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The article is about an experiment to periodically reconstitute two species of bacteria for the next 500 years. The instructions for the experiment are stored o

The article is about an experiment to periodically reconstitute two species of bacteria for the next 500 years. The instructions for the experiment are stored on a USB disk and on paper. Talking about how to keep the instructions up to date the article states: "No strategy is likely to be completely foolproof 500 years later. So the team asks that researchers at each 25-year time point copy the instructions so that they remain linguistically and technologically up to date." Seems like - if they also keep each version from today through 500 years - this may be almost as interesting as the bacteria longevity itself. Seems like this would be an interesting experiment in itself.

everdev 8y ago
And why stop at 500 years? Maybe instead have a stopping point if data remains consistent for X number of years.
- eridius 8y ago
  They have to stop eventually because there's a limited number of vials, and presumably every test consumes some of those vials. I'd assume the 500 year mark is when they're going to run out of vials.
  - bonzini 8y ago
    They could go on with the backups.
veddox 8y ago
> Seems like this would be an interesting experiment in itself. And one we have already carried out many thousands of times. Just ask a classicist or a medieval historian ;-)
- singularity2001 8y ago
  As useless as the bible might seem otherwise, from a linguistic point of view it is may be the most valuable document in the world. It is _the_ standard corpus for many languages going back 2000 years. The actual content becomes secondary.
- daveguy 8y ago
  I see your point, but I was talking about a controlled experiment with specific changes to a specific text at short defined intervals. The texts that historians study -- are they so frequently updated and such a well defined piece of text for a specific purpose? Maybe some are, but from what I understand new editions are much more haphazard (there isn't a specific simple goal) and old editions are often lost. I wasn't aware of a specific long term language experiment specifically designed to keep revisions over a long term, but then I'm definitely not a historian. Just a thought.
  - elliekelly 8y ago
    > I wasn't aware of a specific long term language experiment specifically designed to keep revisions over a long term It doesn't even come close to ticking all of the boxes you've mentioned but perhaps the bible is the closest thing to what you've described?
    - daveguy 8y ago
      Agreed 100%, the bible is by far the closest that I can think of too. One lack there is there are usually multiple translations to a single language, but updates within language (eg KJV to New International) doesn't come along nearly as often as that initial "authoritative" translation. As singularity2001 said, from a linguist perspective it's probably the most valuable document in the world, regardless of content.
drdeadringer 8y ago
I first came to realize such a problem of advancing technology and compatibility when I watched 'Max Headroom', specifically this particular scene involving Blank Reg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me6oNB4M7N0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me6oNB4M7N0 Of course, there are sociological considerations in the mix as well.

everdev 8y ago

And why stop at 500 years? Maybe instead have a stopping point if data remains consistent for X number of years.

eridius 8y ago
They have to stop eventually because there's a limited number of vials, and presumably every test consumes some of those vials. I'd assume the 500 year mark is when they're going to run out of vials.
- bonzini 8y ago
  They could go on with the backups.

veddox 8y ago

> Seems like this would be an interesting experiment in itself. And one we have already carried out many thousands of times. Just ask a classicist or a medieval historian ;-)

singularity2001 8y ago
As useless as the bible might seem otherwise, from a linguistic point of view it is may be the most valuable document in the world. It is _the_ standard corpus for many languages going back 2000 years. The actual content becomes secondary.
daveguy 8y ago
I see your point, but I was talking about a controlled experiment with specific changes to a specific text at short defined intervals. The texts that historians study -- are they so frequently updated and such a well defined piece of text for a specific purpose? Maybe some are, but from what I understand new editions are much more haphazard (there isn't a specific simple goal) and old editions are often lost. I wasn't aware of a specific long term language experiment specifically designed to keep revisions over a long term, but then I'm definitely not a historian. Just a thought.
- elliekelly 8y ago
  > I wasn't aware of a specific long term language experiment specifically designed to keep revisions over a long term It doesn't even come close to ticking all of the boxes you've mentioned but perhaps the bible is the closest thing to what you've described?
  - daveguy 8y ago
    Agreed 100%, the bible is by far the closest that I can think of too. One lack there is there are usually multiple translations to a single language, but updates within language (eg KJV to New International) doesn't come along nearly as often as that initial "authoritative" translation. As singularity2001 said, from a linguist perspective it's probably the most valuable document in the world, regardless of content.

drdeadringer 8y ago

I first came to realize such a problem of advancing technology and compatibility when I watched 'Max Headroom', specifically this particular scene involving Blank Reg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me6oNB4M7N0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me6oNB4M7N0 Of course, there are sociological considerations in the mix as well.