Connections
Long Now Foundation
The Clock Prototype
I've been a member and long-time supporter of the Long Now Foundation. No. 2415. That places me somewhere at the beginning of the membership process. I've used Stewart Brand's work, of which I am an admirer, for several projects, including Sense and the City for the London Transport Museum and the development workshops with heritage organisations. The clock is the Foundation's signature project - click on it to find out more about the Long Now Foundation.
Below is a an adapted version of what I call Stewart's 'time wave' diagram. This is based on his important 1999 book The Clock of the Long Now: Time and Responsibility. It shows the intersection of differing waves of change - moments of significance. For interpretation and story telling in museums these interactions between say, geology, geography, settlement and culture are powerful explanatory windows, if they are 'captured' in documents or objects. In other media - film and books - stories hinge on intersections between character, situation and events.
'Deep time' thinking links the Long Now Foundation and our work in museums.
Time Wave Intersection. Clickable to expand time and space. Try it out.