I also recommend Stewart Brand's book about the (then-hypothetical) Clock: http://www.amazon.com/Clock-Long-Now-Stewart-Brand/dp/product-description/046504512X

I also recommend Stewart Brand's book about the (then-hypothetical) Clock: http://www.amazon.com/Clock-Long-Now-Stewart-Brand/dp/product-description/046504512X http://www.amazon.com/Clock-Long-Now-Stewart-Brand/dp/produc... In the book, Brand argues that: (1) it's very difficult to have a general conversation about the 10,000 year future without descending into vapid generalities; but (2) with a concrete engineering goal like building a clock, it's possible to have much more focused and interesting discussions. The Long Now seminar series is also excellent: http://longnow.org/seminars/ http://longnow.org/seminars/