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Lumifer comments on Crazy Ideas Thread, Aug. 2015 - Less Wrong Discussion

7 Post author: polymathwannabe 11 August 2015 01:24PM

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Comment author: NancyLebovitz 11 August 2015 04:11:33PM 10 points [-]

We need to create more rivers! Water transport is still cheap and important for development, but sub-Saharan Africa and the middle of Asia are sadly deficient in rivers.

River creation is an interesting example of something which isn't forbidden by the laws of physics, but seems utterly unfeasible. Is there any imaginable technology for making rivers?

Comment author: Lumifer 11 August 2015 04:32:05PM 3 points [-]

River creation is an interesting example of something which isn't forbidden by the laws of physics, but seems utterly unfeasible. Is there any imaginable technology for making rivers?

Perhaps if you replace the word "river" with the word "canal"..?

Comment author: NancyLebovitz 11 August 2015 04:34:26PM 0 points [-]

Canals are smaller, though I grant there may be a canal which is longer than the shortest rivers.

Still, I haven't seen proposals for canals which would be comparable to the Mississippi or the Amazon.

Comment author: Lumifer 11 August 2015 04:39:00PM *  10 points [-]

A quick Google, and...

The Grand Canal (also known as the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal) ... is the longest canal or artificial river in the world ... linking the Yellow River and Yangtze River. The oldest parts of the canal date back to the 5th century BC, although the various sections were finally combined during the Sui dynasty (581–618 AD). The total length of the Grand Canal is 1,776 km (1,104 mi).

I am also not sure why you think the technology is difficult. You just dig. The traditional "technology" is slave labour.

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