Where are the modern wonders that will last the ages?

[AlienCraft]

All that will be left is probably the giant heap of floating plastic bits in the Ocean.

ftfy :\

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

I was looking at some awe-inspiring pictures of the Great Pyramids, and it got me thinking on how it seems all the really large and impressive monuments are in the past. Modern Society may have things like Christ the Redeemer, the Statue of Liberty, some random buildings like Sydney Opera House but nothing I would really put on the scale of the Great Wall or the Great Pyramid of Giza. None of those would last nearly as long either.

Because those are largely pointless? Seriously. What's the point of building an effing big pyramid just to bury one person?

 

[Brigandier]

Because those are largely pointless? Seriously. What's the point of building an effing big pyramid just to bury one person?

It's a huge pile of stones, it's the worlds largest cairn.

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

Whoop dee fucking doo.

 

[l0cke]

ATOT

 

[Patranus]

Mount Rushmore, Hoover Dam. All I can think of at the moment.

Mount Rushmore is already crumbling and requires a massive amount of maintenance.

With all of the anti nuclear sites the military/government has, I see a lot of time capsules being built around the world that will survive the test of time.

 

[arkcom]

Crazy Horse. His head alone is 50% bigger than the presidents' on Mt Rushmore. Finished size will be 631 x 563 feet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crazy_Horse_Memorial

http://www.crazyhorsememorial.org/

 

[Alone]

Lots of ignorance in this thread. The pyramids were built by workers, not slaves.

 

[Newbian]

The thing is many of the stuff, hoover dam and bridges, will not last as they will fail eventually when people stop taking care of them.

Stuff like the wall of china and the pyramids were left alone for many years and are still around and that's why they count.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Lots of ignorance in this thread. The pyramids were built by workers, not slaves.

Ok, built by workers doing menial exhausting labor paid by an emperor whose income came taxing his subjects. Trivial difference.

 

[Alone]

Ok, built by workers doing menial exhausting labor paid by an emperor whose income came taxing his subjects. Trivial difference.

Many of the inscriptions/graffiti left indicated great pride in what they did. I see this as no different from what we do now.

The difference between cheap labour and slavery is very different. If you don't understand that, you probably don't deserve to exist.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Yes, and the average North Korea loves to serve Dear Leader as well, and will personally attest to it.

 

[Alone]

Yes, and the average North Korea loves to serve Dear Leader as well, and will personally attest to it.

It's all subjective; you deal with what you know.

Personally, I wish I were able to contribute to a true wonder.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

It's all subjective; you deal with what you know.

Personally, I wish I were able to contribute to a true wonder.

I don't even know what you're trying to say with your first sentence. Your second is merely pathetic if your idea of a "true wonder" is the construction of large, primitive monuments.

 

[Alone]

I don't even know what you're trying to say with your first sentence.

That's ok, I'm not surprised that you have such little understanding.

Your second is merely pathetic if your idea of a "true wonder" is the construction of large, primitive monuments.

So you think a construction that we believe was well beyond their time was "pathetic"? Interesting.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

So you think a construction that you believe was well beyond their time was "pathetic"? Interesting.

The ones responsible for the design were vastly outnumbered by expendable labor. This much should be obvious.

EDIT: Since you clarified which sentence of mine you were responding to, I should point out that you aren't really explaining what you consider a "true wonder" to be.

Your "it's all subjective" point seems to say nothing except that misery isn't so terrible in the eyes of the brainwashed. Which is true, btw, but not something that should be applauded by humanity thousands of years in the future as a great accomplishment.

 

[Alone]

The ones responsible for the design were vastly outnumbered by expendable labor. This much should be obvious.

And? You're still saying it isn't a marvel?

 

[OverVolt]

Many of the inscriptions/graffiti left indicated great pride in what they did. I see this as no different from what we do now.

The difference between cheap labour and slavery is very different. If you don't understand that, you probably don't deserve to exist.

I remember reading that Egyptian laborers earned enough for 25,000calories of olive oil per day which is 3.1L of olive oil.

So about $30-$40 a day if making olive oil was equally as difficult today vs back then but I imagine they do it cheaper these days.

 

[Alone]

I remember reading that Egyptian laborers earned enough for 25,000calories of olive oil per day which is 3.1L of olive oil.

So about $30-$40 a day if making olive oil was equally as difficult today vs back then but I imagine they do it cheaper these days.

Sounds pretty decent to me.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

And? You're still saying it isn't a marvel?

No, I'm saying that large arrangements of stones aren't the epitome of symbolic human accomplishment, which is what the op and others are implying in saying that contemporary society lacks such things for future man to praise.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Sounds pretty decent to me.

Holy fuck, are you the guy that praised Castro's Cuba a few years back on ATOT because of all the happy workers that got a livable wage doing menial shit for tourists? Do you think that the average Egyptian of that time could say "Hmmm, sounds like a promising line of work, but I think I'll become an accountant instead"? What options do you think they had? The pyramids were massive projects, of course, and with that countless manpower was dedicated to them. Maybe if some of those manhours were invested into scientific studies as their neighbors across the sea did they would be remembered for more.

 

[Alone]

No, I'm saying that large arrangements of stones aren't the epitome of symbolic human accomplishment, which is what the op and others are implying in saying that contemporary society lacks such things for future man to praise.

So you're saying the pyramids were easy to build?

 

[Alone]

Holy fuck, are you the guy that praised Castro's Cuba a few years back on ATOT because of all the happy workers that got a livable wage doing menial shit for tourists? Do you think that the average Egyptian of that time could say "Hmmm, sounds like a promising line of work, but I think I'll become an accountant instead"? What options do you think they had? The pyramids were massive projects, of course, and with that countless manpower was dedicated to them. Maybe if some of those manhours were invested into scientific studies as their neighbors across the sea did they would be remembered for more.

They made enough money to make a decent living, they were happy, they made an everlasting contribution...how many of us could say we've done things that meet that criteria?

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Burj Dubai?

sky scrapers really aren't built with the endurance to last hundreds let alone thousands upon thousands of years

not to forget that we already tear down multi million (of which new ones are pushing the billion mark) dollar facilities on a fairly regular basis in order to replace them with bigger and better facilities. Just look at modern stadiums where they might only last a few decades before they're replaced, and not always out of necessity, but because teams/owners/fans want something newer.

 

[Bacstar]

Like someone said earlier....big whoop. So what if we can build things bigger. Give me a bigger bulldozer I'll dig a deeper hole, etc etc.

What I find amazing now is the miniturization of almost everything, from cpus, cameras, and everything else. Will these stand the test of time? Who knows, but I find some of these discoveries simply amazing.