
The 10,000 Year Clock - spiffytech
http://longnow.org/clock/?
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drostie
I haven't heard anything about this in 3+ years; don't assume that the page is
super-current. But that's kind of the point of the whole project: to make you
think of yourself on a longer timescale. The engineers don't want it to be
ready in a couple years; the process mirrors the art that it is producing with
lots of planning, careful thought about how to get it all to last, a gradual
drilling process for the cavern, etc.

I do still wish that I knew how long it'll be before I can visit it, but I
take some comfort in the idea that I'll need to look at the bigger picture and
wait patiently.

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biot
Due to its fascinating subject matter, it ends up being one of the most-
submitted stories on HN. There are various others articles and background
stories around its engineering and funding as well:
[https://hn.algolia.com/?q=10%2C000+year+clock#!/story/foreve...](https://hn.algolia.com/?q=10%2C000+year+clock#!/story/forever/0/10%2C000%20year%20clock)

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sintaxi
I see the future. There will be a bunch of dummies that think the word will
end when the clocks time is up.

~~~
damon_c
Some Mayan probably said exactly the same thing a few thousand years ago.

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simoneau
That's the joke.

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nevster
I just finished reading Anathem by Neal Stephenson. Highly recommended for
anyone who's interested in the concept.

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ars
It's a great book, but it takes a LONG time to read. Not just because of the
length, but the concepts make it slower to read than a simple fiction book.

~~~
reubenswartz
Also, the first 200 pages seem to take forever. I almost stopped reading. Then
next 200 pages go by much faster, then the next 200 even faster, and so on...

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kabdib
I like most of Stephenson's writing, but the first fifty to a hundred pages
made me want to throw the book against a wall. But I persevered, and I think
it's one of his best books, and well worth the initial frustration.

~~~
nevster
I think the initial difficulty expertly captures for the reader just a small
taste of the experience of the culture shock the avout have when they come
into contact with the outside world after being closed off from society for x
years.

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jonmc12
The Interval ([http://theinterval.org/](http://theinterval.org/)) is a
bar/cafe/museum in SF by Long Now that has details on this project as well as
a pretty cool cocktail bar. Worth a visit.

~~~
pimlottc
Indeed! They also recently had installed a cool chalkboard drawing robot:

[http://biorequiem.com/photoflurry/chalk-drawing-robot-
unveil...](http://biorequiem.com/photoflurry/chalk-drawing-robot-unveiled-at-
the-interval)

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flashman
Looks like I'm not the only one who followed this up after reading about Danny
Hillis and Applied Invention today.

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dogma1138
Never could figure out if this group is some sort of a cult or just a bunch of
yahoos but it's damn cool either way. Reminds me kinda of the Georgia
Guidestones en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_Guidestones

