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>This place is a message... and part of a system of messages ...pay attention to it! Sending this message was important to us. We considered ourselves to be a

>This place is a message... and part of a system of messages ...pay attention to it! Sending this message was important to us. We considered ourselves to be a powerful culture. This place is not a place of honor... no highly esteemed deed is commemorated here... nothing valued is here. What is here was dangerous and repulsive to us. This message is a warning about danger. The danger is in a particular location... it increases towards a center... the center of danger is here... of a particular size and shape, and below us. The danger is still present, in your time, as it was in ours. The danger is to the body, and it can kill. The form of the danger is an emanation of energy. The danger is unleashed only if you substantially disturb this place physically. This place is best shunned and left uninhabited. Thought experiment, suppose in a remote part of the world, someone comes across a site with this exact message tomorrow and tweets it. What is the most likely scenario: A) People heed the message and avoid the area. or B) The place is overwhelmed with people trying to find some hidden treasure or have alien encounters, etc. I would argue that scenario B, is much, much more likely. For better or worse, curiosity especially about forbidden stuff has been a hallmark of humanity, and likely will be so into the future. All this sign will do is encourage people to come and try to find the treasure and the mysterious source of power.

ianai 7y ago
I don’t see that as such a risk. Humans evolved in an environment full of deadly things. Sure enough, people died when they were the unlucky first to try something deadly. We’re talking about static hazards that don’t move suddenly to bite people, play possum, or even have attractive aspects like good smells or colors (other than sometimes being warmer than the surrounding area). People will figure it out and leave these places alone, or they’ll die and the survivors will flea.
- jspash 7y ago
  Google "Siberian Maldives" and you'll see just how devolved humans seem to be these days. Granted, "kids these days" have always been a bit daft, but the race to the bottom is really picking up speed.
  - dTal 7y ago
    You're probably being downvoted because your "humans are devolving" meme is 1) entirely unsubstantiated, and 2) quite dangerous, since it asserts an existential threat that would justify horrifying eugenics measures to avert. Not to mention that it's typically an annoying ego-wank, since the people asserting it never seem to include themselves in the purported devolution...
    - ianai 7y ago
      Their point is also not related to my point. People are attracted to the dangerous chemical pool because the idiots that emplaced it let it look like a tourist destination. That’s not going to be the case with a nuclear site unless you assume pathological behavior.
MrLeap 7y ago
I wonder if it wouldn't be more helpful to try and design a Geiger counter that could last 10,000 years. I'm picturing a ring of large obelisks made out of some radio luminescent material. Actually it would probably be better if it changed between ugly colors rather than glowed. If it's pretty people would demolish it before the ribbon is cut. Have all your pictograms try and communicate that some color = you're going to die, as well as "If you move much beyond this point, you're going to die _fast_." Here's the important, albeit macabre part: After about 100 meters towards the center of the exclusion zone, you need to store enough radioactive material, preferably near Geiger obelisks, that going there will kill you _very_ quickly, for 1000's of years. Quicker the better. People need to associate the deaths with the area! I assert that when 50% of people get cancer a month after entering a dump zone, it's hard to associate those illnesses with the cursed area until a lot of people are doomed. If 3 people go somewhere and none return, it becomes part of local lore.
- lifthrasiir 7y ago
  > After about 100 meters towards the center of the exclusion zone, you need to store enough radioactive material, preferably near Geiger obelisks, that going there will kill you _very_ quickly, for 1000's of years. Quicker the better. People need to associate the deaths with the area! Interesting idea, but people will gather radioactive material to prepare the suicidal attack. The cursed area therefore needs to be able to kill people without an ability to move the curse out of it by itself.
- hermitdev 7y ago
  > I wonder if it wouldn't be more helpful to try and design a Geiger counter that could last 10,000 years. You'd also need to design signage/language to last and transcend those same 10K years to indicate what that constant "blip blip blip" means.
  - viklove 7y ago
    That's what the bodies are for

ianai 7y ago

I don’t see that as such a risk. Humans evolved in an environment full of deadly things. Sure enough, people died when they were the unlucky first to try something deadly. We’re talking about static hazards that don’t move suddenly to bite people, play possum, or even have attractive aspects like good smells or colors (other than sometimes being warmer than the surrounding area). People will figure it out and leave these places alone, or they’ll die and the survivors will flea.

jspash 7y ago
Google "Siberian Maldives" and you'll see just how devolved humans seem to be these days. Granted, "kids these days" have always been a bit daft, but the race to the bottom is really picking up speed.
- dTal 7y ago
  You're probably being downvoted because your "humans are devolving" meme is 1) entirely unsubstantiated, and 2) quite dangerous, since it asserts an existential threat that would justify horrifying eugenics measures to avert. Not to mention that it's typically an annoying ego-wank, since the people asserting it never seem to include themselves in the purported devolution...
  - ianai 7y ago
    Their point is also not related to my point. People are attracted to the dangerous chemical pool because the idiots that emplaced it let it look like a tourist destination. That’s not going to be the case with a nuclear site unless you assume pathological behavior.

MrLeap 7y ago

I wonder if it wouldn't be more helpful to try and design a Geiger counter that could last 10,000 years. I'm picturing a ring of large obelisks made out of some radio luminescent material. Actually it would probably be better if it changed between ugly colors rather than glowed. If it's pretty people would demolish it before the ribbon is cut. Have all your pictograms try and communicate that some color = you're going to die, as well as "If you move much beyond this point, you're going to die _fast_." Here's the important, albeit macabre part: After about 100 meters towards the center of the exclusion zone, you need to store enough radioactive material, preferably near Geiger obelisks, that going there will kill you _very_ quickly, for 1000's of years. Quicker the better. People need to associate the deaths with the area! I assert that when 50% of people get cancer a month after entering a dump zone, it's hard to associate those illnesses with the cursed area until a lot of people are doomed. If 3 people go somewhere and none return, it becomes part of local lore.

lifthrasiir 7y ago
> After about 100 meters towards the center of the exclusion zone, you need to store enough radioactive material, preferably near Geiger obelisks, that going there will kill you _very_ quickly, for 1000's of years. Quicker the better. People need to associate the deaths with the area! Interesting idea, but people will gather radioactive material to prepare the suicidal attack. The cursed area therefore needs to be able to kill people without an ability to move the curse out of it by itself.
hermitdev 7y ago
> I wonder if it wouldn't be more helpful to try and design a Geiger counter that could last 10,000 years. You'd also need to design signage/language to last and transcend those same 10K years to indicate what that constant "blip blip blip" means.
- viklove 7y ago
  That's what the bodies are for