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Started by Kai, July 30, 2008, 10:04:06 PM

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Doktor Howl

Quote from: Brother Mythos on July 18, 2018, 03:57:28 PM
Quote from: Doktor Howl on July 18, 2018, 05:23:37 AM
Quote from: Brother Mythos on July 18, 2018, 05:03:44 AM
THIS WEEKLY SCIENCE HEADLINE MAY DEPRESS YOU

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED


What is the meaning of life? Ask a conservative

As per the article:

'A new USC Dornsife-led psychology study shows that conservatives, more so than liberals, report feeling that their lives are meaningful or have purpose.

"Finding meaning in life is related to the sense or feeling that things are the way they should be, and that there is a sense of order," said David Newman, a doctoral candidate at USC Dornsife's Mind and Society Center. "If life feels chaotic, then that would likely dampen your sense that life is meaningful."'

Here's the link: https://dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories/2837/what-is-the-meaning-of-life-ask-a-conservative/

My life has purpose.

Granted, that purpose is to make conservatives miserable.  BUT STILL.

So, you're really the Bowerick Wowbagger of Discordia.

Pretty much.

It's the end of the world, Brother Mythos, try to have fun.
Molon Lube

Brother Mythos

As Have you had sexual intercourse with an extraterrestrial yet? is the hot forum topic of the week, I think the below is an appropriate and timely post to the Weekly Science Headlines thread:

How can you tell if that ET story is real? St Andrews scientists revise the Rio Scale for alien encounters

As per the article:

'"The whole world knows about the Richter Scale for quantifying the severity of an earthquake; that number is reported immediately following a quake and subsequently refined as more data are consolidated," said Jill Tarter, co-founder of the SETI Institute. "The SETI community is attempting to create a scale that can accompany reports of any claims of the detection of extraterrestrial intelligence and be refined over time as more data become available. This scale should convey both the significance and credibility of the claimed detection.  Rio 2.0 is an attempt to update the scale to make it more useful and compatible with current modes of information dissemination, as well as providing means for the public to become familiar with the scale."

There have been many dubious signals reported as 'aliens' in recent years, and learning the truth about these stories is increasingly difficult. As such, an updated Rio Scale is required.'

Here's a link to the article description of the scientific paper: https://www.seti.org/how-can-you-tell-if-et-story-real-st-andrews-scientists-revise-rio-scale-alien-encounters

Or, download the entire scientific paper here: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-journal-of-astrobiology/article/rio-20-revising-the-rio-scale-for-seti-detections/DF9D6EABEA7D8D84999234BCFB3FADB4

I wonder how the detection of an image of extraterrestrial reproductive apparatuses would be rated on the updated Rio Scale. (I mean, from what I hear, reactions to the receipt of common, ordinary, human terrestrial "dick pics" tend to be all over the place.)
Discordianism is fundamentally mischievous irreverence.

chaotic neutral observer

Quote from: Brother Mythos on July 24, 2018, 11:29:18 PM
How can you tell if that ET story is real? St Andrews scientists revise the Rio Scale for alien encounters

Funny that they think they need a 0-10 scale for this.  A three point scale should be adequate.

1.  Sorry guys, false alarm.  Bob left his cellphone next to the downconverter again.
2.  We think we've got a local interferer or equipment malfunction, but we haven't found the cause yet.
3.  WE GET SIGNAL
Desine fata deum flecti sperare precando.

Doktor Howl

Quote from: chaotic neutral observer on July 25, 2018, 12:17:14 AM
Quote from: Brother Mythos on July 24, 2018, 11:29:18 PM
How can you tell if that ET story is real? St Andrews scientists revise the Rio Scale for alien encounters

Funny that they think they need a 0-10 scale for this.  A three point scale should be adequate.

1.  Sorry guys, false alarm.  Bob left his cellphone next to the downconverter again.
2.  We think we've got a local interferer or equipment malfunction, but we haven't found the cause yet.
3.  WE GET SIGNAL EVERYONE GRAB A CLUB

FTFY w/respect to "human".
Molon Lube

Prelate Diogenes Shandor

#1174
Quote from: Brother Mythos on July 18, 2018, 05:03:44 AM
THIS WEEKLY SCIENCE HEADLINE MAY DEPRESS YOU

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED


What is the meaning of life? Ask a conservative

As per the article:

'A new USC Dornsife-led psychology study shows that conservatives, more so than liberals, report feeling that their lives are meaningful or have purpose.

"Finding meaning in life is related to the sense or feeling that things are the way they should be, and that there is a sense of order," said David Newman, a doctoral candidate at USC Dornsife's Mind and Society Center. "If life feels chaotic, then that would likely dampen your sense that life is meaningful."'

Here's the link: https://dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories/2837/what-is-the-meaning-of-life-ask-a-conservative/

This is within expectations. Filling people's lives with meaning and a sense of belonging is the hallmark of dangerous cults. These findings place the Republican party alongside the ranks of the People's Temple, Heaven's Gate, the Church of Scientology, Rajneeshpuram, Aum Shinrikyo, the Manson Family, the Westboro Baptist Church, and Al-Qaeda
Praise NHGH! For the tribulation of all sentient beings.


a plague on both your houses -Mercutio


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrTGgpWmdZQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVWd7nPjJH8


It is an unfortunate fact that every man who seeks to disseminate knowledge must contend not only against ignorance itself, but against false instruction as well. No sooner do we deem ourselves free from a particularly gross superstition, than we are confronted by some enemy to learning who would plunge us back into the darkness -H.P.Lovecraft


He who fights with monsters must take care lest he thereby become a monster -Nietzsche


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHhrZgojY1Q


You are a fluke of the universe, and whether you can hear it of not the universe is laughing behind your back -Deteriorata


Don't use the email address in my profile, I lost the password years ago

Brother Mythos

Space experts worry US won't make it to Mars by 2030s

As per the article:

"The United States has vowed to send the first humans to Mars by the 2030s, but space experts and lawmakers on Wednesday expressed concern that poor planning and lack of funds will delay those plans."

Here's the link: https://phys.org/news/2018-07-space-experts-wont-mars-2030s.html

My initial response to the caption of this article was something like, "No kidding!"

The last time a man walked on the Moon, which is pretty close as celestial distances go, was December 14, 1972. That's nearly forty-six (46) years ago.

The last NASA manned space flight, with a space shuttle, was July 21, 2011. That's slightly over seven (7) years ago.

The next NASA manned space flight with an Orion spacecraft won't be until 2023, as near as I can tell. That's five (5) years from now. That's also a twelve (12) year gap between generations of spacecraft, if NASA can keep to the current schedule.

The first flight to Mars, as near as I can tell, won't be until 2036. And then, it will only be a "fly around," not an actual landing. So, that's eighteen (18) years from now, and thirteen (13) years after the first scheduled manned flight of the Orion spacecraft.

I suspect some tech billionaire will get a manned spacecraft to Mars well before NASA gets there.
Discordianism is fundamentally mischievous irreverence.

Prelate Diogenes Shandor

Quote from: Brother Mythos on July 28, 2018, 03:21:53 AM
Space experts worry US won't make it to Mars by 2030s

As per the article:

"The United States has vowed to send the first humans to Mars by the 2030s, but space experts and lawmakers on Wednesday expressed concern that poor planning and lack of funds will delay those plans."

Here's the link: https://phys.org/news/2018-07-space-experts-wont-mars-2030s.html

My initial response to the caption of this article was something like, "No kidding!"

The last time a man walked on the Moon, which is pretty close as celestial distances go, was December 14, 1972. That's nearly forty-six (46) years ago.

The last NASA manned space flight, with a space shuttle, was July 21, 2011. That's slightly over seven (7) years ago.

The next NASA manned space flight with an Orion spacecraft won't be until 2023, as near as I can tell. That's five (5) years from now. That's also a twelve (12) year gap between generations of spacecraft, if NASA can keep to the current schedule.

The first flight to Mars, as near as I can tell, won't be until 2036. And then, it will only be a "fly around," not an actual landing. So, that's eighteen (18) years from now, and thirteen (13) years after the first scheduled manned flight of the Orion spacecraft.

I suspect some tech billionaire will get a manned spacecraft to Mars well before NASA gets there.

Yeah, honestly, what 1950's science fiction movie did they get that 2030 figure from? Unless of course they didn't specify living humans; I think they could probably get an urn up there.
Praise NHGH! For the tribulation of all sentient beings.


a plague on both your houses -Mercutio


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrTGgpWmdZQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVWd7nPjJH8


It is an unfortunate fact that every man who seeks to disseminate knowledge must contend not only against ignorance itself, but against false instruction as well. No sooner do we deem ourselves free from a particularly gross superstition, than we are confronted by some enemy to learning who would plunge us back into the darkness -H.P.Lovecraft


He who fights with monsters must take care lest he thereby become a monster -Nietzsche


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHhrZgojY1Q


You are a fluke of the universe, and whether you can hear it of not the universe is laughing behind your back -Deteriorata


Don't use the email address in my profile, I lost the password years ago

minuspace

Quote from: Brother Mythos on July 28, 2018, 03:21:53 AM
Space experts worry US won't make it to Mars by 2030s

As per the article:

"The United States has vowed to send the first humans to Mars by the 2030s, but space experts and lawmakers on Wednesday expressed concern that poor planning and lack of funds will delay those plans."

Here's the link: https://phys.org/news/2018-07-space-experts-wont-mars-2030s.html

My initial response to the caption of this article was something like, "No kidding!"

The last time a man walked on the Moon, which is pretty close as celestial distances go, was December 14, 1972. That's nearly forty-six (46) years ago.

The last NASA manned space flight, with a space shuttle, was July 21, 2011. That's slightly over seven (7) years ago.

The next NASA manned space flight with an Orion spacecraft won't be until 2023, as near as I can tell. That's five (5) years from now. That's also a twelve (12) year gap between generations of spacecraft, if NASA can keep to the current schedule.

The first flight to Mars, as near as I can tell, won't be until 2036. And then, it will only be a "fly around," not an actual landing. So, that's eighteen (18) years from now, and thirteen (13) years after the first scheduled manned flight of the Orion spacecraft.

I suspect some tech billionaire will get a manned spacecraft to Mars well before NASA gets there.
Please to close refrigerator, drool make floor slippery.

Brother Mythos

Can We Terraform Mars to Make It Earth-Like? Not Anytime Soon, Study Suggests

(The scientific paper this article describes is not available for free.)

As per the website article:

'For many years, Mars has existed as a hopeful "Planet B" — a secondary option if Earth can no longer support us as a species. From science-fiction stories to scientific investigations, humans have considered the possibilities of living on Mars for a long time. A main staple of many Mars-colonization concepts is terraforming — a hypothetical process of changing the conditions on a planet to make it habitable for life that exists on Earth, including humans, without a need for life-support systems.

Unfortunately, according to a new paper, with existing technologies, terraforming Mars is simply not possible. According to authors Bruce Jakosky, a planetary scientist and principal investigator for NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN mission studying the Martian atmosphere, and Christopher Edwards, an assistant professor of planetary science at Northern Arizona University, it just isn't possible to terraform Mars with current technologies.

To successfully make Mars Earth-like, we would need to raise temperatures, have water stably remain in liquid form and thicken the atmosphere. In the paper, Jakosky and Edwards explained that, by using greenhouse gases already present on Mars, we could, theoretically, raise temperatures and change the atmosphere enough to make the planet Earth-like. The only greenhouse gas on the Red Planet that's abundant enough to provide significant warming is carbon dioxide (CO2), they noted. Unfortunately, they found, there just isn't enough CO2 on Mars to make the planet Earth-like.'

Here's the link: https://www.space.com/41318-we-cant-terraform-mars.html

In addition, the article does not address how Mars would maintain a thick atmosphere, even if one could be generated, without the existence of a planet-size magnetic field.

So, it appears terraforming Mars is still only a science-fiction concept.

Discordianism is fundamentally mischievous irreverence.

Doktor Howl

Mars is not a goal.  The Moon was a dance step back when Chuck Berry was still freaking the fuck out.  Mars is the same dance step being done poorly in a Vegas residence act by Axl Rose.

There is nothing new to be gained from Mars.  There is no heroism in Mars.  There is no reason for Mars. 

Now, if you were sending robots or people to find out why its smaller moon is so damn weird, I could kinda almost see that.  Otherwise, build robots for the asteroid belt.
Molon Lube

LMNO


axod

QuoteIn addition, the article does not address how Mars would maintain a thick atmosphere, even if one could be generated, without the existence of a planet-size magnetic field.

Because it would only take 1, maximum 2 teslas to induce a magnetosphere.
just this

Brother Mythos

Quote from: Doktor Howl on August 02, 2018, 04:07:13 PM
Mars is not a goal.  The Moon was a dance step back when Chuck Berry was still freaking the fuck out.  Mars is the same dance step being done poorly in a Vegas residence act by Axl Rose.

There is nothing new to be gained from Mars.  There is no heroism in Mars.  There is no reason for Mars. 

Now, if you were sending robots or people to find out why its smaller moon is so damn weird, I could kinda almost see that.  Otherwise, build robots for the asteroid belt.

Quote from: LMNO on August 02, 2018, 07:36:05 PM
Upvote.

Believe it or not, I do not disagree.

When I'm extremely bored, want to exercise my brain, and want to make some amusing use of my science and engineering education, I occasionally try my hand at writing, what I consider to be, realistic science-fiction. (I post my stuff on another site, under another nom de plume.)

To make a very long story short, I currently think O'Neill Cylinders, placed in planetary or solar orbit, are the way to go for humanity to successfully live in space, and maintain our earthly physiology. (I think that permanently living in anything less than normal Earth gravity will result in permanent physiological changes, that will prevent those humans that that do so from ever returning to planet Earth.)

I also think Enzmann Starships are the way to go if humanity is ever going to travel in interstellar space. And, in order to do that, I think we're going to have to "mine" large quantities of helium-3 from the gas giant planets in our solar system. (As well as the gas giants in the new systems that we visit.) I think Saturn is the best bet in our system, because in spite of the distance, the gravity and radiation hazards are lower than Jupiter.

In the long run, I doubt Mars will ever amount to much more than a tourist destination. I doubt that any of the resources available there are worth the expense, when compared to the low gravity stuff floating around further out.

If anyone else has enough interest in this particular subject to discuss it further, I'm sure one of the mods would be amenable to splitting these posts off to make a new, dedicated thread.
Discordianism is fundamentally mischievous irreverence.

Brother Mythos

Quote from: axod on August 02, 2018, 11:32:11 PM
QuoteIn addition, the article does not address how Mars would maintain a thick atmosphere, even if one could be generated, without the existence of a planet-size magnetic field.

Because it would only take 1, maximum 2 teslas to induce a magnetosphere.

I do not believe that creating an artificial magnetosphere around an entire planet is a trivial undertaking.
Discordianism is fundamentally mischievous irreverence.

Doktor Howl

Quote from: Brother Mythos on August 03, 2018, 12:24:43 AM
Quote from: Doktor Howl on August 02, 2018, 04:07:13 PM
Mars is not a goal.  The Moon was a dance step back when Chuck Berry was still freaking the fuck out.  Mars is the same dance step being done poorly in a Vegas residence act by Axl Rose.

There is nothing new to be gained from Mars.  There is no heroism in Mars.  There is no reason for Mars. 

Now, if you were sending robots or people to find out why its smaller moon is so damn weird, I could kinda almost see that.  Otherwise, build robots for the asteroid belt.

Quote from: LMNO on August 02, 2018, 07:36:05 PM
Upvote.

Believe it or not, I do not disagree.

When I'm extremely bored, want to exercise my brain, and want to make some amusing use of my science and engineering education, I occasionally try my hand at writing, what I consider to be, realistic science-fiction. (I post my stuff on another site, under another nom de plume.)

To make a very long story short, I currently think O'Neill Cylinders, placed in planetary or solar orbit, are the way to go for humanity to successfully live in space, and maintain our earthly physiology. (I think that permanently living in anything less than normal Earth gravity will result in permanent physiological changes, that will prevent those humans that that do so from ever returning to planet Earth.)

I also think Enzmann Starships are the way to go if humanity is ever going to travel in interstellar space. And, in order to do that, I think we're going to have to "mine" large quantities of helium-3 from the gas giant planets in our solar system. (As well as the gas giants in the new systems that we visit.) I think Saturn is the best bet in our system, because in spite of the distance, the gravity and radiation hazards are lower than Jupiter.

In the long run, I doubt Mars will ever amount to much more than a tourist destination. I doubt that any of the resources available there are worth the expense, when compared to the low gravity stuff floating around further out.

If anyone else has enough interest in this particular subject to discuss it further, I'm sure one of the mods would be amenable to splitting these posts off to make a new, dedicated thread.

I don't actually see any point to interstellar travel.  Honest to "Bob".  There is nothing out there that we want that isn't HERE, and if we aren't smart enough to clean up our act here, we are not smart enough to survive even short term anywhere else.

Also, there's probably aliens, and they're just as likely to be as stupid and obnoxious as we are.

No, we're better off staying here and trying to figure out how to live as clouds of smart particles or something.  Inner space is where it's at.
Molon Lube