What are your thoughts about the Pyramid of the World project?

[Sherif Danish]

Please tell us here any idea or comment that you have on the project

[Hoda Hassan]

As humans beings, we take pride in our accomplishments and successes. To be able to preserve the steps and results inspite of todays limitations can be great inspiration for generations of the future. I think this project is worthwhile and will generate a lot of interest from people all over the globe.

[John Doering]

Having just recently heard of and joined the project, the extent of my thoughts on it so far is "Wow!" My instinct tells me this could be a very big thing, and I like the concept. I'll think more about the various aspects of the project, which is complex but I know Sherif can manage very large and complex projects, and when I get some ideas I shall certainly share them. At this point in time all I can say is I hope each of us is able to contribute useful and concrete ideas and expertise.

[Sherif Danish]

Thank you John for your support!

[Sherif Danish]

I am impressed with the quick reaction of the project supporters!

[Adel Danish]

I think it should go beyond a snapshot of the present and include also a summary of the past, at least what we currently know of it!

I think that the social networking is the only way for such a project to collect momentum and atract the attention it deserves

[Magda Danish]

Having been around when you first thought about this project almost twenty years ago, it is refreshing to see it start to take shape now. You couldn't have picked a better time. In today's world so divided by political, cultural, and religious differences yet so brought together by the huge progress in communication, we all need such a collaborative effort to prove to future generations as well as to ourselves that we can all still work as one for the good of humanity.

[Sherif Danish]

Thanks Adel. I totally agree.

Adel Danish said:

I think it should go beyond a snapshot of the present and include also a summary of the past, at least what we currently know of it!

I think that the social networking is the only way for such a project to collect momentum and atract the attention it deserves

[Soha Athanasios]

What a brilliant idea!

[John Doering]

Keeping in miind the ultimate objective of this project, ie to preserve artifacts of today's human culture for the long term (the VERY long term!), I have been reviewing what artifacts from previous cultures have best survived the ravages of time. It seems the best surviving material is stone: the great pyramids of course, the Great Wall, the Terra-cotta figures from the time of the first emperor of China, the Roman viaducts and buildings, the Acropolis, etc. I propose that stone be the major building material of this repository. The next most lasting materials are stainless steel and plexiglass, so perhaps the structure could be make of "layers" of these three materials.

Further on the idea of longevity, I propse the repository be built underground. Most of the surviving ancient artifacts were recovered from underground sites: the treasues of TutAnkhAmun's tomb, the dead-sea scrolls, the terra-cotta statues, etc. Even the great pyramids, although built above ground, are so massive that the environment deep inside them is essentially the same as an underground environment.

As for location, I would say avoid a highly populated area, but this is not essential. I feel making the site into an amusement park might actually work against the long-term objectives of the project. I can't imagine an amusement park lasting 5000 years! :) Climate is important, I think, even though the repositiroy would be underground: a dry desert climate would seem to be the best: Dubai would be fine, as would Egypt itself. Anywhere in the great desert of the Arabian peninsula, the great Sahara desert, perhaps the Gobi desert, the Negev desert, or even the Arizona-Sonora desert, would seem to be prime locations. Avoid locations where there is underground water, and avoid locations where there are earthquakes, of course.

[John Doering]

As to what artifacts should be preserved, again keep in mind the long time span. Obviously current ink-jet printer ink does not last, nor do film photographs. Even CDs and DVDs deteriorate relatively quickly. So it's not (yet) clear to me how digital information can be stored for such a long time. As for print, offset printing on high-quality paper, with long-lasting ink, seems a good way to go. Images etched on glass would probably last for millenia. Electronic equipment, I think, would nmot be long-lasting, nor would people of 5000 years from now know how to work them (we ourselves often have difficulty using them!)

Well, that's all i can think of for now.

[Sherif Danish]

Although the location is relatively easy to determine, the content, how it is preserved, and information about it will be the hardest. I appreciate your input on this issue and I think a global contest would be good to get the best ideas.

John Doering said:

As to what artifacts should be preserved, again keep in mind the long time span. Obviously current ink-jet printer ink does not last, nor do film photographs. Even CDs and DVDs deteriorate relatively quickly. So it's not (yet) clear to me how digital information can be stored for such a long time. As for print, offset printing on high-quality paper, with long-lasting ink, seems a good way to go. Images etched on glass would probably last for millenia. Electronic equipment, I think, would nmot be long-lasting, nor would people of 5000 years from now know how to work them (we ourselves often have difficulty using them!)

Well, that's all i can think of for now.

[John Doering]

As for the language used to describe our world today, I propose we say the same thing in several languages, thus serving as our own Rosetta Stone. Today, the major languages are English, Arabic, and Chinese. Other large areas of the earth can be represented: the Yoruba or Hausa language of Africa, Spanish to cover south and central America, perhaps Hindi or Sanscrit to represent the Indian subcontinent. Provide written materials, redundantly presented in all these languages. If a lasting medium can be found, the same concept can be applied to audio materials.

Sherif mentioned storing machines, airplanes, etc. in this repository, implying that it will be massively large. Like a huge museum similar to the Smithsonian. The large scale of the project may in fact lend itself to being located at multiple sites, as has been suggested. Some documentation, perhaps coded a-la The DaVinci Code, should be included, if for no other reason than to document the existence and location of all the sites.