Jeff Bezos has been getting some attention this week for some of the interesting investments he’s made, thanks to a Wall Street Journal article about them.
The article discusses a patent Bezos’ name is on, for some kind of cell phone airbag-type gadget and Glassbaby, a handmade glass company Bezos has invested in.
Of course the 10,000 Year Clock also came up. The WSJ reports:
It’s like a grandfather clock on a grander scale, Mr. Bezos said. When it’s finished, it will play an elaborate cuckoo-like sequence for the anniversary of every year, decade, century, millennium and 10 millennia.
People who visit the clock when it is finished years from now will also be treated to a daily chime sequence that has been choreographed by musician Brian Eno, who serves on the project’s board.
We reported on this endeavor last year, when it became known that Bezos had invested $42 million into the project. Essentially, it’s a clock that is supposed to run for 10,000 years. It runs on solar power, relying on computers to calculate the sun’s positions for 10,000 years.
Here are some interesting videos about the project:
Clock One – Raise Bore from The Long Now Foundation on Vimeo.
The Journal quotes Bezos as saying, “The reason I’m doing it is that it is a symbol of long-term thinking, and the idea of long-term responsibility. We humans have become so technologically sophisticated that in certain ways we’re dangerous to ourselves. It’s going to be increasingly important over time for humanity to take a longer-term view of its future.”
In case you were wondering whether the cuckoo thing is a joke, this has always been part of the plan, as it was discussed last year, as well.