If I had an infinite amount of time in my own life, and if I had infinite resources and help from people smarter and more hard working than myself, I would organize three great projects that I feel would benefit mankind greatly. One would focus on our present existence, one would look deep into the past, and one would attempt to bring us forward into the future.

Everyday Life

The first and most important thing I would do would be to simply build relationships with people in my life, and build community in my own local area. I know this sounds like a small thing and might not seem like a large project, but I think its just as important as anything else. Small things add up to something amazing when done consistently over time.

Relationships really are the meaning of life. And they are the foundations for moving forward over time. Civilization can be defined as caring more about future generations than you care about yourself. Another way to say this is learning from people who were born before us, trying to understand what they share, and passing it on to people younger than ourselves.

Potential Lost Civilizations

Sea Level Rise
Source: ResearchGate

Ice Ages last for about 120,000 years, and the warmer times in between Ice Ages last about 20,000 years. The previous Ice Age began to come to an end about 15,000 years ago, and sea levels began to rise rapidly at this time. Sea levels ultimately rose 400^ft over a span of 6,000 years, with some periods of rapid sea level rise.

Currently, our oldest record of a coherent civilization is Sumaria in modern day southern Iraq. This began around 5,000 BC and lasted for 1,000 years before being overtaken by Babylon. This civilization was built in the region where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers reach the salt water of the Persian Gulf. This was a fantastic place to establish a settled culture, since millennia of silt deposited by the two rivers provided fertile soil for a civilization built on farming.

Sumeria

Now imagine this region before 13,000 BC. Ocean levels were 400^ft lower. There could be a lost civilization 400^ft below the current elevation of the waters of the Persian Gulf and buried under 15,000 years of river silt deposits. During Ice Ages, the inland areas are far more dry and inhospitable to life. So it would make sense that people would settle along the coasts. A rapid rise in sea levels would make it difficult to move an established civilization inland.

If I could, I would organize some kind of exploration of areas 400^ft beneath the surface of the ocean, specifically under the Persian Gulf. It would be fascinating to find what might be buried in this area. Perhaps it would help us all understand our past in a better way. And maybe there are lost civilizations all over the Earth 400^ft below our current sea levels.

Anti-particles Trapped in Planetary Magnetic Fields

There is apparently a large amount of anti-matter trapped in the magnetic fields of various planets in our solar system. In 2006 a pair of satellites were put into Earth orbit to attempt to detect gamma ray bursts from distant galaxies. The pair immediately began to receive detections, but not from their intended source.

Energized particles trapped in Earth's magnetic field.
Source: James Bickford

Lightning creates anit-particles. These anti-particles travel along Earth's magnetic field from pole to pole, and drift around the circumference of our planet. While traveling between poles, they occasionally intersected the two gamma ray burst detecting satellites. The anti-particles annihilated small amounts of matter on the satellites and therefore created what was detected as gamma rays.

Jupiter has a powerful magnetic field, with some six magnetic poles. And a new pole will spring up on its surface every now and then and exist for 50 years or so before dissipating. Jupiter also has a storm on its surface that is roughly the size of Earth. So there is likely a large amount of anti-particles in Jupiter's magnetic field. But Saturn apparently has the largest anti-proton source in the solar system, even surpassing Jupiter.

If I had the resources, I would fly a demonstration mission within Earth's magnetic field and attempt to capture anti-particles. If this was successful then perhaps a second mission could capture more anti-particles and use them to fuel an anit-matter engine. If that was successful then a third mission could be flown to Saturn to capture large amounts of anti-particles and use them as fuel for an anti-matter engine.

This would provide something for people in the future to aspire to build. And maybe provide a means of physical transportation to distant star systems. It could also spawn a new anti-matter mining industry.

So there you have it, my three projects. They all take time. The final two would take large amounts of resources. But the first does not require too many resources other than time. This really is the most valuable thing you can give or receive. Giving someone your time and attention is the best thing you can give them. And if you ever find yourself in a position to listen to another person, understand how amazing and valuable that is.