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In the distant future, after the fall of the information civilization, people will wonder what all the semiconductor components and chips lying about were for and how they worked. If we record all that knowledge only in electronic form as we do now, it will be lost. We need to build a repository of knowledge
about computer technology that will be readable without using technology. It could be a (boring) library with many print books. But a more enduring (and endearing) scheme would be a huge walk-in model of a computer made of stone, with to-scale parts and millions of engraved images illustrating and explaining the workings, all the way down to the quantum physics.
Future citizens would marvel at the ingenuity of those ancient humans, as we marvel at those who built the pyramids.
A little research reveals a related but less ambitious proposal by Grogster. See link.
Preserve Our History
Preserve_20Our_20History
by Grogster [sqeaketh the wheel, May 21 2011]
The Face On Earth
The_20Face_20On_20Earth
[theircompetitor, May 21 2011]
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10 years after completion it would be embarassingly old fashioned and would be knocked down. |
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Bury it under 1 km of sand to keep vandals away. |
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Big and impractical. I likey very much. |
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A bun-worthy attempt to keep our culture from fading into obscurity! I would add going into caves, scrubbing off all those hokey drawings, and spray paint some integrated circuit designs. [+] |
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[sqeaketh] I so wish you'd applied to hb for the [squeaketh] account! the absent u drives me nuts. |
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The thing is, all these apocalyptic fantasies run
thin when you ask whether there are any lost
civilizations who had technology which we can't
replicate or improve on. |
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The answer is that there aren't any. We may not
know how the Egyptians built their pyramids
(actually, I think we do). We may not understand
what the antikythera mechanism was for. We
may marvel at both. But we can sure as shit
outbuild the Egyptians and whatever problem the
antikythera mechanism was for can be solved by a
dollar's worth of computer power today. |
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Suppose we found papyri explaining exactly how
to build a pyramid, or a full set of technical
drawings for the antikythera mechanism. Who
would be interested apart from historians? |
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(Of course, the Great Trouser Press of Corby is a
counterexample.) |
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//I so wish you'd applied to hb for the [squeaketh] account! the absent u drives me nuts.// |
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Well, I simply incremented by one letter the p in speaketh, as in: Proverbs 12:17 King James Version: "He that speaketh truth sheweth forth righteousness: but a false witness deceit." |
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//I simply incremented by one letter// |
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I get it. You're shewing fifth righteousness. |
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And when that future civilzation discovers the reason for the ancient pyramid. And when they spend years upon years following the detailed instructions. And when they finally throw the main power switch, they shall ask it:
"Oh great computer of Giza, what is the purpose of which you have been designed, and what is the meaning of it all?"
And the great computer will reply.... |
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For the damn software was always buggy. |
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... and on this panel, the hieroglyphics show a hero, represented as a yellow disc that eats things, being chased through a labyrinth by demons, or perhaps ghosts, that look like jellyfish ... |
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I think it would rather be a bright orb that zenlike bounces from side to side in a reflection of the sinusoidal nature of the careful maintenance of the balance of life, occasionally disappearing into the unknown voids at the edge. |
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We should leave the plans for constructing the
receiving end of a time machine, along with the
message "We knew you would find these plans in
_____. Build the machine in time for our arrival in
______". There should also be a machine that will
etch in the date and hide when someone opens the
pyramid. |
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Would it not be prankier to leave a note saying "We
visited from 2011 but there was nobody in. We have
parked the time machine in 2018 - the keys are
behind the driver's side sun visor." |
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Time travel will be possible tomorrow! |
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Nah, I've been there already. It wasn't nearly as workable as next week's version. |
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Upgrades available tomorrow! |
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// Upgrades available tomorrow! // |
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You work for Microsoft, and we claim our free Service Pack ... |
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//You work for Microsoft// |
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If only; I am neither that intelligent nor that stupid, and I
live on the wrong end of the country to boot. But thanks
for the compliment! |
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