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After reading about the Biosphere project, I've always thought that there should be a bunch of similar projects - some with an emphasis on government policy cho

After reading about the Biosphere project, I've always thought that there should be a bunch of similar projects - some with an emphasis on government policy choices and some with an emphasis on economic systems and self-sufficiency choices. Why not? Countless billions are already spent on doing these things wrong. Why not figure out how to create a high-functioning society which can be self-sufficient? With robots, AI, and power, it seems like a lot should be possible now. There should no longer be a need for self-sufficiency to mean hard labor and high risk (unless that is desired.)

bluGill 8y ago
An interesting idea, but you have to account for issues: Small communities tend to do well. People who believe in the policy they are implementing will work to make sure it secedes, while those who disbelieve will try to make it fail. Your subjects cannot be blind to the policy.
- MrTonyD 8y ago
  Well, there are many such issues that it is possible to bring up. Do we really understand which specific issues are related to community size? Have we tried any mitigation techniques? Any ways to force a small community to have characteristics of a large community in order to test new theories?
adrianN 8y ago
It is pretty hard to build an off-grid society that is capable of producing the high technology needed to sustain it. Raw materials for windmills and solar panels don't grow on trees unfortunately.
- MrTonyD 8y ago
  It is possible to define starting conditions. The goal is to test theories - and many theories may assume that automation will solve many problems in the future. (If we create utopia and it needs supercomputers, well, we can then invest in figuring out what it would take to build those supercomputers.)
- tim333 8y ago
  I was just watching a tutorial by Hugh mentioned in the article on carving windmill blades out of wood which does grow on trees. Though admittedly there are some metal bits too. https://youtu.be/QlWAihvSYxY https://youtu.be/QlWAihvSYxY
  - adrianN 8y ago
    The blades are not the hard part. Windmills for grinding wheat have, after all, existed for quite some time. You need a lot of copper wiring and strong magnets. Especially the magnets are quite difficult to make.
lozaning 8y ago
If you've never been to the BioSphere in the outskirts of Tucson you really should check it out. As much as the original idea of the place never really come into fruition, there was a lot of really neat engineering that went into building the place. One of the coolest things are the giant billows that help regulate the air pressure in the whole _air tight_ building. The expand and contract as the air heats and cools, preventing all the glass windows from bursting from overpressure. Quick video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVYIy_cO4e4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVYIy_cO4e4

bluGill 8y ago

An interesting idea, but you have to account for issues: Small communities tend to do well. People who believe in the policy they are implementing will work to make sure it secedes, while those who disbelieve will try to make it fail. Your subjects cannot be blind to the policy.

MrTonyD 8y ago
Well, there are many such issues that it is possible to bring up. Do we really understand which specific issues are related to community size? Have we tried any mitigation techniques? Any ways to force a small community to have characteristics of a large community in order to test new theories?

adrianN 8y ago

It is pretty hard to build an off-grid society that is capable of producing the high technology needed to sustain it. Raw materials for windmills and solar panels don't grow on trees unfortunately.

MrTonyD 8y ago
It is possible to define starting conditions. The goal is to test theories - and many theories may assume that automation will solve many problems in the future. (If we create utopia and it needs supercomputers, well, we can then invest in figuring out what it would take to build those supercomputers.)
tim333 8y ago
I was just watching a tutorial by Hugh mentioned in the article on carving windmill blades out of wood which does grow on trees. Though admittedly there are some metal bits too. https://youtu.be/QlWAihvSYxY https://youtu.be/QlWAihvSYxY
- adrianN 8y ago
  The blades are not the hard part. Windmills for grinding wheat have, after all, existed for quite some time. You need a lot of copper wiring and strong magnets. Especially the magnets are quite difficult to make.

lozaning 8y ago

If you've never been to the BioSphere in the outskirts of Tucson you really should check it out. As much as the original idea of the place never really come into fruition, there was a lot of really neat engineering that went into building the place. One of the coolest things are the giant billows that help regulate the air pressure in the whole _air tight_ building. The expand and contract as the air heats and cools, preventing all the glass windows from bursting from overpressure. Quick video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVYIy_cO4e4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVYIy_cO4e4