[ohfqxoiv] Durable descriptions of electronics

The Clock of the Long Now avoids electronics in favor of a purely mechanical construction on the grounds that mechanical is easier to understand its workings and to repair.

Instead, consider using electronics and accompanying the electronics with mathematical descriptions of what the electronics are supposed to do, perhaps engraved into the clock case.

The advantage is that mathematics can perfectly and precisely describe function.  A future engineer can know for sure that a repair is correct.  In contrast, a future engineer attempting to repair a corroded, worn-down mechanical part has to guess at what the part originally did.  One can imagine considerable subtlety in gear tooth design that has gotten destroyed over time; after mechanical repair, the clock never works quite right again.

Bluespec might be an elegant language to describe electronics.