Into The Future...
How would one communicate an idea into the future? What kind of design process does one go through to convey an idea past the rise and fall of societies? The following articles really got me thinking about those concepts:
- This Place is Not a Place of Honor
- Atomic Priesthoods, Thorn Landscapes, and Munchian Pictograms
- How to tell future generations about nuclear waste
- Expert Judgement on Markers to Deter Inadvertent Human Intrusion into the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
Specifically, these writings discuss potential methods of marking nuclear waste disposal sites, to ensure Earth's future inhabitants understand the threat and stay away. A timeless, universal "WARNING" sign, if you will. Portraying this kind of message to others living in our time period is relatively easy, but no culture has ever attempted to design a symbol that would remain intelligible for the next 10,000 years.
Worth More Than All Words
Attempting to clearly designate a danger zone to individuals living 10,000 years in the future is certainly a tall order. As the relevance of language and symbols erode quickly over time, the effort becomes even more complicated: we cannot simply communicate danger, we must also communicate our logic to explain exactly why the area is dangerous. We humans tend to ignore information without reasons to support belief.
Sandia National Laboratories consulted a multi-disciplinary panel of outside experts to determine viable options. The individuals involved in the study came from diverse backgrounds: physics, law, economics, risk management, materials science, and linguistics. The group decided that the message should communicate the following:
- This place is a message, and part of a system of messages. Pay attention to it!
- Sending this message was important to us. We considered ourselves to be a powerful culture.
- This place is not a place of honor. No highly esteemed deed is commemorated here. Nothing valued is here.
- What is here is dangerous and repulsive to us. This message is a warning about danger.
- The danger is in the center of this location, is of a particular size and shape, and is below us.
- The danger is still present, in your time, as it was in ours.
- The danger is to the body, and it can kill.
- The form of the danger is an emanation of energy.
- The danger is unleashed only if you substantially disturb this place. This place is best shunned.
For more detailed information regarding this specific topic, I would recommend reading the articles referenced at the beginning of this post.
I'm a fan of critical thought exercises, so I'd like to ask: If you were to design an idea to send into the future, what would it be, and how would you do it?