I often wonder if 12,000 years from now some civilization will be trying to figure out who the four guys on Mount Rushmore were, and if they were related to the characters carved on Stone Mountain. If civilization collapses as is likely in the second half of this century, those are probably the only things that will remain of American culture in 120 centuries.

As an engineer, I'm saddened by the establishment dogma that doesn't let more researchers study the pyramids and sphinx in Egypt, to name a couple. As scientists, we should be able to admit "I don't know" is not a failure - it is a challenge and the reason many of us studied science in the first place, to figure shit out, or at least advance our knowledge.

As things are going, the point will be moot for our current civilization.