General Space Thread

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thibodeaux
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Post by thibodeaux »

Re the Drake eq: because it's a product of uncertain terms, the uncertainty is multiplied. It literally does nothing but INCREASE the uncertainty of the possibility of ET life.

An oldie but goodie is Michael Crichton on the subject:
http://www.s8int.com/crichton.html
Leisher
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Post by Leisher »

Literally an infinite amount of possibilities for life. Fossils of life have been found on asteroids and recently on Mars.

So to say that the absence of evidence proves there is no other intelligent life out there is beyond ridiculous. I mean we have found evidence of life or former life in our own solar system. Also, as Catt points out, that "observable" universe is a big disclaimer they would inevitably lean on if ALF showed up tomorrow.

Also, as I've stated here multiple times, you should really probably believe if you don't. Trust me.
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Post by TheCatt »

Leisher wrote: Fossils of life have been found ... on Mars.
Show me your proof? Google says no.
Leisher wrote: I mean we have found evidence of life or former life in our own solar system
We have not.
Leisher wrote: Also, as Catt points out, that "observable" universe is a big disclaimer they would inevitably lean on if ALF showed up tomorrow.
Observable means the universe is quite large. And there may be intelligent life places too far for us to know.
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Post by Leisher »

TheCatt wrote: Show me your proof? Google says no.
Google has a lot of articles to sift through.

Also, meteorite from Mars has fossils from 3.6 billion years ago.

And there's the conspiracy theory ones...
TheCatt wrote: We have not.
Fair. Maybe they were out of towners.
TheCatt wrote: Observable means the universe is quite large. And there may be intelligent life places too far for us to know.
Yes, but "observable" is always changing and will again soon as there are two more super telescopes coming online.
“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
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Post by TheCatt »

Leisher wrote: Google has a lot of articles to sift through.

Also, meteorite from Mars has fossils from 3.6 billion years ago.
Your 4th link comments on those two articles.
The initial discovery of the so-called Mars meteorite was greeted with acclaim and the rock unveiled at a standing room-only briefing at NASA headquarters in Washington.

Since then, however, criticism has surrounded that discovery and conclusive proof has been elusive.
At this point, we have nothing.
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Post by Leisher »

TheCatt wrote: At this point, we have nothing.
Oh horse pussy. Sometimes scientists like to trip themselves up because they're naturally dicks. :D

We can't even prove life began here on Earth.

All the building blocks are out there in infinite combinations on infinite worlds in infinite conditions. Thinking we're the exception is folly.

Also, trust me.
“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
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Post by TheCatt »

Leisher wrote: Thinking we're the exception is folly.
I don't think we're the exception, but are we the exception RIGHT NOW? How long has humanity been really able to observe the universe with much fidelity? A few decades? How long as the universe existed, billions of years? How close are we to wiping out our own civilization, intentionally or otherwise? Within the past billion years, maybe a civilization existed, and survived at our level (or more) for 1 million years. That's still 0.1% of that window. Why has life taken billions(?) of years to evolve on Earth?
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Post by Leisher »

TheCatt wrote: Why has life taken billions(?) of years to evolve on Earth?
I find it interesting that we can prove evolution, but not that life was started on Earth.
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Post by GORDON »

We can reproduce early earth conditions, throw the life ingredients in, and watch while.simple cells form just using basic physical laws, in a lab, and it isn't even hard.

Basically, while there isn't conclusive "proof" of.evolution, there doesn't exist a single shred of falsifiable evidence that says "god did it.". Zero. If there was a single speck, the theory of evolution would fall. But there isn't. So it hasn't.
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Post by TheCatt »

Leisher wrote: but not that life was started on Earth.
That feels hard to prove.
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Post by Leisher »

TheCatt wrote:
Leisher wrote: but not that life was started on Earth.
That feels hard to prove.
That's what she said...
“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
Vince
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Post by Vince »

GORDON wrote:Basically, while there isn't conclusive "proof" of.evolution, there doesn't exist a single shred of falsifiable evidence that says "god did it.". Zero. If there was a single speck, the theory of evolution would fall. But there isn't. So it hasn't.
Most current evolutionary theories were recently broken. Or at least banged up pretty hard.
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Post by GORDON »

Landmark new research that involves analyzing millions of DNA barcodes has debunked much about what we know today about the evolution of species.
Debunked? Suggesting it was bunk, in the first place? Is the entire article so biased? Because I stopped there. That isn't the language of science, that's journalists and editorialists.

At any rate, unless they are stating that there's no ancestors on record for these new species, and their phylum and species just appeared out of fucking nowhere, with literally no link to the rest of the evolutionary tree, then what does it mean?
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Post by Vince »

"... and then I was forced to walk the Trail of Tears." - Elizabeth Warren
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Post by Leisher »

I think the study is implying more that we're missing something, which would be completely understandable. "Begging your pardon sir, but it's a big ass evolution." (Ok, that's not the exact quote...)
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Post by TheCatt »

So... still evolution.
"The simplest interpretation is that life is always evolving," said Stoeckle.

"It is more likely that—at all times in evolution—the animals alive at that point arose relatively recently."

In this view, a species only lasts a certain amount of time before it either evolves into something new or goes extinct.
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Post by GORDON »

Yeah, there's nothing getting DEBUNKED. It would be on every major TV news source. That's wishful thinking.

The fossil record is intact.
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Post by Vince »

Leisher wrote: I think the study is implying more that we're missing something, which would be completely understandable. "Begging your pardon sir, but it's a big ass evolution." (Ok, that's not the exact quote...)
Yes. Or maybe a few somethings. That 90% of all species emerged at the same time (as man) without some sort of mass extinction type event was a surprise. Something had to have triggered that, otherwise we'd be seeing a new species emerge every couple of years. Which would mean less than 90% of the species would be that old. It gets very circular.

I was actually reminded of SimLife when I first read this. I remember playing it and it was kind of more challenging than SimCity. You populated a planet with different plants and animals and let things go and see if you've created a balanced ecology (narrator: "You didn't"). So you ended up watching everything dwindle down to a few and then you dumped a bunch more different critters onto the planet. So that thought made me think about the theory that some have that we are living in a simulation. Which I suppose would be a god, just not what people usually think of as God. But that would also mean (as I've sometimes suspected) that Douglas Adams was a prophet.
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Post by GORDON »

SimLife was tough. I never mastered it.
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Post by Vince »

GORDON wrote: Yeah, there's nothing getting DEBUNKED. It would be on every major TV news source.
Not sure about that. Try finding a google article on this.
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