4 ms·

I know it's fun to call people short-sighted and compare them to children, but grow up yourself. Sending something in this particular medium was a publicity stu

I know it's fun to call people short-sighted and compare them to children, but grow up yourself. Sending something in this particular medium was a publicity stunt, and it worked. You think we're talking about it here for any other reason than Elon Musk was (tangentially) involved? Sending some sort of beacon or memorial into space is such a great idea we've done it many times before, with better-tested media. If we wanted to try something newer, a Rosetta Project disk would have been a much more obvious choice. Practicality wasn't the point. Publicity was.

kragen 7y ago
The Rosetta Project disks have a much shorter expected lifespan and weigh more, so they're less practical. Since I've been talking about the Rosetta Project and related initiatives for about 15 years, long before Elon Musk was involved, you're also mistaken to assert that "we're [not] talking about it here for any other reason." I mean, I'll take your word that it's true of you, but it's not true of me. Maybe you've got a mouse in your pocket?
- notacoward 7y ago
  > shorter expected lifespan Shorter claimed. FTFY. > Maybe you've got a mouse in your pocket? By "we" I meant not just two people but the dozens who have commented here. But you knew that. Let me know when you want to have a discussion instead of merely trolling.
  - dang 7y ago
    Hey, please don't break the site guidelines by crossing into personal attack, no matter how provocative another comment may be or feel. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
    - notacoward 7y ago
      Nice to see you again, dang. Keep up the good work.
Robotbeat 7y ago
Publicity stunt by whom? The whole point of the Arch Mission is stuff like this: https://www.archmission.org/ https://www.archmission.org/ Using this exact media was a full test of the technology, to get it out of the lab and into the environment they intend for it long-term. But I can see you're committed to this narrative, so please don't let me interrupt it with the actual organization responsible for it.
- notacoward 7y ago
  Are you assuming publicity is bad? I certainly never said so, and would appreciate it if you wouldn't interpret my words as negative based on your own misapprehension. Arch Mission seems like a good cause, and publicity in a good cause is a good thing.
hilbert42 7y ago
"Practicality wasn't the point. Publicity was." The real issues involved here are the Laws of Thermodynamics, Entropy and 'Glass' (Crystals) being the the most stable state of matter in the universe. All of these indicate that such longevity is possible (see my main post). Clearly, the reason that '13.8 Gy' is used here is that it's a well known time interval and it puts the longevity of this technology into perspective in ways that many will understand. If actually achieved in practical terms then we ought to be hailing this work as a remarkable effort—not quibbling about trivia and silly incidentals.
- kragen 7y ago
  Glass is the opposite of crystals. Crystals would presumably be longer-lived, but their anisotropy makes them somewhat trickier to work with. Otherwise I agree, and like you, I'm profoundly disappointed by the level of "notacoward"'s comments in this thread so far.
  - notacoward 7y ago
    Project much? "short-sighted to the point of self-parody, like a small child" is how you inserted yourself into the conversation, and "finance-obsessed man-children and brogrammers" is hardly elevated rhetoric either. The common element in all of your bad interactions of which I can see there are many, is X. Solve for X.
  - hilbert42 7y ago
    You're right of course. I've assumed the stuff would necessarily be crystalline (and would have to be to have such longevity). The word 'glass' here being used for easier digestion by the public. (See my longer post for more details.)

kragen 7y ago

The Rosetta Project disks have a much shorter expected lifespan and weigh more, so they're less practical. Since I've been talking about the Rosetta Project and related initiatives for about 15 years, long before Elon Musk was involved, you're also mistaken to assert that "we're [not] talking about it here for any other reason." I mean, I'll take your word that it's true of you, but it's not true of me. Maybe you've got a mouse in your pocket?

notacoward 7y ago
> shorter expected lifespan Shorter claimed. FTFY. > Maybe you've got a mouse in your pocket? By "we" I meant not just two people but the dozens who have commented here. But you knew that. Let me know when you want to have a discussion instead of merely trolling.
- dang 7y ago
  Hey, please don't break the site guidelines by crossing into personal attack, no matter how provocative another comment may be or feel. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
  - notacoward 7y ago
    Nice to see you again, dang. Keep up the good work.

Robotbeat 7y ago

Publicity stunt by whom? The whole point of the Arch Mission is stuff like this: https://www.archmission.org/ https://www.archmission.org/ Using this exact media was a full test of the technology, to get it out of the lab and into the environment they intend for it long-term. But I can see you're committed to this narrative, so please don't let me interrupt it with the actual organization responsible for it.

notacoward 7y ago
Are you assuming publicity is bad? I certainly never said so, and would appreciate it if you wouldn't interpret my words as negative based on your own misapprehension. Arch Mission seems like a good cause, and publicity in a good cause is a good thing.

hilbert42 7y ago

"Practicality wasn't the point. Publicity was." The real issues involved here are the Laws of Thermodynamics, Entropy and 'Glass' (Crystals) being the the most stable state of matter in the universe. All of these indicate that such longevity is possible (see my main post). Clearly, the reason that '13.8 Gy' is used here is that it's a well known time interval and it puts the longevity of this technology into perspective in ways that many will understand. If actually achieved in practical terms then we ought to be hailing this work as a remarkable effort—not quibbling about trivia and silly incidentals.

kragen 7y ago
Glass is the opposite of crystals. Crystals would presumably be longer-lived, but their anisotropy makes them somewhat trickier to work with. Otherwise I agree, and like you, I'm profoundly disappointed by the level of "notacoward"'s comments in this thread so far.
- notacoward 7y ago
  Project much? "short-sighted to the point of self-parody, like a small child" is how you inserted yourself into the conversation, and "finance-obsessed man-children and brogrammers" is hardly elevated rhetoric either. The common element in all of your bad interactions of which I can see there are many, is X. Solve for X.
- hilbert42 7y ago
  You're right of course. I've assumed the stuff would necessarily be crystalline (and would have to be to have such longevity). The word 'glass' here being used for easier digestion by the public. (See my longer post for more details.)