Wednesday, January 14, 2009

The Magic Bus

This bus caught my eye and was pictured in the far background on one of the photographs on the last post. Lets go for a ride! I just had to loop around driving through the next block to get a closer look. On the trip around, we came by what looked like the ruins of an old apartment building. The catabolic process suggests, if resource depletion continues, all capitol (such as this building) will become waste.
On another tread, entropy was being discussed. http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/therm/entrop.html Notice how the bricks are strewed across the lot? This would suggest that this is a very different time as when those bricks were neatly stacked making what was perhaps a beautiful building in it's day. Those bricks just didn't fall in the reverse order that they were laid, but "unraveled" (thanks Mrs. M!) in such a way, that perhaps years from now, may become indistinguishable to what their former use might have been. Do you think, that many of the building blocks that form our society today, may see the same kind of fate?

Back to the magic bus, what about the values we have today? Do you think that many of the same values that we regard as "wealth" today, will mean anything at all, on the other side, if there is to be one? I certainly have my doubts...
What do you think the artist had in mind, painting the bus in such a way? It appears to me, that all those poka dots are arranged in order to form the background of the message GOD+WAR. Do you think that through entropy, when all those dots that form our society today will be scattered about to form the society of tomorrow, could still support the value that might be, suggested here?

20 comments:

Larry Kollar said...

I noticed that bus in the background before, too. I'm glad you came around to get a closer look!

The apartment? Once collapse really gets under way, those bricks won't stay there long — they'll be picked up and used to build either boundary walls (fortifications), a new dwelling, or maybe a storage shed or root cellar. Despite appearances, perhaps collapse hasn't progressed all that far there…

Will the blocks of society be strewn around, or simply dismantled and used for another purpose? Probably both, depending on how far forward you look. Blocks like multinational companies, or standing armies, may be thrown down but picked up out of the weeds at a later date.

'Course, I'm only guessing. And gassing. :-)

Nudge said...

Hi Yooper. Is that part of the land a temperate rainforest like in the northeast, or does it revert to prairie cover when left alone? The buildings might last a little longer if it's prairie, though for sure the water damage (freezing & thawing) will eventually take all of that stuff apart.

Out here, nothing left unattended for long survives the onslaught of the plants and their roots. They get into everything and break it up. I like to joke that there could have been an advanced high-tech industrial civilization here 150K years ago, and we'd never know it because the glaciers scour the place flat, shove all the loose stuff far south or out to sea, and compact the rest under about a mile of ice. Later, when the ice retreats, the pioneer plants (burdock, etc) get into everything with their deep roots, break it up, and begin anew the process of making new topsoil via natural composting. If there was something here before the last ice age, we have no way of knowing it.

These Detroit-area pictures are very haunting and yet sadly beautiful in a way. I envy you the photographic material you have there. Just be careful please when you're in the 'hoods.

yooper said...

Gee Far, I was thinking that the catabolic process was in the later stages here, but perhaps you're right, collapse hasn't progressed (proceeded?) all that far there and may have centuries to go? Whoa! For many parts of the nation if it will fall into a similar pattern of decay! Within three decades this area has rescinded almost to a ghost town. Of course, that said, it doesn't imply that the area couldn't recover some of the population (through migration)in the next 30 years. Far, do you suppose John is suggesting just that (what has already happened in this neighborhood) for the U.S.?

Hey Nudge, the more natural habitat of Detroit I suspect was a lot like that of New England. Hardwood stands and some prairie as is the natural result of wildfire caused by lightening strikes. Oh you bet, vegetation plays an important role as the forces of nature contsantly wants to revert the habitat back to it's natural state. The detroitblog is just full of pictures of this process.

Nudge about your thoughts of "ancient" (I'm not using that term lightly, suggesting the period from earliest times to the fall of Rome in A.D. 476.) civilizations being advanced as likely. John Greer, goes into detail about this thought in his book, "Atlantis", I highly recommend it. In it through the great natural climate changes the earth has experienced (ice ages) strongly suggests of great, advanced civilizations of "human kind" almost completely lost by the means you have suggested. Perhaps, going back only 10,000 years ago?

This kind of information isn't for everyone, much depending on your beliefs. However, there is strong evidence that the earths land mass not being under water was much different back then as it appears today.

thanks, yooper

Larry Kollar said...

Nudge, southern Michigan was originally pine forest (primarily white pine) and swamp. Most of it was logged off in the 1800s, and went up in smoke in the Great Chicago Fire. Planet Georgia is similar to New England in that the flora are fairly aggressive in re-claiming anything people abandon, although I think Florida would have both regions beat. Interesting thought about civilizations being wiped clean… the only argument I could bring up against it would be that ores would have been mined out. OTOH, today's junkyard could be an iron mine 200K years hence.

Yooper, I think any region (or nation) that depopulates is going to end up like your Detroit photos — what's not maintained will eventually crumble, perhaps helped along by malicious or careless squatters. They say "Rome wasn't built in a day," nor did all that built-up resource disappear in a day — cattle grazed in the Forum, but it was still recognizably the Forum. Later on, a bottom will be reached (either the bottom or one of the stairsteps), people will return to the area, and start salvaging what's there for their use.

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