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Just an interesting story
Zayl
Veteran
http://www.fullmoon.nu/articles/art.php?id=tal
I thought it was a rather good read, thought provoking at least. Also illustrates how as a species, we need to embrace the idea of change. It is a bit long but all the same I enjoyed it.
I thought it was a rather good read, thought provoking at least. Also illustrates how as a species, we need to embrace the idea of change. It is a bit long but all the same I enjoyed it.
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But going back to the story, it was quite thought provoking and interesting to say the least. Like I said, I had just finished reading for a few hours and had grown tired of reading, so it must have had something within it to keep me going until the end.
His whole website is actually very interesting, I have been looking through a couple of the aticles on there, Thanks for the post :thumbsup:
Steven Hawkin recently said two things that have lodged themselves into my brain.
Firstly he said the human race has around 90 years before we run out of resources and space on which to live. So, that being said, we need to start to populate another planet. And I personally will take the guys word for it.
Secondly, he said that we should stop trying to communicate with other possible life forms out there because if they have the technology to actually get here, then they will obviously be vastly superior. In the world today and going back through history, what happens when a vastly superior race comes across another?? Basically first contact will most likely not be one of a friendly nature.
Going back to the story you posted, it is intriguing in the sense that it mirrors what we have to face, I put myself in the authors shoes for some moments and he probably was on the train in deep thought and came up with all of this in a brief form there are then.
I especially payed attention to the section about having the technology to wipe out the entire planet, but having the ability not to use it on any account, that is a true test but we have already made one step back on that one by dropping two nukes-but that did in fact prevent something maybe even worse from happening.
However I do think any first contact with another species, no matter how benign and kindhearted and understanding they are, would have some rather negative effects for us. Worldwide panic for one, and quite a few religions would collapse I'm sure. Not to mention we would probably not handle the new technology and scientific theories they would bring. Just communicating with us would probably have some sort of profound effect. I am just under the impression though that any species that has mastered such powerful technologies is one of understanding and intelligence, and that they would have had to embrace these traits with enthusiasm, because if not they more than likely would never have mastered them in the first place, if you get my meaning?
Not to mention they would clearly see us of having some sort of intelligence, so they would probably leave us alone, even if they knew we were here. Of course I am just speculating, but only so much as Hawking is. The thing is, no matter how educated you are it is completely impossible to know the whys and hows of a vastly superior alien species, it would be like trying to divine the mind of a deity. So both of our opinions on the matter carry the same weight, which is to say none. Though I do admit, I'd love for first contact to happen in my lifetime, no matter the consequences. After all, I am a human, and so is everyone else here. And what is a human's strongest trait? adaptability. So I think we'd be able to adapt to the new environment eventually, though to be sure it would in all likelihood be violent and tumultuous. Just think, walk up to an alien being, whatever what my be. and say "Why hello there, I am a Human." assuming there is some medium of communication we both can understand.
As for the resources bit, yeah I agree. As someone once said (I forget exactly who) "The Earth is Humanity's cradle, but one cannot eternally live in a cradle" One day we at the very least will master our own star system. It is inevitable, if we do not destroy ourselves first. As for interstellar travel, well who is to say. There is no feasible way for us to accomplish that, not yet. But believe it or not we DO have the capability to easily travel within our own solar system, even to the outer rim within a reasonable amount of time. Though no serious research and development has been dumped into these. If the U.S. spent half as much on R&D for these as they do on their military, we could be colonizing another planet within the century or sooner. Look some of this up, I'm not even kidding. One design which is fully functional and would work has a big old pressure plate on the rear of the craft. You then drop a nuke behind it which would then detonate. The plate would catch this force and the ship would accelerate. Subsequent charges could be dropped to increase the speed, then you just ride on the inertia. To slow down the craft would just turn around and reverse the process until it came to a halt.
The only thing stopping this is some regulations regarding nuclear detonations in space. Which is silly, done far enough away from a planet, the blasts would have a laughable amount of radiation when compared to other sources of naturally occurring radiation in space, not to mention the detonation vaporizes any debris from the charge itself. I forget the timetables, but I think it could reach Mars within a week or two? give or take of course.
Well anyway, sorry for the long read. I'm an astronomy buff, so anything dealing with space gets my rocks off. Throw in Human destiny along with it? hell.
That being said and relating it to your comment and the story, if an alien species has mastered such a technology, then would have to be skillful with the power in the first place. Just like the mind, if one can actually be skillful with the mind, one can attain liberation.
I am and always have been facinated with space, but my memory on some of the facts are shady, but even in our own solar system, once you get past mars there is an asteroid belt if I am not mistaken, or maybe it is after saturn, that would prove troublesome. I can name off the planets in order easily due to a handy rhyme our physics teacher taught us
The thing with colonizing another planet is of course the conditions have to be correct unless we resort to teraforming which could be done on mars I guess. But if we consider the first option, even at the speed of light the closest star is way too far away for it to even be possible to begin thinking about. That would suggest that we would need to find short-cuts and master the highways and by-ways of space
Teraforming mars seems like the better option though, start with a setup of greenhouse type enclosures and continue from there. I watched something about it ages ago, if you were able to flood the atmosphere with certain gases, it could create a livable environment. But like I stated, my memory avaids me.
I want first contact to happen in my lifetime as well, whatever the outcome may be. We are lucky to be around at such a point in our species lifetime if you consider how far we have come in the last 100 years compared to the 500 years before that 100 years, so it is not something that should be written off as crazy. USA even has planned documents for such an event, first contact here on earth that is, and most likely do other countries. Maybe it is one reason why we hold on to our military as well as other reasons..