A Monument of Post-Apocalyptic Instructions

1. KIT CLOUD
   April 26th, 2009 at 8:45 pm

   I live about a half hour away from these. If you ask people around here about them I bet only one in ten has heard of them.

2. OS Perry
   April 26th, 2009 at 8:56 pm

   I read the Wired article last week. Great magazine by the way. Very interesting article. I wonder if we'll ever learn more about it?

   They also had another great article on a sculpture at the CIA headquarters, that has crytopgraphers stumped.

3. Video Game Dork
   April 26th, 2009 at 9:00 pm

   But.... if civilization falls, why do they think these slabs won't be destroyed too? Are they immune to nuclear blasts? (ha!)

   If there's an apocolypse or whatever, the remnants left behind in tons of things will be useful (anything carved onto heavy buildings, etc), so is this one obilesk necessary, which it has just as much chance of being destroyed as other things? (unless they plan on making tons of these things all over the place).

   It also kind of makes me wonder if other 'ancient artifacts' that we've found are also written in multiple languages. (I guess the rosetta stone was).

4. ilandrah
   April 26th, 2009 at 9:02 pm

   The only advise that they will need is 'Zombies can only be killed by destroying the brain stem. A gun shot wound to the head or decapitation will suffice.'

5. Staxeon
   April 26th, 2009 at 9:15 pm

   All These Suburbs Are Yours Except Encino, Attempt No Landing There

6. TPS
   April 26th, 2009 at 9:28 pm

   Whoa, that is really strange. I remember traveling to Elbert County a few times while in high school for football games. Their football stadium is also made of granite (they call it the Granite Bowl) but I never knew something like that existed in little old Elbert County!

7. marishka
   April 26th, 2009 at 9:32 pm

   Video Game Dork--don't you think that these monoliths also serve as a cautionary tale for the people of today?

8. Johnny Cat
   April 26th, 2009 at 9:42 pm

   That is so awesome. I'm off to alert my nephew in Georgia.

9. Unruly Human
   April 26th, 2009 at 9:42 pm

   "If you were composing brief instructions for survivors of the collapse of civilization, what would you write?"

   Always wear clean underwear when leaving the house.

10. Johnny Cat
    April 26th, 2009 at 9:47 pm

    Oh, and (hard to resist) I'd leave the musical notations of "All Along the Watchtower" for our Cylon remnants.

11. JoannaL
    April 26th, 2009 at 9:51 pm

    I think I'd worry less about world courts and living with nature and worry more about how to make steel and penicillin.

12. planettom
    April 26th, 2009 at 9:53 pm

    Well, Elberton, Georgia is pretty rural (the Georgia Guidestones are here in Google Earth:
    34.231944, -82.894444).

    It's unlikely in the case of a nuclear war that the Guidestones would be hit. There's a dozen bigger cities or military bases that would be more likely targets in Georgia.

13. Johnny Cat
    April 26th, 2009 at 10:05 pm

    As long as we're on the subject, it's pretty much clear that nuclear worldwide holocaust is improbable. I use the word 'pretty' ironically, cause it won't be that at all, but it will be relatively isolated.

14. Jim
    April 26th, 2009 at 10:11 pm

    I think JoannaL has hit on an interesting direction- what would be the most useful invention or scientific information we could relay (in pretty limited space) for the benefit of future civilization? I think there was a bit in the Feynman lectures on physics where he claimed the most important piece of information was the matter is made of atoms, and this could set people on the right track towards rediscovering much of chemistry and physics, should it ever be lost.

    Of course, in the more philsophical vein, we should also remind everyone to "Be excellent to each other. And party on, dudes!"

15. Johnny Cat
    April 26th, 2009 at 10:27 pm

    Usefulness depends on the future situation. It seems like these suggestions assume there will be industry and endeavor, but the children of the children who survive should have the message handed down. Especially that last part...

16. Wok
    April 26th, 2009 at 10:40 pm

    "Look upon our greatness and despair"

    That should show'em

17. Patrick B
    April 26th, 2009 at 10:51 pm

    I live in Elberton and to be honest the most interesting thing about the guidestones is the nudist colony that lives across the street.

18. blogtreader
    April 26th, 2009 at 11:26 pm

    To Jim: I saw this the other day. It might have been from BoingBoing (at least I might have seen it there).

    It is a T-shirt with "The Basics" for handling an emergency resulting from traveling back in time. That can also be viewed as "bombed back to the" stone age, ay?

    Here you go:

    http://www.topatoco.com/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=TO&Product _Code=QW-CHEATSHEET&Category_Code=QW

    I may have to get one for myself.

19. Alex
    April 27th, 2009 at 12:00 am

    Shelley and Arthur C. Clarke references, you guys are a literary bunch

20. DaveL
    April 27th, 2009 at 1:41 am

    Funny that. Seeing this thing made me think of old skool sci-fi stories as well. Lots of monuments symbolized in those tales. Alas, scientists don't build such things IRL... which is a shame as they would certainly provide info that was more useful.

21. seefish3
    April 27th, 2009 at 4:09 am

    Here's my message to the future:

    "Good friggin' luck !"

22. Foreigner1
    April 27th, 2009 at 4:34 am

    "If you were composing brief instructions for survivors of the collapse of civilization, what would you write?"

    A DIY-guide how to build the perfect bomb or virus to wipe out those last survivors- Leave the planet to other living beings, because us humans only make a horrible mess of it- The planet seems better off without humans....

23. thecoldhardtruth
    April 27th, 2009 at 5:56 am

    Patrick I live in Elberton too (just moved here for my job). Strangely enough, I actually went and looked at the guidestones yesterday a couple hours before this article was posted. When I was leaving I noticed a weird octogon shaped building across the street. Is that this nudist colony you speak of?

24. commander flatus
    April 27th, 2009 at 6:40 am

    i'd leave beer recipes. also instructions that "watery beer was the downfall of our civilization"

25. camoeron
    April 27th, 2009 at 6:41 am

    Post-apocalyptic instructions or an argument for bringing about the apocalypse? The first two rules were left out of this post:
    1. Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature.
    2. Guide reproduction wisely - improving fitness and diversity.

    A 90+% population reduction and genetic discrimination? This is an argument for killing most of us off and then genetically engineering the survivors-- aka eugenics. No wonder someone vandalized these: http://www.prisonplanet.com/georgia-guidestones-vandalized.html

    If I were leaving messages for post-apocalyptic survivors, I would say:
    "Watch your back, it was an inside job."

26. Jim
    April 27th, 2009 at 6:55 am

    My advice to the people of the future--see US Constitution and Bill of Rights.

27. bobo
    April 27th, 2009 at 7:46 am

    I think I would include the phrase: 'I am a jealous God. Have no other Gods before me'... this would be sure to get people on the right track again, so they could live together in peace and harmony.

28. Cait
    April 27th, 2009 at 8:17 am

    Wasn't the whole "writing instructions for how to live in stone" thing already done before (i.e., Ten Commandments)?

    And we see how well we all pay attention to THOSE rules...:-P

29. A Noun
    April 27th, 2009 at 8:34 am

    ...and temper Bobo's choice with something along the lines of "Separation of Church and State is an absolute necessity, never to be tampered with."

30. Orjan Morjan
    April 27th, 2009 at 8:39 am

    @camoeron

    Funny, because I never saw a deadline for when the population should be under 500 million.

    Maybe, just maybe it could be achieved by natural causes. More probable in the post-apocalyptic world where the population won't be 6 000 million.

31. Gauldar
    April 27th, 2009 at 8:59 am

    You know, if cities and most of the developed world was destroyed, the tribal people all over the world will probably just keep doing what their doing and live like they do today. If something happens to them, well then the human race is pretty much screwed.

32. Mike Stone
    April 27th, 2009 at 9:35 am

    Step #1: bang the rocks together, guys.

33. Foosnark
    April 27th, 2009 at 10:20 am

    BE A GOOD SPORT. YOU WERE A N00B ONCE TOO.

34. joe
    April 27th, 2009 at 10:37 am

    So basically, "Don't screw it up like we did."

35. Steeliecat
    April 27th, 2009 at 10:52 am

    1. Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature.
    2. Guide reproduction wisely - improving fitness and diversity.

    These stones scare the sh** out of me!

36. brianch
    April 27th, 2009 at 1:06 pm

    I think lhe last instruction should be...

    Don't listen to this load of crap. We destroyed civilization.

    That should do it.

37. Gauldar
    April 27th, 2009 at 1:10 pm

    @Steeliecat

    There's no need to, now be obedient and eat your Soylent Green and take your Soma.

38. DaveL
    April 27th, 2009 at 1:43 pm

    Koko Heston: "It's nipples!"

39. Foreigner1
    April 27th, 2009 at 1:43 pm

    Instructions for survivors of the collapse of civilisation-

    Let the last one not forget to turn off the lights and to leave the keys under the doormat of the shelter...

40. Avarana
    April 27th, 2009 at 4:53 pm

    Sadly, no one will heed their message as they are written in Comic Sans.

41. Noelegy
    April 27th, 2009 at 5:25 pm

    So long and thanks for all the fish.

42. wondercat
    April 27th, 2009 at 5:49 pm

    The message is written in Hebrew. I wonder why?

43. Omphalos
    April 27th, 2009 at 6:09 pm

    Sounds like the Thunktunthup from Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's novel Footfall. Pretty cool.

44. super panda
    April 27th, 2009 at 8:20 pm

    ??

45. DaveL
    April 27th, 2009 at 9:57 pm

    You get bonus points for obscure literary references around here panda.

46. ted
    April 28th, 2009 at 7:08 am

    Strength through joy.

47. seth richter
    April 28th, 2009 at 10:23 am

    Never never doubt what nobody is every really sure about.

48. Nic
    May 2nd, 2009 at 11:53 pm

    If you're going to devote an entire structure to the phylosophical rules of the post-apocalyptic world, there is really only one rule: Treat others the way you want to be treated. that, and don't burn the cookies =]

49. Jay Gordon
    May 16th, 2009 at 12:26 pm

    "Perfect yourself before trying to perfect others" might be worth a try. Admittedly, a long shot.

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