Live data from Hacker News

Metal monolith found by helicopter crew in Utah desert

bbc.co.uk

291–300 of 515 posts

Re: Metal monolith found by helicopter crew in Utah desert

#291
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think stele would be the right word maybe? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stele

Probably not. Solid metal objects at that scale have not been a feature of human history for particularly long, they probably don't have a name that's normally used in an archaeological context.

In fact there is an art-historical precedent, dating back half a century, for calling modern vertical land art pieces "stele." Michael Heizer did it.

http://legacy.earlham.edu/~vanbma/index/121299heizer-art.htm

http://doublenegative.tarasen.net/city

Re: Metal monolith found by helicopter crew in Utah desert

#292
post #2

Monoliths are supposed to be made of stone, hence the name...

So lith, from Greek lithos, stone. Problem is there's no straight equivalent for a metal bar - perhaps rávdos/rabdos, meaning ingot/rod. So, "Monorabd"?

Monoum https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/-ium

Re: Metal monolith found by helicopter crew in Utah desert

#293
post #41

A reddit user [1] found its location [2] and another figured out it was installed sometime during 2015-2016 based on when the satellite imagery changed. [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/k01dc3/mysterious_m... [2] https://goo.gl/maps/2xdrTqcnguX3ky8AA

How someone found it: "I looked at rock type (Sandstone), color (red and white - no black streaks like found on higher cliffs in Utah), shape (more rounded indicating a more exposed area and erosion), the texture of the canyon floor (flat rock vs sloped indicating higher up in a watershed with infrequent water), and the larger cliff/mesa in the upper background of one of the photos. I took all that and lined it up wi…

Source for those interested.

https://www.reddit.com/r/geoguessr/comments/jzw628/help_me_f...

I'm still gobsmacked about the specific geological knowledge and application here turning into a very precise and relatively small search area.

Re: Metal monolith found by helicopter crew in Utah desert

#294
post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> installed 2015-2016 based on satellite imagery Unless the artist practiced very good OpSec or was so disciplined that he never checked for satellite imagery of his monument, someone with the right credentials -- like the government with a subpeona or a Google insider -- could identify the artist based on his IP address. Murderers have been identified and convicted by looking up a unique map coordinate on Google Map…

Google is very unlikely to keep logs for so long.

I wouldn't bet on that at all

Re: Metal monolith found by helicopter crew in Utah desert

#295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Once an entire government worth of people led the US into war that cost millions of lives over fake reports of nukes. It would be interesting to compare the damage caused by open, crowd-sourced investigative efforts against the damage caused of closed "authoritative" investigative efforts.

I think it’s amusing that the takeaway from this episode is “the intelligence agencies screwed up” and not “the intelligence agencies found no evidence, and then were directly pressured by their political masters to construct evidence to justify a desired military outcome.”

[deleted]

Re: Metal monolith found by helicopter crew in Utah desert

#298
post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Best games don't tell stories - they generate them. There's no need to make games more like movies or graphic novels because we already have movies and graphic novels.

I can't disagree more. Stuff like minecraft(which I assume you mean) just have no lessons to teach. They are great games. But they can't grow beyond that. They can't be masterpieces precisely because they don't tell a story.

I wouldn't go so far as to call Minecraft educational, but it certainly can teach things. It's probably taught the utility of logic gates to at least a few kids. The comparison to Lego seems apt. Most will probably just build houses or spaceships, but some with the aptitude will start building differentials or digital calculators.

Re: Metal monolith found by helicopter crew in Utah desert

#299
post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have to love the internet sometimes. Someone who works construction (as he stated) can develop a fun investigatory hobby just via the internet. The he can sign his work with a silly name like bear__f##ker (which I'm guessing is a reference to the movie super troopers).

On the other hand, it was people like this that once fingered the wrong person for the Boston Marathon bombing. It's all well and good as long as we remember not to put too much stock in it when it really matters.

It's fine if it matters. What isn't fine it's if it's unverifiable.

Re: Metal monolith found by helicopter crew in Utah desert

#300
post #273
post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Best games don't tell stories - they generate them. There's no need to make games more like movies or graphic novels because we already have movies and graphic novels.

That's just, like, your opinion, man. There's clearly a market for, say, JRPGs, and that market is comprised of people who fully disagree with you. Ultimately what you're saying is "there's no need to make games I don't like". Personally, for what it's worth, I love games where you neither generate nor are told stories, but rather where you uncover them. Outer Wilds is the best recent example I know of-- the entire g…

Ultimately what I'm saying is that computer games are wasting an opportunity to be good what they do best: interaction and simulation. No one condemns basketball, soccer or chess for having poor story. They are however good at generating stories people tell to each other later. Computer games do that even better.
Post reply on HN