The proof of Fermat's Last Theorem involves an incredible amount of mathematics over many decades, and in some ways centuries: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiles%27s_proof_of_Fermat%27s_Last_Theorem …
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Many incredible cathedrals, of course. Eg Notre Dame, over 1163–1345: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notre-Dame_de_Paris … Or the Sagrada Familia, ongoing (!)pic.twitter.com/p5eldrnj5x
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The Pitch Drop Experiment, to demonstrate that pitch is really a liquid which flows, is closing in on 100 years: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitch_drop_experiment … (I used to walk past this every day - my office was in the same building!)
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Not quite a project, but Kongo Gumi was a construction company that ran for nearly 1,500 years, before (very sadly, IMO) being acquired in 2006: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kong%C5%8D_Gumi …
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There is, of course, the Clock of the Long Now,
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The Framingham Heart Study is now in year 72: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Framingham_Heart_Study …
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I am lacking the right keyword, but I went to a great talk once where someone talked about an _air archive_. Basically, they went outside every day, starting in the 1960s, and bottled up some air, for decades(!) Then, after the fact, people can say "Oh, I want to analyze...
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... some air from 1972, to see what was happening then". And they can just give it to them. Incredible!
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Ditto the famous Keeling experiment carried out measuring CO2 (and now other gases) on Mauna Loa since 1958: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keeling_Curve … Now run by Charles David Keeling's son Ralph!
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Curious: are there examples of goals / projects that are easy, almost trivial to do over a very long period, say 100 years (or 1,000 years), but impossible over 10 years? Eg a scientific question that's trivial to answer over the longer time frame, but imposs over the shorter?
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Population growth. (My first thought was for humans but it’s effectively similar for anything with long life cycles. Planting a forest was technically within capabilities of Roman Empire, but US in 2020 can’t plant a new forest by 2030 even with all its advantages.)
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Replying to @patio11
Bruce Westerman has some interesting plans for the US:https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/479207-new-details-on-republican-climate-plan-shows-emphasis-on-trees …
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