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Public: United Nations
lobed borders   (-2)  [vote for, against]
Get to know the neighbours, globally.

I propose, instead of straight linear demarcations, there could be lobed borders. Think alternating jig-saw lobes but with international lines of definition. This probably wouldn't be implemented where geography is inhospitable to human expansion.

Lobed borders would have an organic look from a Google prospective and would make putting up walls slightly more difficult, just what is needed in suspicious times.

Knowing human nature, which is to take short cuts, cultures will be mixing on an even and accommodating way therefore advancing all of us. Humanity wants to be more complex and intricate, right?

The future is good.
-- wjt, Jul 28 2019

Many borders already exist as convolutions. For example on some roads that run from Northern Ireland to the Irish Republic a traveller will pass in and out of each country several times, as the border meanders radomly. This is one of the numerous anomolies that makes such a total nonsense out of the brexit insanity.
-- xenzag, Jul 28 2019


I was really thinking in populous areas of staunchly different ideals. Oh right, Ireland.
-- wjt, Jul 28 2019


// Google prospective //

You mean their strategy to take over your planet ?

// Humanity wants to be more complex and intricate, right? //

Actually, most humans seem to be happy with simplicity.

// The future is good. //

Ah, good, you've remembered to take your medication today.
-- 8th of 7, Jul 28 2019


So... Palestine then?
-- RayfordSteele, Jul 28 2019


everyone loves to opine about borders until they find out that the neighbor's dog is the one that keeps shitting on their yard. totally biodegradable.
-- theircompetitor, Jul 29 2019


"Lobed Borders" have already been well utilised, and long documented by gerrymandering electoral constituency drawer- uppers for a considerable time, often diluting the voting power of less wealthy individuals to the advantage of more wealthy individuals.
-- zen_tom, Jul 29 2019


It's moral low ground to draw a line. It's morally higher ground to have an integrated area. I thought making lobes might be practical a go-between. With the scale being three 'No man's land' areas across.

The stimulus for the idea was a shot of the Mexican-US border with houses cleaved off with the fence line. Not very organic.

It always comes down to the few spoiling it for the majority. [RayfordSteele] Neither the Palestinians nor the the Israelis can have the high moral ground.
-- wjt, Jul 30 2019


As an irrelevant aside, when I was young I was horrified by the untidiness of geography. My plan (when I became King of Earth) was to use some earth-moving equipment and convert the planet into a nice regular chequerboard of alternating sea and land
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jul 30 2019


Humanity at the moment is running about, yelling about inequality of different groups, borders will have to go at some time. I wonder how the numbers crunch, spreading population and resources globally.
-- wjt, Aug 03 2019


apologies in advance for sharing a slightly different interpretation, which is that we have a duty to... Get to know the neighbors, galactically.

I propose, instead of flat globular demarcations, there could be odd rebel orbs. Think a random pattern of perfectly uniform spheres (planets) but so far apart that there are no international lines. This would need to be implemented on entire worlds which are inhospitable to human expansion. Odd rebel orbs would have a decidedly mechanical look from a galactic perspective and would make putting up walls redundant, just what is needed in suspicious times. Knowing human nature, which has never changed, cultures will be dividing and fighting each other in an unfair and uncompromising way therefore risking the existence of all of us (unless we place each faction on its own Odd Rebel Orb at least a dozen light-years away from all others). Humanity wants to sabotage itself constantly, right? The future is Good (which may be interesting).

But odd rebel orbs seems like such a dim future. Surely there is a way to do both (have odd rebel orbs covered in lobed borders). As far as numbers, if I recall the total global per capita GDP is around $15k per person per year, so if it were distributed equally, globally, everyone would get about $1k total per month for however long it lasted. Seems OK if it's sufficient to know I'm doing the right thing. If all borders go, including individual property borders, then the obvious thing to do is to rent out my neighbor's sofa on AirBnB. My neighbor is a smart person so they will probably think to rent out my sofa on AirBnB too. So I'll have some random (or several random) people sleeping on my sofa and paying rent to my neighbor. Seems like a very interesting social experiment. There's a frontier saying I've heard: "Good Fences Make Good Neighbors". But times are very different now.
-- sninctown, Aug 03 2019


[sinctown] Money as a responsibility-free border. Back in the day was a fence just another form of communication rather than responsibility avoidance?
-- wjt, Aug 03 2019


I wish someone would build a self-sustaining Mars colony, since there's an entire Universe of planets out there that humans could conquer and populate. I don't know how to balance the responsibility to build a self-sustaining Mars colony with the responsibility to care for everyone in need. It seems that the Mars colony would, at least at first, have to exclude most people who would want to live there, for it would be difficult living (mining and building on Mars) and terribly expensive to go there, so expensive that all but the rich could not afford to go. But perhaps I am too pessimistic. Practically speaking, no rich person would be crazy enough to risk building a Mars colony unless they expected it to make a lot of money which could then be given away as charity. There is a clear duty to care for people in need regardless of borders. A Mars colony, hypothetically, could accept an unlimited number of people able to build complex life-support machinery while living in fragile bubble-tents. People unable to build complex life-support machinery or live without accidentally making holes in the bubble-tents would be a moral challenge for the Mars colony, especially if the number of people in need vastly outnumbered the number of people in the Mars colony. I hope improving technology makes essential items for food, education and health so cheap as to be free for anyone who wants them.
-- sninctown, Aug 03 2019


I misread the title as “lubed borders” and thought thus might be something to make tectonic plates slide last one another more easily
-- hippo, Aug 03 2019


[sinctown] Stepping out into the universe is collective thing, for the benefit of all on earth. A bit like the internet, a shared achievement. One group shouldn't really foot the bill which will also make it easier to be more humanitarian in ideals.

[hippo] Because lobed tectonic plates definitely wouldn't slide. The world culture would be a bit different, if payment for crossing a border was to have to have an orgasm. An imposed sex positive world with the mentality towards sex of healthy sex workers. But long haul flights would be even more stretching and holidays would start and finish with a happy ending.
-- wjt, Aug 03 2019


would not //orgasm borders// cause many people to act wrongly?
-- sninctown, Aug 04 2019


Only those insufficiently orgasmed. Under a good orgasm, I don't think I have any control in any particular way at all.

But back to the reality, of the idea. Borders would look more colloidal, more natural on maps than [Max]'s polygon dicing. The moving wet bits, we all really have no control over, he can dice to his heart's content.
-- wjt, Aug 06 2019



random, halfbakery