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Radioactive Warning for Future Generations
tengu1sd writes "The Los Angeles Times discusses the problems with trying to leave a message for generations down the line. From the article: 'Symbols tend to lose their meaning over time. Exactly how and why Stonehenge was built, for instance, has long remained a mystery. Warnings, they argue, would be misunderstood or dismissed, the same way ancient grave robbers ignored curses inscribed on the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs to seize the riches inside. The curse of plutonium packs a painful penalty.'"
Na, just type:
Warning, Lawyers buried here.
No-one will ever dig it up.
-nB
whois gawk date unzip strip find touch finger mount join nice man top fsck grep eject more yes exit umount sleep dump
Write it in English.
If civilization ever devolves to the point where English is no longer recognized/understood, then guess what?
The cavemen who have replaced us won't be our problem to deal with. We'll all be happily dead.
Seriously, if such a warning is ever needed, to hell with Humanity 2.0. I can see it now:
Ogg (sipping a skull full of blood): Me say, is nice of other human to warn us of glowy shiny.
Eck (nodding his head before picking something out of his hair and eating it): Mmmm. Yes, is pity they stupid and bash selves.
Ogg and Eck: Ahahahahaha!
Well, screw you, future savages - may you all wilt and die from radiation poisoning.
Then future generations can look it up on the wayback machine.
Universal Translator error code #7
The language you requested is available only to registered members.
Today's warning sign is tomorrow's tourist attraction. If anything, the warning signs will attract tourists, exposing them to more radiation. "Hey lookie here FuturoBillyBob, these ancient symbols must lead to treasure, because no ancient symbol would ever be a warning, right?" This will inevitably lead to naturally selecting out curious tourists who will die out from radiation poisoning and not pass on the curious gene. The "Where's Waldo" series will plummet in sales, causing its publisher to go out of business, reducing the sales of red and white horizontally striped sweaters, thick glasses, blue pants and brown shoes as well as stocking hats, unleashing an economic chain reaction leading to a global economic collapse that will start nuclear war, resulting in the annihilation of mankind. So don't mess this up, LA!
just make a huge pile of glowing, long-lived nuclear waste, and surround it with a high stone fence. Put signs on that barrier in every language known to Mankind that say "if you cross this fence you will die". Undoubtedly, some people will cross that fence. Niven called this effect "Evolution in action" and that's certainly the case. However, after a few years, the growing pile of radioactive skeletons would serve as a graphic example to future generations about the dangers of radioactive waste, while simultaneously cleaning the gene pool.
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
If civilization has deteriorated to the point that the future critters no longer have the technology to detect the danger, maybe a good old fashioned dose of mutation will kick-start them back on the path!
This issue is a bit more complicated than you think.
I am Nobutu Bangari and I am in posession of a large consignment of gold
that my people left me some time ago. you are free to dig here to find it but
as a token of good faith I ask that you remit to my swiss bank account a small
fee that we will reimburse to you once the bullion is secured by you.
etc
Just translate that and no-one would dare bother digging.
Hedley
It'll be reposted about every year, just like this 'news' item.
there is no need to sign your posts. this isn't usenet. your username is right there above your post. stop it.
In any case what is the most enduring instituion bar none. Religion. Start a religious order that protects the sites.
The problem is that in 3,000 years the people will start trying to re-intepret the original religious texts and give them meanings that didn't exist before and will suddenly believe that the heaping pile of radioactive goo was actually gift from their creator to which they are to spread to all mankind. Then we're screwed.
Meh. I think we ought to just do a really thorough job of hiding it, with warnings inside the perimeter. Obvious warnings will just draw attention to the site.
I say we build a necropolis there.
What says "deadly danger" more than a bunch of stiffs?
You can't take the sky from me...
As the FTA points out, people who robbed the pyramids in Egypt didn't pay any attention to the warnings about curses
Yeah, um, curses? Should I worry about black cats too?
You can't take the sky from me...
Just label it something no self-respecting American would go near, like "Health Food", or "Books".
As for any other nationalities, screw them. That's what they get for winning the war against us and occupying Yucca Mountain.
Bemopolis
"I guess the moral of the story is, don't paint your airship with rocket fuel." -- Addison Bain
addendum: Perhaps future archaelogists will be fascinated to learn that the ancient romans colonized north america and utilized nuclear power.
Do you even lift?
These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.
A Goatse statue/image! It crosses cultural and language boundaries like nothing a bunch of eggheads in a lab can ever cook up.
Table-ized A.I.
Piles of skeletons attract archaeologists.
Hippies will dance around it naked at the full moon....
Engineering is the art of compromise.
bah weep graaagnah wheep ni ni bong
In case of fire, do not use elevator. Use water!
Heck, write the damn thing in COBOL. After all, what better language to use than one that refuses to die despite every best effort to kill it?
"Prepare for the worst - hope for the best."
I pushed it. A little sign lit up saying, "Please do not push this button again."
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