http://www.weather.com/news/ghost-town-scientific-20120512
It seems kind of pointless without people. It would seem like a good idea to at least have housing for the employees of the facility within the city. The article said the houses will be livable, but even the researches can't stay in them? Seems like a bit of a waste in that regard.
I actually find it fascinating. Maybe that's where Google can test their new self-driven cars. Kinda sounds like a real life Simcity :)
Quote from: ThinkAnarchy on May 14, 2012, 09:21:36 PM
It seems kind of pointless without people. It would seem like a good idea to at least have housing for the employees of the facility within the city. The article said the houses will be livable, but even the researches can't stay in them? Seems like a bit of a waste in that regard.
The advantage is having a place to test products/systems to see how they function before introducing them to the market for real people. I'm sure lots of companies will want to invest money to test ideas here. What an innovative concept!
It makes sense to me. If you want to test to see if a car can drive around a city block by itself, it makes more sense to test it on a vacant block before you test it on a busy block; work out the big kinks before you start fine-tuning the more nuanced kinks. The city was all privately funded, so I see no problem with it, really. Kinda neat. It'd make a good set for an post-Apocalypse movie. :P
Quote from: Ecurb Noselrub on May 15, 2012, 02:18:43 AM
Quote from: ThinkAnarchy on May 14, 2012, 09:21:36 PM
It seems kind of pointless without people. It would seem like a good idea to at least have housing for the employees of the facility within the city. The article said the houses will be livable, but even the researches can't stay in them? Seems like a bit of a waste in that regard.
The advantage is having a place to test products/systems to see how they function before introducing them to the market for real people. I'm sure lots of companies will want to invest money to test ideas here. What an innovative concept!
I know, but a lot of the products seem to be home appliances, toilets, and common items. It just seems like having the researchers living in the homes, so they are using and testing the devices even when they aren't in the lab be beneficial. Not to mention fun for those lucky enough to get jobs there. Essentially testing the products through everyday life. They could easily tell people to stay off the streets or report to the main facility for reckless driving tests. :)
Man, this place is going to confuse the hell out of archeologists 1000 years from now!
Quote from: McQ on May 15, 2012, 04:37:10 AM
Man, this place is going to confuse the hell out of archeologists 1000 years from now!
Haha, I didn't think of that. "Advanced civilization disappears without a trace."
Quote from: ThinkAnarchy on May 15, 2012, 04:45:49 AM
Quote from: McQ on May 15, 2012, 04:37:10 AM
Man, this place is going to confuse the hell out of archeologists 1000 years from now!
Haha, I didn't think of that. "Advanced civilization disappears without a trace."
This is a pretty cool concept! Might be neat to have a test area like this. :)
As for the confused archeologists, it ought to be simple enough to put up a simple sign in several different languages/mathematical binary (or something else that people a thousand years from now will be able to decipher) explaining the purpose of the place.
In only a thousand years, geez do you guys know something I don't?
I thought I might still be alive in a thousand years, maybe with my mind integrated into a vacuum cleaner but still functioning.
Quote from: The Magic Pudding on May 16, 2012, 04:58:17 AM
In only a thousand years, geez do you guys know something I don't?
I thought I might still be alive in a thousand years, maybe with my mind integrated into a vacuum cleaner but still functioning.
I will have to warn my posterity to be cautious of vacuum cleaners.
Quote from: ThinkAnarchy on May 16, 2012, 05:00:26 AM
Quote from: The Magic Pudding on May 16, 2012, 04:58:17 AM
In only a thousand years, geez do you guys know something I don't?
I thought I might still be alive in a thousand years, maybe with my mind integrated into a vacuum cleaner but still functioning.
I will have to warn my posterity to be cautious of vacuum cleaners.
Ye you'd better, I may very well lead their electrical appliances in a socialist revolution.