How to Make a Clock Run for 10,000 Years
wired.com
wired.com
Rather than viewing this disposability as a weakness, perhaps we can see it as an element of wise design. By analogy, the human body leans heavily towards self-repair rather than monolithic permanence. Perhaps it is a good thing that our day-to-day designs depend so much on active use and maintenance. If no one continues to use it, why does it need to keep working?
If they really wanted to prevent theft, the builders could alloy the metals with something poisonous or radioactive. But that's harder than it sounds. Not much stuff stays dangerous for 10,000 years. If I were in charge, I'd build some cool Indiana Jones-esque traps. :)
I'd also point out that such a technique would run opposite Long Now's goal of having visitors - I mean, it's hard to build a clock that lasts 10k years, hard to contain radioactive materials in casks buried underground in salt flats for 10k years, how much harder would it be to do both simultaneously?
Actually, you know what? Forget about clocks. I want to know how we can make elaborate dungeon traps last thousands of years.
Point being that over 10.000 years (heck, let's just say over 100 years), someone is going to tear that thing apart and use the components for some thing else.
Danny Hillis's concept and planning and the Long Now Foundation all preceed Bezos's involvement.
It would be much more genuine to attribute Jeff Bezos as the sponsor of the clock, but not as if it was entirely his idea.
If I were Bezos, I'd be particularly upset about what the writer puts into his mouth about the Gates Foundation and other charities - "Well, Bill Gates has already cured AIDS and malaria, so all that's left for me is to build a fuck-off huge clock!"
Bruce Sterling has a wonderful critique of the clock project and suggestions on how to impart it with some sort of higher level cultural permanency.
http://blog.longnow.org/2008/08/03/bruce-sterlings-sharp-war...
What is really heartening to me is that much of the clock design seems to have taken this into account: the constantly change chime sequence, the difficult to access location, etc.
Though it will probably just be a novelty, as we would stumble upon a hole in the ground some animal left in the jungle. The animal thinks it's a genius, we shrug and say eh, I could make that in 5 seconds.