10,000 year clock - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

10,000 year clock

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
LFK
Jul 15, 2011 14:02:54 hackaday.com/2011/06/23/10000-year-clock...

Doooooooood! So cool. The SETI video raises a lot of interesting questions about our collective perception of time.

Also, on a general note, I love hackaday. A lot of their projects make my puppets feel inadequite.
#2
Cpt_Micha
Jul 15, 2011 14:10:11 Wow.
#3
homicidal_squirrel
Jul 15, 2011 14:27:32 Damn... for a sec there I thought it would be a wrist watch that looked really cool.
#4
Cpt_Micha
Jul 15, 2011 14:38:51 I'd buy a watch version in a heartbeat.
#5
homicidal_squirrel
Jul 15, 2011 14:39:48 Seriously...
It would be awesome.
#6
jetshield
Jul 15, 2011 16:07:02 And is in a huge pit in the middle of nowhere? Who's gonna hear it?
#7
LFK
Jul 15, 2011 16:18:36
And is in a huge pit in the middle of nowhere? Who's gonna hear it?

Watch the video!

The whole point is that it's a thing that people need to actively go see. The idea is that "now" changes based on when and where you are and what you are doing. So this project is called The Long Now. By having it a ways away from civilization it's protected from the turmoil of the city and asks visitors to set aside a greater measure of their time to visit. That time, bookended by the transitional moments between initiation and completion, stretches out into a single "now" for the participants, and during that "now" the participants interact, communicate, and discuss their present situation. "Are we there yet" is as much a part of the experience as is seeing the clock itself.

Beyond that it's not just conceptually a clock that counts out 10,000 years, but is built to last 10,000 years, surviving regime changes, societal shifts, and very possible civilization interruption. They talk about it being designed to be lost, but also found.

Basically 10,000 years is the scope of recorded human history to date, so let's try and build a clock for the second 10,000.
#8
jetshield
Jul 15, 2011 16:26:17 Why would I waste all that time watching a longass video, when I can just ask a question and wait until someone feels the need to summarize it for me?

In any event, it seems silly to me. I'm not going to travel across the country to see a clock in a pit, and I'm most certainly not going to try to see it when it chimes. I don't like crowds, and there are far too many people that'll want to be there at that particular moment.
#9
dirtyfrank
Jul 15, 2011 16:36:38 The whole idea of this project as well as how they're building it sounds quite interesting to me. I also find it interesting that you have to interact with the clock to see the current time and that the display stays with that time until it is wound up again. Basically I find that neat in a case where the clock is lost. It would give the discoverers an idea of how long it's been unknown to the world. I also like the idea of that Rosetta disk thing with Genesis etched into it in all languages currently in use today. I like the idea for a few reasons. One so that people in the future can decode their past by having a means of translating what will then be ancient texts. They'll likely need something like this. Also it would be interesting in my eyes because well will Christianity be around and if so how much will the bible have changed through translations? What will those in the future think if there are no longer any Christians around? Basically it will get them thinking about the human past and as to why we might have left such a huge clock with treasures inside, because I'm sure 8-9 thousand years from now they will no longer have much of a clue why it was originally built.
#10
OleOneEye
Jul 16, 2011 11:38:02 So, they are building a tourist trap for my great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandkids?
#11
dirtyfrank
Jul 16, 2011 12:23:21 yup, but that is assuming that your line will continue on that far into the future.
#12
homicidal_squirrel
Jul 16, 2011 12:37:18
Somehow I see people wonderingwhat this is and maybe worship that clock in 10k years.

At least some sort of neo-Stonehenge.

I'm thinking more along the line "Ancient Americans predicted the world would end in ________."
#13
Escef
Jul 17, 2011 0:36:56 If completed, it will likely break down within 5 years and never be fixed. Sort of like all those atomic clocks that have been made over the past 60 years, that lose fractions of a millisecond every year. Over the course of 10,000 years the clock will lose almost 10,000 years; because no one will keep it running that long.
#14
dirtyfrank
Jul 17, 2011 2:45:08 I think part of the idea of the clock is that it would be able to keep running even if there is nobody around to watch after it hence the reason it would be meant to be lost and then later found.
#15
zombie_babies
Jul 18, 2011 14:11:48 I didn't watch the video, so ... how is it gonna run for 10k years?
#16
dirtyfrank
Jul 18, 2011 14:25:26 I'm not exactly sure about all of it but it seems there is a weight that slowly falls that more or less works most of the stuffs. They're using materials that should last that length of time. And for the display that part is powered by people winding something and stuff. Not sure about all of it since they didn't talk about a lot of the workings in detail. Said that was because they wanted a reason for people to show up and whatnot and take tours of the place.
#17
zombie_babies
Jul 18, 2011 14:36:03 I just can't see how a weight falling slowly enough to take 10k years to bottom would be able to power anything. It really seems like it'll need some sort of human interaction in order to continue its service.
#18
dirtyfrank
Jul 18, 2011 14:42:12 What I gathered is that when it hits the bottom it will have made the largest gear thingy turn once so 10k years. But part of their plan is to have an institution of some sorts near by meant for keeping an eye on the whole thing even though they're planning for it to run a long long time without maintenance.

but yeah idk much of how it would exactly work. I just understand that it seems like a neat project.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 LFK Jul 15, 2011 14:02:54	hackaday.com/2011/06/23/10000-year-clock... Doooooooood! So cool. The SETI video raises a lot of interesting questions about our collective perception of time. Also, on a general note, I love hackaday. A lot of their projects make my puppets feel inadequite.
#2 Cpt_Micha Jul 15, 2011 14:10:11	Wow.
#3 homicidal_squirrel Jul 15, 2011 14:27:32	Damn... for a sec there I thought it would be a wrist watch that looked really cool.
#4 Cpt_Micha Jul 15, 2011 14:38:51	I'd buy a watch version in a heartbeat.
#5 homicidal_squirrel Jul 15, 2011 14:39:48	Seriously... It would be awesome.
#6 jetshield Jul 15, 2011 16:07:02	And is in a huge pit in the middle of nowhere? Who's gonna hear it?
#7 LFK Jul 15, 2011 16:18:36	And is in a huge pit in the middle of nowhere? Who's gonna hear it? Watch the video! The whole point is that it's a thing that people need to actively go see. The idea is that "now" changes based on when and where you are and what you are doing. So this project is called The Long Now. By having it a ways away from civilization it's protected from the turmoil of the city and asks visitors to set aside a greater measure of their time to visit. That time, bookended by the transitional moments between initiation and completion, stretches out into a single "now" for the participants, and during that "now" the participants interact, communicate, and discuss their present situation. "Are we there yet" is as much a part of the experience as is seeing the clock itself. Beyond that it's not just conceptually a clock that counts out 10,000 years, but is built to last 10,000 years, surviving regime changes, societal shifts, and very possible civilization interruption. They talk about it being designed to be lost, but also found. Basically 10,000 years is the scope of recorded human history to date, so let's try and build a clock for the second 10,000.
#8 jetshield Jul 15, 2011 16:26:17	Why would I waste all that time watching a longass video, when I can just ask a question and wait until someone feels the need to summarize it for me? In any event, it seems silly to me. I'm not going to travel across the country to see a clock in a pit, and I'm most certainly not going to try to see it when it chimes. I don't like crowds, and there are far too many people that'll want to be there at that particular moment.
#9 dirtyfrank Jul 15, 2011 16:36:38	The whole idea of this project as well as how they're building it sounds quite interesting to me. I also find it interesting that you have to interact with the clock to see the current time and that the display stays with that time until it is wound up again. Basically I find that neat in a case where the clock is lost. It would give the discoverers an idea of how long it's been unknown to the world. I also like the idea of that Rosetta disk thing with Genesis etched into it in all languages currently in use today. I like the idea for a few reasons. One so that people in the future can decode their past by having a means of translating what will then be ancient texts. They'll likely need something like this. Also it would be interesting in my eyes because well will Christianity be around and if so how much will the bible have changed through translations? What will those in the future think if there are no longer any Christians around? Basically it will get them thinking about the human past and as to why we might have left such a huge clock with treasures inside, because I'm sure 8-9 thousand years from now they will no longer have much of a clue why it was originally built.
#10 OleOneEye Jul 16, 2011 11:38:02	So, they are building a tourist trap for my great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandkids?
#11 dirtyfrank Jul 16, 2011 12:23:21	yup, but that is assuming that your line will continue on that far into the future.
#12 homicidal_squirrel Jul 16, 2011 12:37:18	Somehow I see people wonderingwhat this is and maybe worship that clock in 10k years. At least some sort of neo-Stonehenge. I'm thinking more along the line "Ancient Americans predicted the world would end in ________."
#13 Escef Jul 17, 2011 0:36:56	If completed, it will likely break down within 5 years and never be fixed. Sort of like all those atomic clocks that have been made over the past 60 years, that lose fractions of a millisecond every year. Over the course of 10,000 years the clock will lose almost 10,000 years; because no one will keep it running that long.
#14 dirtyfrank Jul 17, 2011 2:45:08	I think part of the idea of the clock is that it would be able to keep running even if there is nobody around to watch after it hence the reason it would be meant to be lost and then later found.
#15 zombie_babies Jul 18, 2011 14:11:48	I didn't watch the video, so ... how is it gonna run for 10k years?
#16 dirtyfrank Jul 18, 2011 14:25:26	I'm not exactly sure about all of it but it seems there is a weight that slowly falls that more or less works most of the stuffs. They're using materials that should last that length of time. And for the display that part is powered by people winding something and stuff. Not sure about all of it since they didn't talk about a lot of the workings in detail. Said that was because they wanted a reason for people to show up and whatnot and take tours of the place.
#17 zombie_babies Jul 18, 2011 14:36:03	I just can't see how a weight falling slowly enough to take 10k years to bottom would be able to power anything. It really seems like it'll need some sort of human interaction in order to continue its service.
#18 dirtyfrank Jul 18, 2011 14:42:12	What I gathered is that when it hits the bottom it will have made the largest gear thingy turn once so 10k years. But part of their plan is to have an institution of some sorts near by meant for keeping an eye on the whole thing even though they're planning for it to run a long long time without maintenance. but yeah idk much of how it would exactly work. I just understand that it seems like a neat project.