Random thoughts

[FifthView]

My random thought of the day: I wonder if alien species have surveilled Earth. If so, and they watch our media, what would they think of all the Earthlings vs. Aliens stories like Predator, or Independence Day, or Falling Skies... if they have, would they believe them real history or would they recognize they are only a form of entertainment.

They'd probably realize those shows are a fiction, but they might also be thinking: "Muwahaha, these tiny humans with their tiny imaginations! They haven't even begun to imagine the horrors we are about to commit upon them!"

 

[DragonOfTheAerie]

Well, unless there's some huge loss of knowledge somewhere along the way, that shouldn't happen. The reason we struggle to understand the stone age humans is because there's no convenient records left for us (besides cave paintings etc., which aren't terribly clear). And even with this small amount of knowledge about them, we still got a pretty good idea of how they lived, I think.

In the future, if almost everything became digital, few tangible things would survive an apocalypse of some kind...

 

[FifthView]

In the future, if almost everything became digital, few tangible things would survive an apocalypse of some kind...

If that's the case, how would these future historians possibly even know about "our depictions of super heroes" to begin with?

I think much depends on how far into the future we're talking. We still have a lot of hard copy lying around, artwork and books and the like, protected in durable structures. Three hundred thousand years after the massive extinction event, most of this might be gone, but a lot might survive a few thousand years.

But otoh, this is interesting: Scientists even now are able to encode a whole book or multiple books in very tiny structures, like synthetic DNA. Something the size of a small pebble could contain a vast store of history. So even if an apocalypse wiped out our WWW and computers all over the world, whatever, or simple passage of time wiped those out, a future historian might need to find only one such tiny storage device and could still have a vast amount of data about our culture.

 

[TheCrystallineEntity]

They'd probably realize those shows are a fiction

Ahem. What about Galaxy Quest?

 

[DragonOfTheAerie]

If that's the case, how would these future historians possibly even know about "our depictions of super heroes" to begin with?

I think much depends on how far into the future we're talking. We still have a lot of hard copy lying around, artwork and books and the like, protected in durable structures. Three hundred thousand years after the massive extinction event, most of this might be gone, but a lot might survive a few thousand years.

But otoh, this is interesting: Scientists even now are able to encode a whole book or multiple books in very tiny structures, like synthetic DNA. Something the size of a small pebble could contain a vast store of history. So even if an apocalypse wiped out our WWW and computers all over the world, whatever, or simple passage of time wiped those out, a future historian might need to find only one such tiny storage device and could still have a vast amount of data about our culture.

Shhhh. It's a thought experiment, don't ruin it.

 

[CupofJoe]

But otoh, this is interesting: Scientists even now are able to encode a whole book or multiple books in very tiny structures, like synthetic DNA. Something the size of a small pebble could contain a vast store of history. So even if an apocalypse wiped out our WWW and computers all over the world, whatever, or simple passage of time wiped those out, a future historian might need to find only one such tiny storage device and could still have a vast amount of data about our culture.

But the future Alien [or even human historian] would have to realise that what they are walking on isn't a Zen Garden but the entire repository of human knowledge. Would they? Unless they know about DNA encryption, it will look a lot like gravel to them. Archivists are looking at going back to basics and using a form of microfiche etched on to very stable glass. It's a mechanical system that should mean the information is recoverable given only a limited technology.
It is the other end of the discussions on how to mark Nuclear Repositories as dangerous places for a quarter of a million years. They are looking at making the land itself give off an eerie feeling with infra-sound so you feel ill at ease close by. Words and signs will erode or become unreadable but if you can manipulate landscape to make people not want to live there...

 

[Geo]

It's almost here and I can't wait, American Gods hits the screens in April. I hope they bring it to the city soon enough, even if I don't see hordes of Belgian people rushing -or even wanting- to see it, but I loved the book and since I saw the casting I become convinced it has to be good.

 

[TheCrystallineEntity]

^What's the book like?

 

[Geo]

^What's the book like?

It's a fantasy thriller, so to say. One of my favorite books from Neil Gaiman, different to what he usually does. It's dark in parts and very clever, with well paced prose, and full of little stories in between the main story. I know it's difficult for the movie to make it justice, but the cast choices are good, and even so the movie might be bloodier than the book, I think it could be really good.

 

[Tom]

Hey guys! Whew, it's been a while. I managed to catch my breath after a few weeks of insanity, so I figured I'd check back in to let y'all know I'm still alive. In the couple of weeks (or has it been a month?) I've been away I've started a short story that turned into a novella, procrastinated on writing Southerner, and churned out a couple of mediocre papers for school. The novella's actually going really well, and I'm looking forward to finishing something for once!

 

[Nimue]

Hey Tom, good to see you! Sounds like you've been busy. Is this novella in a new world, or the same as Southerner?

 

[Tom]

Hey Nim! Good to see you too!

No, the novella, Sea Glass, is actually set in the real world (with some tweaks of course). Originally its basic premise was that it was a gay, modern-day retelling of The Little Mermaid, but it's kind of spiraled beyond that into its own weird sprawling thing. One sleep-deprived night last month, I decided to write a short story at midnight, which was the worst idea I've had in a while. The result was terrible, but I took the parts I liked and turned it into Sea Glass.

 

[Nimue]

Well that sounds pretty awesome, down to the title. If you need somebody to read it when it's done, I'd be happy to!

 

[TheCrystallineEntity]

My [suddenly short] epic poem is nearly done.

 

[Chessie]

And just when we thought spring was just around the corner, here comes 2 feet of snow. It's been snowing without stopping since this morning. Seriously, Alaska. I've had enough of winter! *shakes fist*

 

[TheCrystallineEntity]

I have this daydream that I frequently had when I was younger. I want to make it into a story, but it would basically be blatant wish fulfillment.

So, for a lot of my life I've had these daydreams about this androgynous being, usually a wizard [rendered mute and with a giant claw for a hand, thanks to my earlier Digimon interest, which is still ongoing], who finds a young child and rescues her from a miserable event of some kind [yes, I know, the classic fairy tale fantasy...], and the two live together and/or fall in love...
I'm not sure how this would work as a story, if at all.

 

[Nimue]

As random thoughts go...today my brain brought up how lovely it would be if my existence was scraped from the mind of everyone who ever knew me & I was left in peace to rot in a cave, which...while impractical, is a nice concrete image and makes for something of a story prompt. Can't say self-loathing never did anything for me now

(yes, I know how silly that sounds.)

 

[CupofJoe]

As random thoughts go...today my brain brought up how lovely it would be if my existence was scraped from the mind of everyone who ever knew me & I was left in peace to rot in a cave, which...while impractical, is a nice concrete image and makes for something of a story prompt. Can't say self-loathing never did anything for me now
(yes, I know how silly that sounds.)

Pick the right cave and you could be naturally mummified!!! Just a thought... Any way, think of all the friends you could have while you are in there... Bears, Bats and other creatures of the locality of your cave of choice...
I'm not usually one for RomComs [who am I kidding, I love them] but I liked the way that Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind explored memory wiping.

 

[Nimue]

I hadn't even thought of the cave friends! Bats are pretty cute, in my opinion. It's just an alluring idea, isn't it... A nice dark, damp, quiet cave, never have to get up again, just watch the weather go by... I think I have an idea for a vacation.

 

[TheCrystallineEntity]

I like exploring caves in video games, but I wouldn't want to live in one. --In a cave, that is.