Following was an excerpt of a proposed marking on a underground nuclear waste disposal facility. Not sure if it was adopted in this form, but it is interesting to see the form in which we decided to speak to our future successors.
Languages that we know, in the form we know may disappear with time, and future people may be curious and enthusiastic like us to explore buried objects. So, the problem how should a set of symbols be designed that convey a message that the site, though it looks clean on the top and everywhere around it, inside it has the most dangerous invisible energy. United states government constituted about 6 different expert groups to study the problem and suggest solutions.
We may think that language independent symbols like the danger sign, stop sign, arrow that convey meaning irrespective of the language spoken, would convey the meaning better than a particular language which may go out of use. Many languages and their scripts, like Sumerian, akkadian, elamite, harappan that existed 5000 years ago went out of use and forgotten without any major cultural discontinuity. So, there is no guarantee that people 10000 years(the approximate age till which the waste would remain hazardous) from now would still speak or understand our language.
But, the expert committees in fact suggested language independent symbols give no more guarantee than a particular language, that they will convey intended meaning. It is even possible people in the future may interpret them to mean the opposite of of what we intended. It is also possible, sensing no danger around the waste containers themselves, they may tend to ignore our signs and may try to extract a different meaning than what we intended. So, it seems plain text is the more reliable way of communicating to our future than the language independent symbols like nuclear trefoil. They thought there will always be humans trying to decipher old texts, and curious human beings trying to understand the meaning of cryptic words like our archaeologists.
These standing stones mark an area used to bury
radioactive wastes. The area is ... by ...
Kilometers (or ... miles or about ... times
the height of an average full grown male person)
and the buried waste is ... kilometers
down. This place was chosen to put this
dangerous material far away from people. The
rock and water in this area may not look, feel,
or smell, unusual but may be poisoned by
radioactive wastes. When radioactive matter
decays, it gives off invisible energy that can
destroy or damage people, animals, and
plants.
Do not drill here. Do not dig here. Do not do
anything that will change the rocks or water in
the area.
Do not destroy this marker. This marking
system has been designed to last 10,000 years.
If the marker is difficult to read, add new
markers in longer-lasting materials in
languages that you speak. For more information
go to the building further inside. The site
was known as the WIPP (Waste Isolation Pilot
Plant) site when it was closed in ....
Languages that we know, in the form we know may disappear with time, and future people may be curious and enthusiastic like us to explore buried objects. So, the problem how should a set of symbols be designed that convey a message that the site, though it looks clean on the top and everywhere around it, inside it has the most dangerous invisible energy. United states government constituted about 6 different expert groups to study the problem and suggest solutions.
We may think that language independent symbols like the danger sign, stop sign, arrow that convey meaning irrespective of the language spoken, would convey the meaning better than a particular language which may go out of use. Many languages and their scripts, like Sumerian, akkadian, elamite, harappan that existed 5000 years ago went out of use and forgotten without any major cultural discontinuity. So, there is no guarantee that people 10000 years(the approximate age till which the waste would remain hazardous) from now would still speak or understand our language.
But, the expert committees in fact suggested language independent symbols give no more guarantee than a particular language, that they will convey intended meaning. It is even possible people in the future may interpret them to mean the opposite of of what we intended. It is also possible, sensing no danger around the waste containers themselves, they may tend to ignore our signs and may try to extract a different meaning than what we intended. So, it seems plain text is the more reliable way of communicating to our future than the language independent symbols like nuclear trefoil. They thought there will always be humans trying to decipher old texts, and curious human beings trying to understand the meaning of cryptic words like our archaeologists.
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