A few weeks ago I stumbled on the Long Now Foundation’s website. I find the site and projects absolutely compelling. I guess most people who got interested in technology as kids wanted to proactively shape the future, not just participate. In doing so we needed a target or goal and for many the year 2000 became that goal. It came to represent the future. People don’t talk about temporal technology goals at the moment. 2100 is too far away. It’s (possibly) outside the lifespan of today’s technologists. The Long Now foundation actively encourages people to participate in projects with implications and reach far beyond their own lifetime. One such example is Danny Hillis’s design for the 10,000 year clock. Danny is better known as the creative force behind Thinking Machines Corporation “Connection Machine” and the inventor of massively parallel computer. I love the idea of a clock that will (very) slowly beat through 10,000 years of technological, social and biological change. I’ll write more about this project over the next few days as it’s genuinely fascinating.