Stewart Brand: Building a home for the Clock of the Long Now

[TheProlefeed1]

Phony environmentalist globalist charlatan Stewart Brand and fellow futurist Peter Schwartz, formerly of Royal Dutch Shell, through their "Global Business Network" and propaganda rag "Wired" magazine are now pushing GMO and geoengineering as "green", Agenda 21,filthy squatter cities, Chernobyl, all of these are great things according to this fake "environmental pragmatist". The irony of it all is the GMO and geoengineering that he's pushing will likely play a hand wiping us out in 10,000 years

[tcorp]

A future civilization will build a religion around it and the point will be lost (again?).

[tnus03]

Sounds like he's going out of his way to make future aliens worship a clock...pretty good joke i guess.

[tnus03]

I have a feeling id climb that mountain, trek through the mines, get to the end, exhausted but exhilarated, look up and think, "oh...its a clock."

[beardydave]

This is a very 20XX American talk. Experience the view from where the clock is! Hayoo!! THat is what we will all say for the next, what, 20years. If that. Even now, the novelty/fascination of Christ is lessening nowadays. A person will not, can not, last 10000 yrs. A civilization can! This clock is a novel idea for a novelty culture...

[JasonRainbows]

Wrong idea - hiding it. If a clock ticks in the wilderness and nobody is there to hear it, does it even matter? Put it on the moon if you're serious about it.

[CaptainChaos]

Good news people! I just traveled back from the year 12009, and it all worked out exactly to plan! It's just about to strike the year 10000, only of course now I'm here I won't get to hear it. Damn...

[KonaChuck22]

The guy described it acuarately at the beginning...FOLLY. Would probably win best project at the high school scince fair.

[srambo529]

I wonder what the world will be like in 10,000 years when that clock chimes it's last chime. Will anyone be around to hear it? Or will it only disturb the snakes and bugs and big horn sheep in the area? If a clock chimes in a mountain and no one is around to hear it does it really make a sound, or even a difference? The mayans made a long clock also, a calander if you will and they certainly didn't survive long enough to see it to fruition, will we be any more successful?

[somercet1]

You tell me: are people still around to study it?

You have very small eyes.

[qkholster]

The technological singularity will disrupt the fabric of human history within the next 50 years. By that time we will have become "God" or the creator/designer of our own universes.

[DFORCE1969]

If the human race somehow manages to survive another 10,000 years I doubt they will have much

time for this conceited tech-wank nonsense.

With so many pressing problems in the world idiots like this should be ashamed of themselves.

[LordKarmaUSA]

An example of one of the things that is wrong with Academia. Fortunately, these people will die long before they waste much of anyone's time and money.

[aleighland]

Oh but isn't it wonderful that they are "wasting" money on things that cause expansion of thought and ideas rather than destruction like war and bombs. I applaud their effort and wish them years of contemplation.

[nilbud]

Yeah well I grew up in the 80's and my future was pretty likely to be nuclear winter so blow it out your ass.

[10aces]

I'm curious. If the clock is to be housed within the mountain, won't they have to "drill" a light shaft so that the clock can be reset.

[heartwings26]

I wish he had explained so much more about WHY they want just a clock- i understand the journey is as important as the object/experience at the end but i'm still left with questions. My thought is: they could put a time capsule there too, with maybe every person willing to make the hike, put something from their history into it. (which might defeat the purpose of a sealed time capsule but idk)

[heartwings26]

In ten thousand years time if, say, another civilization finds it, what will they find out about us? "So they lived a long on this planet before they killed themselves, but what did they accomplish? How to tell time!!"

Good idea, but to me, a little misplaced.

[smkymcnugget420]

not how to tell time, but has the technical capacity to KEEP time for 10,000 years.

[featheredmusic]

are u talking to your self or? the idea behind this is to keep track of time, not to show our greatest achievements.

[wakod2002]

And why would we need a clock in a mountain to keep track of time for 10,000 years?

Measurements of time have no purpose or existence (just as inches do not actually exist outside of our minds, neither do seconds) except for in human minds that use them.

I think this clock is more for raising eyebrows for his organization than anything else, as he wouldn't be at TED speaking about it, mentioning his organization without it.

[featheredmusic]

Of course time exists, it composes the past and our memories. Humans have achieved the intelligence to capture time. There are many things that seem pointless now or then but they do leave impressions and tell us about of who we are as a species. Look at the pyramids, it may be pointless to build such a monument back then, but at the same time look how it effected everyone and told the world about time and culture. I agree with most of your points but i also agree with inspiration, imagination.

[wakod2002]

Hm...I was not arguing that Time doesn't exist (in the real world, outside of our minds) but that Measurements of Time do not exist (once again, in the "real world").

I gave the analogy of Measurements of TIme to Measurements of Distance. Where is there an Inch in the real world? Perhaps you'd point to a ruler, and say "right there!" But this would just be a piece of metal with ink on it. The "inch" between certain lines of ink is in our mind, not in the real world.

[featheredmusic]

ahhhh...gatcha, yah i see your point, def true.

[wakod2002]

(Continued)

Analogously, Time exists, but Seconds, Hours, Years, etc. do not (outside of the human mind).

As for the imagination and inspiration, the idea of a clock that lasts 10,000 years is cool, but claiming that its for some serious environmental purpose would be like building a monument of firefighters to save a burning building across the street. ...Not quite effective.

If you're interested in the time issue, philosopher Alan watts talks about it quite a bit.

watch?v=QhQc4gdKKm8

[Eldwinn]

brilliant words

[westkan]

The hope is that the clock will get man to start thinking the long term about EVERYTHING, not just the environment. The speaker only mentioned the environment, in in environmental concerns in building a home for the clock & perhaps being able to purchases the ranches near the site of topic, so they could be added to the national park.

[westkan]

In the beginning of the program it was mention the purpose of the clock was described as to get man to start thinking in the long term. I felt he meant the folly is trying to get man thinking in the long term, not the construction of the clock, and a place to house it.

[aleighland]

If we learn to think LONG now then our creation of things in our now will likely be less damaging and more with an eye to lasting over more than a few generations. Yes If we continue to function as we do there will be nothing left of us except maybe this clock.. But if the clock happens maybe in the process of its creation we will learn to NOT destroy ourselves and our home!!

[westkan]

Then a gain they could also be intrigued, and try to learn what that that lost civilization accomplished. Like our modern civilization does today with lost civilizations.

[sleepingTitania]

"Look to the mountain"

Incredible!! A truly magnificent and inspired project! THANKYOU! I am heartened that there are people with such long term vision, wisdom, appreciation for our beautiful earth and dedication to see the project come to fruition.... WOW... I would love to have a mind-blowing experience like that... what a fantastic journey it will be :)

The bells chiming... in the background... so beautiful!

Thankyou so much for this amazing post!

[boxant]

I will be looking forward to making the journey.

[stlyes]

who gives a fuck and who invited him to tedtalks eh...

[Flyborg]

What would be awesome is if they went down an old cave to put a clock in there, and found a clock already there, ticking on year 20,000 or something :)

Also, I would totally visit this clock if it existed.

[featheredmusic]

haha nice nice

yep maybe i'll see you there

[jjmm112]

care`s?.

[semiliteratedgod]

quite awesome mountain, this vid gets really interesting after the first 5-6 minutes!

[jaredhutcheson]

I don't know why there are so many negative comments. So what if you think it's pointless, the people who would make the journey to see it would certainly disagree with you. It's not like it's wasting tax dollars or anything. The pyramids were folly, but do you wish that they were never built? I find the pyramids to be inspiring even if the original motive was an overgrown ego (and I don't think that is the reason for this project, I think Stewart Brand probably has a similar viewpoint).

[argotechnica]

What...? :D

I've been tracking this for the last 00004 years. Can't wait for us to have this.

I wonder what happens when it's done chiming?

[yody94]

I think this guy has spent a little too much time watching movies like raiders of the lost arc...

[unionhacelafuerza]

una idea inspiradora! no termino de congeniar con el individuo... pero a quién le importa! él está haciendo su sueño realidad

[dar482]

Meh, who cares?

[mikezephyr]

The clock, not the steam-engine, is the key-machine of the modern industrial age.

-lewis mumford

[awerner2007]

the clock was nesscary due to the steam engine, since people needed to know when the train was going to show up

[mikezephyr]

...because life is routinized in proportion to humanity being mechanized under advanced capitalism.

[nilbud]

There's no such thing as advanced capitalism.

[westkan]

Sure advanced capitalism exists. The mechanics of capitalism have been evolving, feudulism ended in Europe

[westkan]

But time keeping existed long before the steam engine. The resolution growing better, all along. First the arrival of the seasons was important , than month day hour, minute. The relative & consistency speed of rail road travel did bring us the time zone though

[CheezMonsterCrazy]

I'd go see it. ;)

[laraihell]

This reminds me of the clock people in Tom Robbins' novel Even Cowgirls Get the Blues. Definitely a spiritual quest. Very interesting.

[Ignare]

Kids with grey hair.

[drchaffee]

I like this idea. For me it evokes humility in the face of a transitory existence, but also a hope that people would be there to refurbish it for another ten thousand year run.

[ratholin]

I think it's the reverse of humility. An old man wants to build something to last 10,000 years and make his invention a "spiritual journey" nothing humble about that it looks like fear of death mixed with a need for self importance.

[GeorgeTheWild]

It's not your resources that are being "wasted." So why do you care?

[ki6eki]

i dont get this.. are they making a place so people in the future can be indian jones?

[ViolaeGM]

yes

[kurtilein3]

i dont know. i would build 100 of those clocks, make them very beautiful and durable, and give them to museums and universities all around the planet. in 100 years, 80 might be left, and now they are more valueable and worth protecting because each one has already been running for 100 years. everyone understands that you cant just go back 100 years to make a new one. they will increase in value with time, and its about educating people, isnt it? many clocks in many museums make more sense.

[QuestioCunctus]

In the hope of lasting yes, but they are trying to add that sense of personal journey to the clock which wouldn't touch most people just visiting one in a museum.

Their description reminds me of Joseph Campbell's breakdown of journey myths in Hero of a Thousand Faces. They are trying to create something that is not just visually interesting but that transports you out of your usual mindset and routine in multiple ways. The goal definitely seems nearly spiritual in a way.

[kurtilein3]

in 500 years, most religions will be extinct, and few people will value spirituality.

i guess this is an american thing. im studying physics, last time we calculated the kinetic energy of a bullet by shooting at a pendulum, the bottom of the pendulum was a piece of wood that has been used for this purpose since 1828. the professor didnt even mention this, i found the date in some ridiculiusly old notes on the back of it. in america, you would put this in a museum.

[CheeezMaster]

wow how much fun must you be

[kurtilein3]

... continued

one sentence sums it up: in america, 100 years is a lot and 100 kilometres are nothing. in europe, 100 years are nothing and 100 kilometres is a lot. of course this is a generalisation, but it has some truth to it. in europe you regularly come across items that are centuries old and still in use. in america, you have this cut in history that obscures the view on the continuum. americans just spend much less time in buildings that are more than 500 years old.

[Akatam0t0ma]

A great idea for a time capsule, but why did he spend so much time describing the environment, rather than discussing the idea more in-depth?

[Boozinator]

I honestly can't understand the imperative for the existence of such a clock.

Most TED talks blow me away.. this one left me confused.

[smkymcnugget420]

probably a monument to our technological existence..imperative becuase we clearly don't have much time left on our current course

[ratholin]

thats a little like making a diamond coffin then. It's pointless hubris.

[smkymcnugget420]

i'm sure thats not what the egyptians thought when they started the pyramids.. same thing only in the context of our current technology. though i still think we [modern humans] would be hard pressed to build a pyramid today...

[ratholin]

Would we want to waste thousands of lives in slave labor to build a tomb for one mortal god/king who's afraid of his mortality? If I want to see a pyramid I'll stay at the Luxor. A ten thousand year clock locked in stasis is pointless folly.

[smkymcnugget420]

oh i absolutly agree its pointless the same reason it was pointless for the egyptians to build the pyramids: what are the odds a civiliation 10000 years from now will have any understanding of the significance of time and the clock..I would say about the same as us trying to understand the true meaning of the pyramids:  "...a tomb for one mortal god/king who's afraid of his mortality"...doubtful

[ratholin]

Ancestor worship always leads to the belief that stupid things that last must really be quite ingenious. "Those people up north burry their dead in small stone cairns with some possessions. I being pharoah would like a giant triangular one. Get the slaves to figure out how to build it."

[mikezephyr]

industrial capitalism condemns us to a lifetime of sysiphean pyramid-building. talk about a culture built upon a pyramid-scheme! egyptian pyramids embody the ideology of a class society, which is all-to-similar with the ideology of this society.