The California Bug
Medical science has yet to isolate the specific germ, spore, or neurofungus that transforms normal earthlings into Californians, but the existence of such a metaphysically virulent organism can and must be inferred through indirect measure. A state populated by a virus-borne colony from the future sounds like just the kind of thing a Californian would believe, but if we calmly inventory California’s contributions to planetary civilization, the mind-virus hypothesis begins to make a frightening kind of sense.
--The California Bug, Howard Rheingold
As a Californian, I'll buy that. California isn't so much a state as a state of mind, and one that is firmly focused on the future. Strike the motherload, make it as a movie star, or build it faster, smaller, sexier in aerospace or silicon valley. A culture requires some sort of mythological wellspring, and CA's can be seen in every raygun gothic gas station, ballardian interchange, or hopeful tech start-up. We Believe in Tomorrow.
The California Dream is similar to, but not the same as the American dream. Hard work and virtue aren't at all necessary in the Golden State. What matters is creativity, vision, and just a slight edge of madness. We don't work hard because we want to make it, or rise above our humble origins, we do so because we must, because we are driven by a primal urge that we do not fully understand.
Where was I going with this? I don't really know. Maybe Science Island, a deliberate organization of people with a clear myth about the Future. We are the carriers of a Mind Virus, find others, infect them, spread the meme.
considering rust-belt for science island : really really really cheap land, could probably buy out a whole city. rednecks may be a problem ( or at least their offspring ). sonic pain perimeter fence may be in order.
ReplyDeleteThat's actually a pretty good idea. Resource independence//sustainability is easier in a non-desert climate. As you mentioned, cheap land, social wasteland allows SI to become cultural center. We will keep warm with the waste heat of our servers.
ReplyDeletePlus, once all the rich minerals are used up, we can mine the tailings of 20th century industry. Also, giant gears and canals are in ample supply.
ReplyDeleteMost infrastructure is in disrepair, construction costs would be nontrivial. It might be more efficient to build new structures on cheap land, unless you want to work in a molding structure with a finite nonzero probability of collapse at any given time. I'm wondering what sort of supply, infrastructure, and supply problems we might run into. Working at universities is probably cheaper and possibly more sustainable, but it doesn't give us as much opportunity to experiment with novel sustainable lifestyles.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what the used shipping container situation is out there. Last I checked, the issue with using those was thermal insulation. Broken water infrastructure would be the real problem, if it occurs.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you can get water, even if it has interesting levels of heavy metals and pesticides. Perhaps we can build in an additional filtration system.
ReplyDeleteActually, the Mayor of Braddock ( the first of the crumbling towns you will visit as you exit Pittsburgh ) has augmented his house with shipping containers.
ReplyDeleteI still don't see how we are ever going to make this a real and sustaining endeavor. Purchase land ? Take time off from work ? Write science policy there ? Prototype high tech paintball to train squadron of youth for the coming post apocalyptic wastelands ( I'm sorry, its not as fun as it sounds, it actually just looks like Somalia with more white people ) ?
I mean, we have a family friend who tried to raise kids on a would be science island in West Virgina and now I think everyone is just mad at him for messing up their social development and making them live with hicks ( though I'm a little unclear as to the details and specifics ).
ReplyDeleteooh... if I were a writer, I might attempt to extend this discussion of California with something like :
ReplyDeleteThat was is, these men had reached the very edge of the western frontier. Where then, to direct the frontiersman spirit, the genetically selected predisposition for exploration and conquest of the unknown ? Those that were content with life as stasis had stayed behind in the East, but on the California coast an unappeased restlessness remained. And so, they turned toward exploration of new cultural and technological frontiers, innovations in fashion, industry, peace and love, computational media, and even wine-making. In the absence of established culture, Californians have been free to prototype the future for mankind. But now we are faced with a new challenge : how to maintain this spirit of exploration in spite of the accumulating baggage of Western history ? Perhaps this mind-virus will persist indefinitely, or perhaps a sort of immunity to novelty, disillusionment, will accumulate, and the virus will be forced to mutate and re-infect elsewhere. If this happens ( and perhaps it already has ), look to the third world, the favela and slums, where cultural and technological innovations for high density and low resource survival are being researched daily out of necessity blah blah blah... need a good editor or better writer to turn this into some sort of mind numbing educational video they play so teachers don't have to bother teaching and students can take a nap.
You could just establish another Deep Springs with a science focus. It seems to work for them.
ReplyDelete