View source for Long Now Foundation

{{Short description|American nonprofit organization}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox non-profit
| name = The Long Now Foundation
| formation = {{Start date and age|1996|01|04}}
| image = 2006-08-15 - United States - California - San Francisco - Sign - Long Now.jpg
| image_size = 300px
| type = [[501(c)(3)]]
| tax_id = 68-0384748
| registration_id = C1956835
| founder = 
| coordinates = {{Coord|37.8064591|-122.4321258|display=inline,title}}
| origins = 
| key_people = President [[Stewart Brand]], [[Brian Eno]]
| product = 
| focus = 
| headquarters = [[Fort Mason|Fort Mason Center]], [[San Francisco]], [[California]], US
| method = 
| revenue = 
| endowment = 
| owner = 
| dissolved = 
| website = {{Official URL}}
| footnotes = 
}}

The '''Long Now Foundation''', established in 1996,<ref>{{Cite news | first=David |last=Rooney |date=2013-07-31 |title=The Clock Of The Long Now |url=https://blog.sciencemuseum.org.uk/the-clock-of-the-long-now/ |access-date=2024-07-13 |website=Science Museum Blog |language=en-GB}}</ref> is an American [[non-profit organization]] based in [[San Francisco]] that seeks to start and promote a long-term [[cultural institution]]. It aims to provide a counterpoint to what it views as today's "faster/cheaper" mindset and to promote "slower/better" thinking. The Long Now Foundation hopes to "creatively foster responsibility" in the framework of the next 10,000 years. In a manner somewhat similar to the [[Holocene calendar]], the foundation uses 5-digit dates to address the [[Year 10,000 problem]]<ref name=about/> (e.g., by writing the current year "0{{CURRENTYEAR}}" rather than "{{CURRENTYEAR}}"). The organization's logo is {{rn|X|border=t}}, a capital X with an overline, a representation of 10,000 in [[Roman numeral]]s.
==Projects==
The foundation has several ongoing projects, including a 10,000-year clock known as the ''[[Clock of the Long Now]]'', a cafe/bar called The Interval, and a popular seminar series, among others.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Kauffman |first=Jonathan |date=2014-06-27 |title=Long Now Foundation opens the Interval cafe, bar in Fort Mason |url=https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/Long-Now-Foundation-opens-the-Interval-cafe-bar-5583307.php |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20221128025107/https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/Long-Now-Foundation-opens-the-Interval-cafe-bar-5583307.php |archive-date=2022-11-28 |access-date=2025-11-10 |work=SFGATE |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Clock of the Long Now ===
{{main|Clock of the Long Now}}

The purpose of the ''Clock of the Long Now'' is to construct a [[timepiece]] that will operate with minimum human intervention for ten [[millennium|millennia]].<ref name="chabon" /> It is to be constructed of durable materials, to be easy to repair, and to be made of largely valueless materials in case knowledge of the [[clock]] is lost or it is deemed to be of no value to an individual or possible future [[civilization]]; in this way it is hoped that the Clock will not be [[looting|looted]] or destroyed. Its power source (or sources) should be renewable but similarly unlootable.<ref name="wiredclock" /> A prototype of a potential final clock candidate was activated on December 31, 1999, and is on display at the [[Science Museum (London)|Science Museum]] in London. The Foundation is currently building the ''Clock of the Long Now'' in [[Van Horn, Texas]].<ref name="prototype" />[[File:The Interval bar, San Francisco.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.2|The Interval bar in Fort Mason, San Francisco]]

=== The Interval ===
Opened in June 2014, The Interval is a coffee shop and bar designed as social space in the foundation's Fort Mason facility in San Francisco.<ref name="nytinterval" /> The purpose of The Interval is to have a public space where people can come together to discuss ideas and topics related to long-term thinking, as well as provide a venue for a variety of Long Now events.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Haven |first=Leif |date=August 29, 2014 |title=At The Interval In San Francisco: Fresh Coffee, Aged Spirits, And Contemplation of The Future |url=https://sprudge.com/interval-long-now-foundation-61693.html |access-date=2025-11-10 |website=[[Sprudge]] |language=en-US}}</ref> The Interval includes lounge furniture, artifacts from the foundation's projects, a library of the 1000 most important books for restarting civilization in the event of collapse, audio/video equipment, robots, art pieces, and a bar serving tea and coffee during the day, and cocktails during the night.<ref name="nytinterval" /><ref name=":0" /> Donors of a certain level can have a flask of locally-made whiskey or gin from [[St. George Spirits|St. George's Spirits]] hanging from the ceiling, with the gin made using juniper berries of the very long-lived [[bristlecone pine]].<ref name=":0" />

In October 2014 The Interval was named by [[Thrillist]] as one of the 21 best new bars in America.<ref name="thrillist21best" /> Coffee blog ''[[Sprudge]]'' described it as a 'steampunk wonderland'.<ref name=":0" />

=== Seminars about long-term thinking ===
[[File:Brian Eno, Danny Hillis, Stewart Brand by Pete Forsyth 12.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|[[Brian Eno]], [[Danny Hillis]], and [[Stewart Brand]] speaking at "The Long Now, now" – an event in January 2014 at the [[Palace of Fine Arts]] in San Francisco]]In November 2003, The Long Now Foundation began a series of monthly seminars about long-term thinking (SALT) with a lecture by [[Brian Eno]]. The seminars are held in the [[San Francisco Bay Area]] and have focused on long-term policy and thinking, scenario planning, singularity and the projects of the foundation. The seminars are available for download in various formats from The Long Now Foundation.<ref name="podcasts" />{{Primary source inline|date=November 2025}} They are intended to "nudge civilization toward making long-term thinking automatic and common".<ref name="seminars" />{{Primary source inline|date=November 2025}} Topics have included preserving [[environmental movement|environmental]] resources, the deep past and deep future of the sciences and the arts, human [[life extension]], the likelihood of an [[asteroid]] strike in the future, [[SETI]], and the nature of time.{{Citation needed|date=July 2016}}

As of 2014, [[SFGate]] and Sprudge have described the seminars (hosted by Stewart Brand) as popular.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

====Long Now Foundation debate format====

As part of the seminar series, there are occasionally debates on areas of long term concern, such as synthetic biology<ref name="longnow.org">{{cite web |last1=Endy |first1=Drew |last2=Thomas |first2=Jim |title=Synthetic Biology Debate – The Long Now |url=http://longnow.org/seminars/02008/nov/17/synthetic-biology-debate/ |access-date=June 24, 2017 |website=longnow.org}}</ref> or "historian vs futurist on human progress".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ferguson |first1=Niall |last2=Schwartz |first2=Peter |title=Historian vs. Futurist on Human Progress – The Long Now |url=http://longnow.org/seminars/02008/apr/28/historian-vs-futurist-on-human-progress/ |access-date=June 24, 2017 |website=longnow.org}}</ref>

The point of Long Now debates is not win-lose. The point is public clarity and deep understanding, leading to action graced with nuance and built-in adaptivity, with long-term responsibility in mind.<ref name="longnow.org" />

In operation, "There are two debaters, Alice and Bob. Alice takes the podium, makes her argument. Then Bob takes her place, but before he can present his counter-argument, he must summarize Alice's argument to her satisfaction — a demonstration of respect and good faith. Only when Alice agrees that Bob has got it right is he permitted to proceed with his own argument — and then, when he's finished, Alice must summarize it to his satisfaction."<ref>{{cite web |last=Sloan |first=Robin |date=September 5, 2014 |title=The steel man of #GamerGate |url=https://medium.com/message/the-steel-man-of-gamergate-7019d86dd5f5 |access-date=June 24, 2017 |website=medium.com}}</ref>

Mutual understanding is enforced by a reciprocal requirement to describe the other's argument to their satisfaction, with the goal being more understanding after the event than there was beforehand.{{cn|date=September 2020}}

=== Rosetta Project ===
{{main|Rosetta Project}}

The ''Rosetta Project'' is an effort to preserve all [[Endangered language|languages that have a high likelihood of extinction]] over the period from 2000 to 2100.<ref name="rosetta" /> These include many languages whose [[native speaker]]s number in the thousands or fewer. Other languages with many more speakers are considered by the project to be endangered because of the increasing importance of English as an international language of commerce and culture. Samples of such languages are to be inscribed onto a disc of nickel alloy three inches (7.62&nbsp;cm) across. A Version 1.0 of the [[HD-Rosetta|disc]] was completed on November 3, 2008,<ref name="macromicro" /> and as of 2017 housed 1,000 languages<ref>{{Cite web |last=Blakemore |first=Erin |title=This Necklace Contains All of the World’s Languages |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/necklace-contains-all-worlds-languages-180961876/ |access-date=2025-11-10 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}</ref> while working towards preserving 1,500.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Livni |first=Ephrat |date=2017-01-17 |title=Wear a nanoscale archive of all the world’s languages on a necklace |url=https://qz.com/885379/wear-a-nanoscale-archive-of-all-the-worlds-languages-on-a-necklace |access-date=2025-11-10 |website=Quartz |language=en}}</ref>

===Long Bet Project===
The ''Long Bet Project'' was created by The Long Now Foundation to propose and keep track of [[gambling|bets]] on long-term events and stimulate discussion about the future. The Long Now Foundation describes The Long Bet Project as a "public arena for enjoyably competitive predictions, of interest to society, with philanthropic money at stake."<ref name="longbets" /> One example bet would be on whether people will regularly fly on pilotless [[fixed-wing aircraft|aircraft]] by 2030.{{Primary source inline|date=November 2025}}

Bets that were resolved in 2010 included predictions about [[peak oil]], [[print on demand]], [[modem]] obsolescence, and commercially available 100-[[qubit]] [[quantum computer]]s.<ref name="rosebets" />{{Primary source inline|date=November 2025}}

An analysis by researcher Gwern Branwen found dozens of bets that had already expired but had not resolved, and many others with poorly defined resolution criteria. Branwen also found that the vast majority of the expired predictions resolved false, so that anyone could make a profit by betting indiscriminately against existing predictions. In light of these and other issues, and the website’s extremely low activity levels (with an average of less than two bets per year), Branwen concluded that the Long Bet Project should be shut down.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Branwen | first = Gwern | title = Long Bets as a charitable giving opportunity | website = gwern.net | date = February 24, 2018 | url = https://www.gwern.net/Long-Bets | access-date = September 1, 2024}}</ref>

===Manual for Civilization===
{{Primary sources section|date=November 2025}}
The Manual for Civilization is a living, crowd-curated library of 3,500 books with the purpose of creating a record of humanity and technology for the current generation's descendants. The library is curated by the Long Now community and is on display at The Interval, Long Now’s cafe-bar-salon in San Francisco.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kabil |first1=Ahmed |title=What Books Would You Choose to Restart Civilization? |url=https://medium.com/the-long-now-foundation/books-library-civilization-future-knowledge-3a8f750d6b86 |website=Medium |date=April 20, 2018 |publisher=Long Now Foundation |access-date=9 November 2023}}</ref>

===PanLex===
{{Primary sources section|date=November 2025}}
PanLex is a linguistic project whose stated mission is to overcome language barriers to human rights, information, and opportunities.<ref name=panlex/> Started in 2004 at the University of Washington’s Turing Center, the project sought to build software that would enable all humans to use their native language to share information, ideas, and emotions with the rest of the world. This research produced a lexical database (TransGraph) designed to support panlingual translation, and a more powerful extension of it (PanDictionary) based on intelligent automated inference.<ref name=utilika/> After this work demonstrated the feasibility of the concept, the PanDictionary became the PanLex Database, and PanLex has continued to enlarge, enrich, and modify it by consulting multilingual dictionary and dictionary-like sources. In 2012, PanLex became a project of The Long Now Foundation.<ref name=projects/>

==In popular culture==
{{Primary sources section|date=November 2025}}
[[Neal Stephenson]]'s science fiction novel ''[[Anathem]]'' was partly inspired by the author's involvement with the [[Clock of the Long Now]] project.{{Citation needed|date=November 2025}}

As a result of Brian Eno's work on the clock project, an album entitled ''[[January 07003 / Bell Studies for The Clock of The Long Now]]'' was released in 2003.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.enoshop.co.uk/product/january-07003?filter=CD |title=January 07003 |publisher=Enoshop.co.uk |access-date=February 20, 2014}}</ref> English songwriter [[Owen Tromans]] released a single entitled "Long Now", inspired by the foundation, in 2013.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sacredgeometryrecs.bandcamp.com/track/long-now|title=Long Now, by Owen Tromans|website=Sacred Geometry|access-date=February 3, 2020}}</ref>

Ian McEwan acknowledges the foundation for helping with much deep thinking about what we owe the future in his 2025 novel 'What We Can know'. The novel centers around a lost poem (perhaps a masterpiece) and an academic's search for it roughly 150 years hence, when climate change has drowned much of the landscape referenced by the poem.

==Board members==
The Board of Directors of The Long Now Foundation {{as of|lc=y|2023|02}}:<ref name=board/>
{{columns-list|colwidth=25em|
* [[Stewart Brand]] (President)
* [[Doug Carlston]]
* [[Patrick Collison]]
* [[Esther Dyson]]
* [[David Eagleman]]
* [[Brian Eno]]
* [[Ping Fu]]
* Katherine Fulton (Co-chair)
* [[Danny Hillis]] (Cofounder)
* [[Kevin Kelly (editor)|Kevin Kelly]] (Co-chair)
* [[Kim Polese]]
* Danica Remy (Treasurer)
* Alexander Rose (Executive Director, Secretary)
* [[David Rumsey]] 
* [[Paul Saffo]]
* [[Peter Schwartz (futurist)|Peter Schwartz]]
'''Emeritus members'''
* [[Chris Anderson (writer)|Chris Anderson]]
* [[Mitch Kapor]]
* Michael Keller
* [[Roger G. Kennedy|Roger Kennedy]]
}}

==See also==
* [[All Species Foundation]]
* [[Big History]]
* [[Deep time]] 
* ''[[The Knowledge: How to Rebuild Our World from Scratch]]'' (book)
* [[Longue durée]]
* ''[[Longplayer]]''
*[[Longtermism]]
* [[Open Source Ecology]]
* [[Pioneer plaque]]
* [[Seven generation sustainability]]
* [[Voyager Golden Record]]
* [[Memory of Mankind]]
* [[Long-term nuclear waste warning messages]]

==References==
{{Reflist||refs=
<ref name=about>{{cite web|url=http://www.longnow.org/about|title=About Long Now|publisher=The Long Now Foundation|access-date=December 13, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name=chabon>{{cite journal|url=http://longnow.org/static/djlongnow_media/press/pdf/0200602-Chabon-TheFutureWillHavetoWait.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101103125706/http://longnow.org/static/djlongnow_media/press/pdf/0200602-Chabon-TheFutureWillHavetoWait.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 3, 2010|title=The Omega Glory|first=Michael|last=Chabon|journal=Details|date=January 2006|access-date=December 13, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name=projects>{{cite web|url=http://www.longnow.org/projects/|title=Projects|publisher=The Long Now Foundation|access-date=December 13, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name=wiredclock>{{cite magazine|first=Danny|last=Hills|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303060436/https://www.wired.com/1995/12/the-millennium-clock/|date=December 6, 1995 |title=The Millennium Clock|magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]|access-date=December 13, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name=prototype>{{cite web|url=http://www.longnow.org/clock/prototype1|title=Prototype 1–10,000 Year Clock |publisher=The Long Now Foundation |date=December 31, 1999|access-date=December 13, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name=rosetta>{{cite web|url=http://www.rosettaproject.org/about/|title=The Rosetta Project|publisher=The Long Now Foundation|access-date=December 13, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name=macromicro>{{cite web|url=https://longnow.org/ideas/macro-to-micro-etching/|date=November 3, 2008 |publisher=The Long Now Blog|access-date=December 13, 2011|title=Macro to micro etching}}</ref>
<ref name=longbets>{{cite web|url=http://www.longbets.org |title=Long Bets – The Arena for Accountable Predictions|publisher=The Long Now Foundation|access-date=December 13, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name=rosebets>{{cite web|url=http://blog.longnow.org/2009/12/31/long-bets-in-02010|title=Long Bets in 02010|publisher=The Long Now Foundation|first=Alexander|last=Rose|date=December 31, 2009|access-date=December 13, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name=podcasts>{{cite web|url=http://longnow.org/seminars/podcast/|title=Seminars About Long-term Thinking Podcasts|publisher=The Long Now Foundation|access-date=December 13, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name=seminars>{{cite web|url=http://www.longnow.org/seminars/|title=Seminars About Long-term Thinking|publisher=The Long Now Foundation|access-date=December 13, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name=board>{{cite web|url=http://longnow.org/people/board|title=Board – The Long Now |publisher=The Long Now Foundation|access-date=February 2, 2020}}</ref>
<ref name=nytinterval>{{cite news|first=Nate |last=Freeman |url=http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/12/interval-robot-bar-san-francisco-brian-eno/?_r=0|title=Now Booking:A Techno-Utopian Bar in San Francisco for Those Who Like to Think While They Drink |newspaper=New York Times Sunday Magazine|date=June 12, 2014 |access-date=June 12, 2014}}</ref>
<ref name=thrillist21best>{{cite news|first=Kevin|last=Alexander|first2=Liz|last2=Childers|url=http://www.thrillist.com/drink/nation/best-new-bars-in-america-tiki-tolteca-nomad-bar-parliament|title=The 21 best new bars in America |date=November 22, 2014 |publisher=[[Thrillist]]|access-date=November 23, 2014}}</ref>
<ref name=panlex>{{cite web|url=https://panlex.org|title=PanLex|publisher=The Long Now Foundation|access-date=April 8, 2019}}</ref>
<ref name=utilika>{{cite web|url=http://stulta.com/misc/uf/|title=Utilika Foundation|publisher=Utilika Foundation|access-date=April 8, 2019}}</ref>
}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Official website}}
* {{ProPublicaNonprofitExplorer|680384748}}

{{Time Topics}}
{{Whole Earth}}
{{Brian Eno}}
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[[Category:Long Now Foundation| ]]
[[Category:Non-profit organizations based in California]]
[[Category:501(c)(3) organizations]]
[[Category:1996 establishments in California]]
[[Category:Brian Eno]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1996]]