If you did have some information you wanted to pass down through the ages, how could it be done?
ChatGPT (other AI (?) tools are available) came up with this:
If I had a message that I needed to pass down the generations and that had to be acurately represented and understood after 13,000 years, how could I do that?
ChatGPT said:
ChatGPT
That’s a fascinating challenge, and there are a few key issues to tackle: material durability, linguistic drift, and cultural interpretation over such an extreme timescale. Here are some strategies that might help ensure your message is accurately preserved and understood after 13,000 years:
1. Durable Medium for Long-Term Survival
Your message must be recorded on a medium that can survive geological, environmental, and even human disruptions. Some of the best options include:
Carved stone monuments (granite, basalt) – Similar to ancient Egyptian or Sumerian inscriptions, though erosion is a risk.
Ceramic tablets – Can last for tens of thousands of years if kept in stable environments.
Metal engravings (titanium, gold, or silicon wafers) – More resistant to decay than paper or digital formats.
Synthetic quartz storage – A modern technology that can store data for millions of years using laser-etched nanostructures.
Nickel disks – The "Rosetta Project" from the Long Now Foundation uses these to preserve thousands of pages in micro-etched text.
Redundancy is key: Your message should exist in multiple copies and different locations (deep underground, underwater, in space, etc.).
2. Combatting Linguistic Drift
Languages evolve rapidly. A message written in English today could be unintelligible in just 1,000 years, let alone 13,000.
Potential Solutions:
Use pictograms & universal symbols – These are more resistant to linguistic drift than words.
Create a "Rosetta Stone" system – Include translations of your message in multiple major languages, plus instructions on how to decipher them.
Mathematical encoding – Math is a universal language that may be more reliably interpreted by future civilizations.
One approach is to pair basic pictographic instructions (like those on the Voyager Golden Record) with gradual linguistic decryption, so future readers can work out the meaning even if all known languages are lost.
3. Cultural Interpretation & Misunderstanding
Even if your message survives and is readable, will future humans (or other beings) interpret it correctly?
Mitigation Strategies:
Frame the message in universally understood terms – Things like the Sun, planetary cycles, and fundamental human experiences (e.g., birth, death, survival) might be easier to relate to.
Use storytelling or mythology – Myths persist far longer than direct records. If your message can become embedded in a long-lasting tradition, it may continue to be understood.
Sacred or Ritual Status – If a society believes the message is sacred, it might preserve it more carefully.
4. Storage Locations
Where you place the message matters. Some options:
Caves or underground vaults – Protected from surface destruction and climate change.
Polar or deep-sea archives – Extreme environments can slow degradation.
Lunar or planetary deposits – Less geological activity means better long-term preservation.
Distributed across civilizations – If many cultures adopt and pass down the message, it's more likely to survive.
Example Projects Similar to Your Idea
The Rosetta Project (by Long Now Foundation) – A disk with 1,500 languages micro-etched onto it.
The Voyager Golden Record – A phonograph record sent into space to communicate with extraterrestrials.
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault – A biological repository designed to last for thousands of years.
Final Thoughts
To ensure your message survives and is accurately understood in 13,000 years:
Use durable materials (stone, metal, ceramic, quartz storage).
Employ universal symbols & redundancy (pictograms, math, multiple languages).
Embed it in culture (make it sacred, mythical, or ritualistic).
Distribute widely (multiple copies in secure locations).
Would you like help designing a specific version of this?
...so odd eh? Do we not have all of that in the monuments that have been found that appear to be currently inexplicable?
The other issue, that I didn't ask chatGPT to address, is how do you identify a cycle without living through at least two iterations? If there had been a 'near extinction' event in the past, how could anyone know that it may repeat unless there were records of it having occurred before?
ChatGPT (other AI (?) tools are available) came up with this:
If I had a message that I needed to pass down the generations and that had to be acurately represented and understood after 13,000 years, how could I do that?
ChatGPT said:
ChatGPT
That’s a fascinating challenge, and there are a few key issues to tackle: material durability, linguistic drift, and cultural interpretation over such an extreme timescale. Here are some strategies that might help ensure your message is accurately preserved and understood after 13,000 years:
1. Durable Medium for Long-Term Survival
Your message must be recorded on a medium that can survive geological, environmental, and even human disruptions. Some of the best options include:
Carved stone monuments (granite, basalt) – Similar to ancient Egyptian or Sumerian inscriptions, though erosion is a risk.
Ceramic tablets – Can last for tens of thousands of years if kept in stable environments.
Metal engravings (titanium, gold, or silicon wafers) – More resistant to decay than paper or digital formats.
Synthetic quartz storage – A modern technology that can store data for millions of years using laser-etched nanostructures.
Nickel disks – The "Rosetta Project" from the Long Now Foundation uses these to preserve thousands of pages in micro-etched text.
Redundancy is key: Your message should exist in multiple copies and different locations (deep underground, underwater, in space, etc.).
2. Combatting Linguistic Drift
Languages evolve rapidly. A message written in English today could be unintelligible in just 1,000 years, let alone 13,000.
Potential Solutions:
Use pictograms & universal symbols – These are more resistant to linguistic drift than words.
Create a "Rosetta Stone" system – Include translations of your message in multiple major languages, plus instructions on how to decipher them.
Mathematical encoding – Math is a universal language that may be more reliably interpreted by future civilizations.
One approach is to pair basic pictographic instructions (like those on the Voyager Golden Record) with gradual linguistic decryption, so future readers can work out the meaning even if all known languages are lost.
3. Cultural Interpretation & Misunderstanding
Even if your message survives and is readable, will future humans (or other beings) interpret it correctly?
Mitigation Strategies:
Frame the message in universally understood terms – Things like the Sun, planetary cycles, and fundamental human experiences (e.g., birth, death, survival) might be easier to relate to.
Use storytelling or mythology – Myths persist far longer than direct records. If your message can become embedded in a long-lasting tradition, it may continue to be understood.
Sacred or Ritual Status – If a society believes the message is sacred, it might preserve it more carefully.
4. Storage Locations
Where you place the message matters. Some options:
Caves or underground vaults – Protected from surface destruction and climate change.
Polar or deep-sea archives – Extreme environments can slow degradation.
Lunar or planetary deposits – Less geological activity means better long-term preservation.
Distributed across civilizations – If many cultures adopt and pass down the message, it's more likely to survive.
Example Projects Similar to Your Idea
The Rosetta Project (by Long Now Foundation) – A disk with 1,500 languages micro-etched onto it.
The Voyager Golden Record – A phonograph record sent into space to communicate with extraterrestrials.
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault – A biological repository designed to last for thousands of years.
Final Thoughts
To ensure your message survives and is accurately understood in 13,000 years:
Use durable materials (stone, metal, ceramic, quartz storage).
Employ universal symbols & redundancy (pictograms, math, multiple languages).
Embed it in culture (make it sacred, mythical, or ritualistic).
Distribute widely (multiple copies in secure locations).
Would you like help designing a specific version of this?
...so odd eh? Do we not have all of that in the monuments that have been found that appear to be currently inexplicable?
The other issue, that I didn't ask chatGPT to address, is how do you identify a cycle without living through at least two iterations? If there had been a 'near extinction' event in the past, how could anyone know that it may repeat unless there were records of it having occurred before?