"and activate the fatal curiosity that lies deep in the human spirit."
Was it a stand-up comic or a philosopher who first said, "Tell someone the Sun is 93,138,632 miles away today and they will believe you. Tell them that bench has just been refinished and is covered with wet paint, and they will have to touch to confirm!" 😆
I remember reading all these proposals (about "forgetting" nuclear tech, how to alert folks to where danger might be, etc) in a few different sci-fi novels, if I'm not mistaken. Can't quite remember where, exactly... maybe Arthur C Clarke talked about this? Anyway, very fun stuff (morbid, but fun) to think about.
Definitely morbid. I wouldn't be surprised if Clarke talked about this. Carl Sagan may have written about it. He actually threw his hat in the ring, suggesting a skull and crossbones sign. But anthropologists objected, noting that the meaning of symbols are culturally dependent, even ☠️.
I actually might be remembering what Sagan wrote! Sagan, Clarke, Asimov... we had some amazing thinkers providing us with insights in the 20th century. I was lucky to be born when I was.
Brilliant post. Particularly enjoyed the “warning sign” shortlist, reminded me of the bit in Underland by Macfarlane where he talks about this (but in less detail - no cave drawings or landscape of thorns). Will be thinking about this piece for awhile, thank you.
So glad you liked it, Jill. It's such a fascinating puzzle. I came up with a dozen possible warning signs, each fatally flawed. Nice way to stretch to your imagination, though. Have a great month!
Could also be worth looking at these on a standard keyboard to see what else is on that key? (I’m on an iPad at the mo, and they don’t correspond to anything, but it might be worth a look)
Wonder what the symbols are in ASCII (going from your hexadecimal idea)?
As for Sandborn’s sign-off: sometimes the simplest answers are correct, so by applying Occam’s Razor, maybe he was suggesting that the conversation was over and not to contact him again? 🤔😁
It takes an incredible amount of energy to drop something into the sun. (You have to cancel most of the velocity of Earth’s orbit around the sun.) Far easier to drop stuff you don’t want into Jupiter instead.
Given the massive cost and inherent risk of space launches, launching nuclear waste into space is a Really Bad Idea. Especially since an existing technology, dry cask storage, has proven to be relatively cheap and quite safe.
Thank you for an intriguing post!
"and activate the fatal curiosity that lies deep in the human spirit."
Was it a stand-up comic or a philosopher who first said, "Tell someone the Sun is 93,138,632 miles away today and they will believe you. Tell them that bench has just been refinished and is covered with wet paint, and they will have to touch to confirm!" 😆
That is such a great joke/insight! We are curious creatures, indeed. Thanks for reading!
Great post. I learnt a lot. And happy mid-autumn festival, as we call out here in East Asia.
Happy mid-autumn festival to you, too, Jeffrey. Lovely to hear from someone in East Asia.
I remember reading all these proposals (about "forgetting" nuclear tech, how to alert folks to where danger might be, etc) in a few different sci-fi novels, if I'm not mistaken. Can't quite remember where, exactly... maybe Arthur C Clarke talked about this? Anyway, very fun stuff (morbid, but fun) to think about.
Definitely morbid. I wouldn't be surprised if Clarke talked about this. Carl Sagan may have written about it. He actually threw his hat in the ring, suggesting a skull and crossbones sign. But anthropologists objected, noting that the meaning of symbols are culturally dependent, even ☠️.
Yep, and current nuclear symbol ☢️ is now a fidget spinner, if you ask kids young enough 🤦♀️😂
I actually might be remembering what Sagan wrote! Sagan, Clarke, Asimov... we had some amazing thinkers providing us with insights in the 20th century. I was lucky to be born when I was.
Brilliant post. Particularly enjoyed the “warning sign” shortlist, reminded me of the bit in Underland by Macfarlane where he talks about this (but in less detail - no cave drawings or landscape of thorns). Will be thinking about this piece for awhile, thank you.
So glad you liked it, Jill. It's such a fascinating puzzle. I came up with a dozen possible warning signs, each fatally flawed. Nice way to stretch to your imagination, though. Have a great month!
You too Will 🤝 til the next moon
Fascinating! And radioactive cats! ☢️ 🐱😲
I loved that proposal. Even if humanity has to reset after a civilization collapse, there will always be cat lovers!
I love his sign off. Great read, as usual 🌓
I might adopt the same sign off. Great way to keep your correspondents guessing. Thanks for reading 🌖!
He's joshing you, like Al Capone's vault or an empty time capsule. Or maybe...
Hey Jeff! He might very well be toying with me. It's definitely not a clue that unlocks Kryptos, right? Right?!
They are getting more adept at recycling nuclear waste. It’s not pure junk.
🤞That would be relieving. Thanks, Margaret!
For what it's worth, the UTF-8 code units for Sanborn's message in hexadecimal are:
21 3F E2 82 AC 7C C2 A5 23 25 3F 21
Perhaps it's meaningful that the message begins with "!?" and ends with "?!".
Thanks Roger for providing the hexadecimals. There might be something there.
And yes, I noticed the palindromic nature of the message. Very suggestive.
Appreciate you engaging with this. Nice to know I'm not wrestling with this coded message alone!
Could also be worth looking at these on a standard keyboard to see what else is on that key? (I’m on an iPad at the mo, and they don’t correspond to anything, but it might be worth a look)
Wonder what the symbols are in ASCII (going from your hexadecimal idea)?
what an interesting read. Glad I came across this
Thanks, Rosana! I'm happy you found it too.
Fantastic post, Will.
Thanks so much, Jolene!
Thank you. What a unique newsletter, filled with intriguing and surprising information. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your post.:-)
I am so thrilled to hear it, Stacy. It was fun to write (even though it was about heavy subjects) and it's gratifying to hear you enjoyed it. Be well!
That was a great read - loads to ponder 🤔
As for Sandborn’s sign-off: sometimes the simplest answers are correct, so by applying Occam’s Razor, maybe he was suggesting that the conversation was over and not to contact him again? 🤔😁
(As in “@£#& off” 😉😂)
Kathlyn, I didn't know Occam's Razor was supposed to cut so deep and hurt so bad! 😂
Awww, I was only joking 🥰
Me too!
Just dump the waste in active volcanoes 🌋 incinerating
Why do I feel like we would be creating some kind of Godzilla monster if we did that 😂
Wasn’t that how Mothma was made?
Perhaps the waste can be fired into the Sun ...
Good idea! But that's one rocket launch that CANNOT go wrong. Hope you're well, Peter.
It takes an incredible amount of energy to drop something into the sun. (You have to cancel most of the velocity of Earth’s orbit around the sun.) Far easier to drop stuff you don’t want into Jupiter instead.
Given the massive cost and inherent risk of space launches, launching nuclear waste into space is a Really Bad Idea. Especially since an existing technology, dry cask storage, has proven to be relatively cheap and quite safe.
Yep, if that rocket exploded on the way up, nuclear waste aaaallllll over the atmosphere! 😱
Thanks Désirée! I enjoyed reading this. And I think you're right about solutions coming from "ordinary" people.
Wonderful to hear! Yes, the lunar eclipse is coming...I'm readying my pen and quill.