5 ms·

What if everything you needed to survive had to fit through a 3 inch wide hole

65 points by bobds 16y ago

Mz 16y ago
Not just a thought experiment. This is about something a school kid did to try to simulate what thirty three trapped Chilean miners are living with and have been since August 5th. Related articles: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/26/rescue-capsule-chilean-miners-delivered http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/26/rescue-capsule-c... http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMoodNews/trapped-chilean-miners-signs-cabin-fever/story?id=11585408 http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMoodNews/trapped-chilean-mi...
tyng 16y ago
What I learned from the article: Keeping the trapped miners mentally inspired is at least as important as providing food and health care
- bobds 16y ago
  They can communicate with their families and talk to the outside world. They know efforts are underway to rescue them. I think those make a huge difference in keeping them hopeful, compared to someone trapped that has no idea if anyone is even looking for them. I read that they haven't told them how long it will be until the rescue shaft will be ready. I'm not sure whether it's better to think that you will be rescued "any day now" or that you are going to have to tough it out for three months with 33 sweaty men.
  - DougBTX 16y ago
    It would also avoid having to send a "sorry guys, we've had some delays, it'll take an extra six weeks" message.
  - 3pt14159 16y ago
    I read that they told them to hope for Christmas.
- bobds 16y ago
  Another thing I read was that the company that operated the mine has declared bankruptcy and can't pay anyone. That must be a downer. Fortunately, various companies have made around 1000 job offers for these people when they get out. A nice way to keep the motivated about the future.
vinhboy 16y ago
You know what I would want. A jailbroken iPhone and WiFi connection. Fire up ssh, and do some programming. It would be the most gimmicky startup ever. Hopefully by the time I get out, I would be Y-funded. This situation is terrible, and god bless those people and their families, but that's exactly what I would demand if I was down there. (given that the government actually gave a shit about me at that point)
- kragen 16y ago
  I don't think 802.11 can penetrate 2300 meters of rock, vinhboy.
  - bpodgursky 16y ago
    You apparently haven't heard of my neutrino-powered wifi transmitter.
  - vinhboy 16y ago
    Can't they put a cat5 down there, and like a mini router? Or run an antenna down?
    - spyder 16y ago
      They have optical cable.
    - Poiesis 16y ago
      802.3 distance limitation: 100 meters. Only about 2200 meters short! This is actually a bit of a fascinating question. Even if you found an appropriate technology, I would think mist cable would break under it's weight (I don't know if it would hanging straight down). Even if you got a cable sown, what would they hook it to? And I'm not sure I'd want to have a cable stuck in the only hole I have that's gotta serve for anything else that I would want to get down there.
      - extension 16y ago
        It says there are three holes, so I'm guessing at least one is dedicated to hoses.
kabdib 16y ago
Treatment in fiction: _The Space Eater_ (David Langford). Only it was 1.8cm in his story.
petercooper 16y ago
It does. They're called my mouth and nostrils ;-)
- dkarl 16y ago
  I was thinking about my brain emerging through the birth canal.
kragen 16y ago
A related historical event: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpbalZ5DUbE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpbalZ5DUbE http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Springhill_mining_disaster http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Springhill_mining_disaster

65 points by bobds 16y ago

Mz 16y ago

Not just a thought experiment. This is about something a school kid did to try to simulate what thirty three trapped Chilean miners are living with and have been since August 5th. Related articles: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/26/rescue-capsule-chilean-miners-delivered http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/26/rescue-capsule-c... http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMoodNews/trapped-chilean-miners-signs-cabin-fever/story?id=11585408 http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMoodNews/trapped-chilean-mi...

tyng 16y ago

What I learned from the article: Keeping the trapped miners mentally inspired is at least as important as providing food and health care

bobds 16y ago
They can communicate with their families and talk to the outside world. They know efforts are underway to rescue them. I think those make a huge difference in keeping them hopeful, compared to someone trapped that has no idea if anyone is even looking for them. I read that they haven't told them how long it will be until the rescue shaft will be ready. I'm not sure whether it's better to think that you will be rescued "any day now" or that you are going to have to tough it out for three months with 33 sweaty men.
- DougBTX 16y ago
  It would also avoid having to send a "sorry guys, we've had some delays, it'll take an extra six weeks" message.
- 3pt14159 16y ago
  I read that they told them to hope for Christmas.
bobds 16y ago
Another thing I read was that the company that operated the mine has declared bankruptcy and can't pay anyone. That must be a downer. Fortunately, various companies have made around 1000 job offers for these people when they get out. A nice way to keep the motivated about the future.

vinhboy 16y ago

You know what I would want. A jailbroken iPhone and WiFi connection. Fire up ssh, and do some programming. It would be the most gimmicky startup ever. Hopefully by the time I get out, I would be Y-funded. This situation is terrible, and god bless those people and their families, but that's exactly what I would demand if I was down there. (given that the government actually gave a shit about me at that point)

kragen 16y ago
I don't think 802.11 can penetrate 2300 meters of rock, vinhboy.
- bpodgursky 16y ago
  You apparently haven't heard of my neutrino-powered wifi transmitter.
- vinhboy 16y ago
  Can't they put a cat5 down there, and like a mini router? Or run an antenna down?
  - spyder 16y ago
    They have optical cable.
  - Poiesis 16y ago
    802.3 distance limitation: 100 meters. Only about 2200 meters short! This is actually a bit of a fascinating question. Even if you found an appropriate technology, I would think mist cable would break under it's weight (I don't know if it would hanging straight down). Even if you got a cable sown, what would they hook it to? And I'm not sure I'd want to have a cable stuck in the only hole I have that's gotta serve for anything else that I would want to get down there.
    - extension 16y ago
      It says there are three holes, so I'm guessing at least one is dedicated to hoses.

kabdib 16y ago

Treatment in fiction: _The Space Eater_ (David Langford). Only it was 1.8cm in his story.

petercooper 16y ago

It does. They're called my mouth and nostrils ;-)

dkarl 16y ago
I was thinking about my brain emerging through the birth canal.

kragen 16y ago

A related historical event: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpbalZ5DUbE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpbalZ5DUbE http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Springhill_mining_disaster http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Springhill_mining_disaster