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steve-burg — Visible Structures
Published: 2012-03-02 00:07:29 +0000 UTC; Views: 32887; Favourites: 506; Downloads: 939
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Description
At some future time, we may advance to the point where the signs of human civilization are visible even from a very great distance... so to me, this is a very optimistic image
This is a 3D render produced in Modo. A high contrast black & white texture was used for micro-polygonal displacement of a simple sphere, which produced true 3D surface relief.
I composited a NASA image of Saturn's moon Enceladus using an alpha channel (also rendered in Modo) to represent the natural features of the moon (which isn't necessarily the Earth's moon). The source image can be found here: [link]
The birds were done with some "bird brushes" I made some time ago.
This image bears a definite resemblance to a painting done by Syd Mead, who is of course a major inspiration
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Comments: 69
Having dreamed of these things all my life, only to see the powers that be corrupt the processes that would make this all possible makes me weep for all mankind.
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Maybe one day we'll rise above some of those problems. An elegant and powerful civilization (as opposed to what we have at the moment) has to first take root in the imagination of enough people. There's a long way to go, but I have to hope it's possible... some day
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Dear Lord Burg,
Im gonna steal your awesome idea and put it into my fantasy skydome.
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Optimistic that it could indeed be human made, the way the world is progressing further space innovation in the near to near distant future is unfortunately unlikely. Left to natural progression the information age will end in a whole new one - the stone age.
The displacement mapped sphere looks startlingly real, you could picture this being a photo taken by.people engaged in night fishing - something to show their kids. Amazing scene and if you've no probs tablet wallpaper
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It's true we seem to have completely turned our back on the kind of grand future vision I found so inspiring in my youth.
But hopefully, it's just a temporary glitch. It seems difficult to imagine that we would lose the desire to explore, to build. I'm feeling optimistic at the moment... I'm sure a quick glance at the news pages will sort that out!
I do wonder what's going to happen sometimes. Some people seem to be working like hell to bring back the Stone Age - or at the very least the Dark Ages. It's very strange - a strange time. It reminds me of the end of H.G. Wells' "Things to Come".
"The Universe, or nothingness... which shall it be?" That is, after all, the real decision that must be made
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Its certainly sad the way trends have progressed, in my childhood in the 60s everyone wanted to be scientists or have a part in the grand adventure now kids seem just want to play games. Then you've the whole economically raped middle east situation coming once again to the fore as a melting pot for political uphevals and weak western governments making all the wrong overtures. No its far from an optimistic time we live in now, so much happened in 40 years.
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I recently read an interesting book called "The Fourth Turning" [link] It helped me a bit in understanding what's going on, and strangely reminded me of Asimov's Foundation series and the science of psychohistory. It's not a new book, written in the late 1990s. While it did not predict (for example) 911 - it predicted more or less analogous events adding up to much the same thing. That's when I began to think of Asimov's story... the details, the actions of individuals can't be predicted, but the movements of an entire group of many millions often can.
Basically, these things run in cycles, generational cycles. The optimism of the 1960s' was the culmination of a particular generation coming into their own - basically, my parents' generation.
The bad news is... we're now rolling into a period when a lot of our institutions will fall apart. But the good news is that on the other side of that, people will once again want to build a better world. I certainly hope to see that - and hopefully I won't be on life-support by then!
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great picture! such an interesting theme/concept. Very optimistic indeed because to achieve such feat
humanity would have to go an giant step further in technology, medicine and engineering. This picture is so evocative.
Steve-burg- I think if we ever can accomplish such a grand project, it would mean we've overcome the worst of our problems as a species.
This is so true.
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We would need to advance technologically, and also culturally. But hopefully one day... we can get there!
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Beautiful indeed. It is pitty that I will never see the moon like this with my very own eyes. Thank you for creating this and showing it!
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I think if we ever can accomplish such a grand project, it would mean we've overcome the worst of our problems as a species. Here's hoping some day... I know I'll never see it
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Yes. One day that will work I am sure - and I am grateful that visionists like yourself grant us a glimpse at that world to come!
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