4 ms·

The "sequence of events" seemed pretty solid. I like how the tree grows between the 2nd and 3rd panel, and actually makes the order you read them in unambiguous

The "sequence of events" seemed pretty solid. I like how the tree grows between the 2nd and 3rd panel, and actually makes the order you read them in unambiguous. It passes the alien test: if humans were exploring an alien world, and came across those pictures, but they were in circles instead of boxes and showed aliens instead of humans, and the trees were instead some plant that grew there, and the panels were shown right-to-left instead of top-to-bottom, and the radioactive symbol was replaced with some other symbol, I think a thoughtful human would still understand.

Pirate-of-SV 12y ago
What if these aliens was standing up when they were sick and lying down when they were healthy?
- justinpombrio 12y ago
  I suppose you'd have to know a bit about the aliens, and about their plants. But humans in the future ought to know at least a little about humans and about trees :-).
  - fideloper 12y ago
    Depends on how long we have trees and if we stop to look up from our phones (my point being that we can't make too many assumptions).
  - saeranv 12y ago
    If we're talking about a 10,000 year span then yes. But if we're moving to a 100,000 year span, I wonder if we should also be asking ourselves if humans will still be the dominant species... ETA: 100,000 time range like the Onkalo waste repository in Finland: http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/11/12/finland.nuclear.waste/index.html?_s=PM:WORLD http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/11/12/finland.nuclear.w...
frooxie 12y ago
It could be a different tree, or the person might just have moved closer to it (the radioactive stuff isn't there anymore, which supports this reading). But I think you could create some more unambiguously unidirectional sequence; perhaps something falling or breaking?
- jtheory 12y ago
  > It could be a different tree, or the person might just have moved closer to it I think the flowers are there to address these two problems -- though that's an odd choice, because normally the flowers would change much faster than the tree.
Bulkington 12y ago
Since it's Saturday night as I write, I'll bite: 'alien test'? If humans or our near relations were to land on a planet in a distant galaxy and come across any symbols they could even take a wild guess at, their reaction should be: 'We've been here before.' Correspondingly, taking aliens into consideration is the epitome of misdirected 'inclusiveness.' Puts me in mind of recent dispute in the feminist community, in which use of the word 'vagina' in a non-reproductive sense has become an issue becauese transgender women are excluded. (No cite, not going to google 'transgender vagina.' Thinking it was an Utne reader story.) Gist, I assume: Even a human idiot should be able to figure out these symbols. Fair enough, and much discussed above/below. (And a fun design problem.) But, other than an alien landing first in the 'forbidden zone' and accidently unleashing population-ending poison on whatever was left of life on Earth (and it's a stretch to even suggest credencene here), no proposal with 'aliens' in its text should be taken seriously. Less than seriously, but I didn't open this can of sandworms, suppose aliens consider our radioactive material: Tasty? A sexual aid? Unimaginably beautiful in some audio/visual/X-sensory spectrum we can't even imagine? Don't bury it, advertise it! An Earth rich in gamma radiation and alpha particles might be the celestial promised land, and certain aliens might gratefully resurrect our dead and take them through the pearly gates to their planet of toxic gold, frankincense and myrrh. But, yeah, nuclear electricity could save the day for the next generation, so we need to figure out these niggling details.
cpeterso 12y ago
You could also arrange the panels along a corridor entering the dangerous area so the reader reads them in order.

Pirate-of-SV 12y ago

What if these aliens was standing up when they were sick and lying down when they were healthy?

justinpombrio 12y ago
I suppose you'd have to know a bit about the aliens, and about their plants. But humans in the future ought to know at least a little about humans and about trees :-).
- fideloper 12y ago
  Depends on how long we have trees and if we stop to look up from our phones (my point being that we can't make too many assumptions).
- saeranv 12y ago
  If we're talking about a 10,000 year span then yes. But if we're moving to a 100,000 year span, I wonder if we should also be asking ourselves if humans will still be the dominant species... ETA: 100,000 time range like the Onkalo waste repository in Finland: http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/11/12/finland.nuclear.waste/index.html?_s=PM:WORLD http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/11/12/finland.nuclear.w...

frooxie 12y ago

It could be a different tree, or the person might just have moved closer to it (the radioactive stuff isn't there anymore, which supports this reading). But I think you could create some more unambiguously unidirectional sequence; perhaps something falling or breaking?

jtheory 12y ago
> It could be a different tree, or the person might just have moved closer to it I think the flowers are there to address these two problems -- though that's an odd choice, because normally the flowers would change much faster than the tree.

Bulkington 12y ago

Since it's Saturday night as I write, I'll bite: 'alien test'? If humans or our near relations were to land on a planet in a distant galaxy and come across any symbols they could even take a wild guess at, their reaction should be: 'We've been here before.' Correspondingly, taking aliens into consideration is the epitome of misdirected 'inclusiveness.' Puts me in mind of recent dispute in the feminist community, in which use of the word 'vagina' in a non-reproductive sense has become an issue becauese transgender women are excluded. (No cite, not going to google 'transgender vagina.' Thinking it was an Utne reader story.) Gist, I assume: Even a human idiot should be able to figure out these symbols. Fair enough, and much discussed above/below. (And a fun design problem.) But, other than an alien landing first in the 'forbidden zone' and accidently unleashing population-ending poison on whatever was left of life on Earth (and it's a stretch to even suggest credencene here), no proposal with 'aliens' in its text should be taken seriously. Less than seriously, but I didn't open this can of sandworms, suppose aliens consider our radioactive material: Tasty? A sexual aid? Unimaginably beautiful in some audio/visual/X-sensory spectrum we can't even imagine? Don't bury it, advertise it! An Earth rich in gamma radiation and alpha particles might be the celestial promised land, and certain aliens might gratefully resurrect our dead and take them through the pearly gates to their planet of toxic gold, frankincense and myrrh. But, yeah, nuclear electricity could save the day for the next generation, so we need to figure out these niggling details.

cpeterso 12y ago

You could also arrange the panels along a corridor entering the dangerous area so the reader reads them in order.