse future generations. 

Or count up then running out and simply overflow.

There's some pretense before that overflow...

Edited February 21, 2018 by YNM

[TheSaint]

Some numbskull just broke a thumb off of one of the terracotta warriors because he thought it would make a cool souvenir. Unless they hire 24-hour security, the 10,000 Year Clock isn't going to make it two weeks.

[kerbiloid]

Does it have alarm clock?
Just not to forget to wind them in 12018.

Edited February 21, 2018 by kerbiloid

[Green Baron]

2 hours ago, TheSaint said:

Some numbskull just broke a thumb off of one of the terracotta warriors because he thought it would make a cool souvenir. Unless they hire 24-hour security, the 10,000 Year Clock isn't going to make it two weeks.

What ? They should chop off his thumb !

 

Sorry, archaeologist's short circuit reaction ... :-/

Edited February 21, 2018 by Green Baron

[TheSaint]

There's one in every crowd. Which is why the clock is doomed. Some self-centered moron will come along who decides that his need to feel special is greater than their need to keep the clock running.

[mikegarrison]

1 hour ago, Green Baron said:

What ? They should chop off his thumb !

No, they should allow extradition to face trial in China.

[kerbiloid]

A pack of clocks smooth functioning at least nearly 5000 years without repair.
Always showing the correct position of the Sun.

Spoiler

Complete with a funny manga kitten.

Spoiler

 

[magnemoe]

30 minutes ago, kerbiloid said:

A pack of clocks smooth functioning at least nearly 5000 years without repair.
Always showing the correct position of the Sun.

  Hide contents

Complete with a funny manga kitten.

  Hide contents

 

Rare picture of the rear of the Sfinx

also it has an tail


Other lesson learned in Egypt, beach parasols can also be uses as sundials, they are cheaper than pyramids and easier to move
Friend who was a bit bored by his girlfriend wanted to get an tan made an sundial around it
No danger he did not suffer, he had an thick book and they sold beer. 

[kerbiloid]

Spoiler

1st photo: still working by order of Hufu. There was no disengage command.

2nd photo. Building Minecraft cats with 2..20 t pixels before it became mainstream.

3rd photo. Originally it had neko ears.

Spoiler

 

 

Edited February 22, 2018 by kerbiloid

[Vanamonde]

Stick to the thread topic, please.