Caution, future ahead.

October 28, 2006 3:50 PM

Warning signs from the future. Things to look out for when you get there.
posted by Brandon Blatcher (33 comments total)

Kewl.
posted by papakwanz at 3:57 PM on October 28, 2006

This is just silly.
posted by wumpus at 4:03 PM on October 28, 2006

I want them on stickers.
posted by mr. strange at 4:04 PM on October 28, 2006 [1 favorite]

The creator posted them to Flickr from his original blog post, which is here. Neat idea.
posted by Upton O'Good at 4:06 PM on October 28, 2006

That last one is terrifying.
posted by Artw at 4:46 PM on October 28, 2006

I just learned about the stable negative strangelet catastrophe a few weeks ago (Review of Speculative "Disaster Scenarios" at RHIC).

An atom which came into contact with such a strangelet would be stripped of its electrons by e+e- annihilation. The exposed nucleus would then be absorbed by the ever growing strangelet. This process would continue until all available material had been converted to strange matter. We know of no barrier to the rapid growth of a dangerous strangelet.
posted by eddydamascene at 4:53 PM on October 28, 2006

Metafilter: GROUP INTELLECT
posted by koeselitz at 5:01 PM on October 28, 2006

This process would continue until all available material had been converted to strange matter

That happened a long time ago. Why do you think the universe is so strange?
posted by languagehat at 5:11 PM on October 28, 2006

That's a Douglas Adams theory, isn't it, langhat?
posted by wendell at 5:31 PM on October 28, 2006

This process would continue until all available material had been converted to strange matter

The term of interest is 'available'. If strangelet matter exists mainly in interstellar vacuum, moving at high speed, it may only rarely contact normal matter.

For example, it is speculated that two strangelet meteors passed through the earth in 1993. They don't seem to have done any lasting damage. Although, as the hat points out, life has been becoming increasingly strange...

Signs of the Singularity, No. 2994 in a series: Your spellchecker recognizes 'strangelet' without your having to add it manually.
posted by Slithy_Tove at 5:37 PM on October 28, 2006

I thought "strangelet" was a type of female serial killer.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 5:50 PM on October 28, 2006

"Existential Threat" and "Cognitive Hazard" made my day. The more scientific ones were less amusing.
posted by cmyers at 5:51 PM on October 28, 2006

You know, I keep waiting and waiting, but the future never does get here. Fortunately, I'm very patient.
posted by Malor at 6:12 PM on October 28, 2006

For example, it is speculated that two strangelet meteors passed through the earth in 1993.

If those were strangelets, they were positive. Negative strangelets require "unreasonably low values of the bag constant... to compensate for the large repulsive gluonic interaction energy", so they're thought not to exist in a stable form.
posted by eddydamascene at 6:36 PM on October 28, 2006

Silly and excellent!
posted by fenriq at 7:01 PM on October 28, 2006

Teeheehee, if those came on stickers I'd buy a box.
posted by fvw at 7:22 PM on October 28, 2006

I was very surprised that none of these images depicted a ring of 12 monkeys. No, wait... I screwed that up.

Oh well, "dangerous strangelet" must be that Cocteau Twins album I could never find.

/wake me up when reality tears
posted by squidfartz at 8:45 PM on October 28, 2006

Most of the Flickr photo set posts do little for me, this one was great. I suspect we will see the "Cognitive Hazard" sign become a common forum avatar.
posted by Tube at 9:28 PM on October 28, 2006

I think one of our fellow MeFites recently posted one of these (the group intellect one) as a comment, but I can't remember who did it or in what thread.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 11:34 PM on October 28, 2006

You know, I keep waiting and waiting, but the future never does get here. Fortunately, I'm very patient.
posted by Malor at 6:12 PM PST on October 28
[+]
[!]

one way I found out about how to be in my own yesterday was when I was blogging from singapore. it's a 15 hour difference ahead the next day from san francisco. but my blog timings are set at Pacific Time, US. So when I blogged on new years day from Singapore I was blogging late on new years eve in san francisco.

yeah yeah I look funny...
posted by infini at 11:53 PM on October 28, 2006

Plenty of satire potential here, for sure. But I love these. Stimulating NaNoWriMo fodder, too.
posted by dreamsign at 12:22 AM on October 29, 2006

But yeah, prefer going through the blog post.
posted by dreamsign at 12:24 AM on October 29, 2006

Strangeways here we come.
posted by nasreddin at 12:33 AM on October 29, 2006

!
posted by infini at 12:35 AM on October 29, 2006

interesting, that your nomdeplume nsreddin is known as Shaikh Chilli in india
posted by infini at 12:36 AM on October 29, 2006

Ok what would happen if a strangelet hit a person? They'd umm die, no? Would they explode or what?
posted by yodelingisfun at 12:51 AM on October 29, 2006

maybe they'd take a quantum leap in intuitive capacity? i.e. rapid data processing and pattern recognition that its instantaneous? your "gut feel"?
posted by infini at 1:00 AM on October 29, 2006

"Existential Threat" warning sign = awesome

I love the other ones too -- the idea that in the future products will come stamped with a "Self-Replicating Device" sign, so you know not to let it eat your house and all your things. Or certain heavy-duty industrial plants that have "Nonstandard Spacetime" warnings on the doors. I'm reminded of Magrathea with its insanely large planet-building factories.

I love the idea of the future in general, really, which is why I plan to live forever -- to be around to see it.
posted by Riovanes at 1:11 AM on October 29, 2006

infini: I take the existence of Australia with great comfort. Since they're usually in tomorrow, if I'm talking to one, it means that Armageddon won't be for at least two more days yet. This lets me plan ahead a little.
posted by Malor at 5:08 AM on October 29, 2006

My favorite one is "Autonomous Device." I might try putting it on a t-shirt.
posted by wobh at 7:51 AM on October 29, 2006

Malor: yup :) the international date line gives me hope
posted by infini at 10:44 AM on October 29, 2006

I thought the flower in the motivational hazard sign was a Lotus, but the poppy works about as well.
posted by Citizen Premier at 12:27 PM on October 29, 2006

The exposed nucleus would then be absorbed by the ever growing strangelet. This process would continue until all available material had been converted to strange matter. We know of no barrier to the rapid growth of a dangerous strangelet.

Isn't this a video game that Cory Doctorow keeps raving about on Boing Boing?

Love the stickers.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 3:32 PM on October 31, 2006