Finally back from my vacation and ready to jump back into this blog. I've updated the exoplanet links and replaced the old poll with a new one. You can go to Polls to see the archived results of past polls.
The results of the last poll was interesting - at least to me. As much as I am deeply interested in the search for exoplanets and the discovery of alien life, I am conservative when it comes to the matter of contacting any alien civilization. Should we purposefully beam messages to the stars? For me there is a hesitation as there are possible risks involved that need to be kept in mind. But 85% of those responding to the poll said they thought we should purposefully beam messages to the stars. I would love to hear why you all believe we should.
Showing posts with label updates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label updates. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Introduction Updated
The introduction has been updated, and a link to it placed prominently on the right side bar to make it easier to find for newcomers.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Blog template tweaks
I am tweaking the blog template to allow me to have a table of contents; I'm playing with different solutions to see which one I can live with, thus the table of contents will work off and on for the next half hour.
UPDATE: The Table of Contents is now functioning within normal parameters (OK, so I watch Star Trek, which I am sure few will be surprised by).
UPDATE: The Table of Contents is now functioning within normal parameters (OK, so I watch Star Trek, which I am sure few will be surprised by).
Monday, July 21, 2008
Hello, or, Is This Thing On?
Mea culpa for being away for so long. Some family matters (no, not the TV show) kept me busy, as well as moving offices (home office and work office).
Stay tuned, there is much to discuss.
Stay tuned, there is much to discuss.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Where's the Kaboom? - Updated
Has a month passed already? I have a stack of science magazines, and a virtual stack of science e-newsletters to wade through. But more importantly, I have a stack of papers to grade. The other stacks will have to wait. All the best laid plans of mice and men...
Lately, the one question on my mind related to Alien Realities is "should we actively try to make contact with other planetary civilizations?" IF distances between solar systems are such that viable physical travel between them is virtually impossible, then there is little physical danger and thus, little reason to fear contact. Psychological, sociological, theological, and cultural dangers are another topic - we don't need physical contact to still be affected. Many scientists so far say interstellar travel is highly impractical: the energy costs are enormous (maybe close to infinite) and the time needed generational. Also, the speed of light does seem to be ultimate speed barrier, and there are no workarounds that seem viable. For instance, many feel that wormholes are not a viable workaround, despite what one my favorite Sci-Fi series uses for their main means of interstellar travel - as they would require far too much energy, and can not be controlled. But just because we can't see any viable "workaround" at present doesn't mean there are not any.
There are other assumptions at work here as well: what may be a generational travel for us (would take many generations of people to get there) may not necessarily be a generational trip for an extremely long lived alien species. They may not mind the long separation from loved ones (if they even feel such emotions, or have such emotional equivalents).
Also, in such a large universe, could there not be a species that is so xenophobic for whatever reasons (even reasons that may not make sense to us) that they are willing to send out a barrage of weapons toward our planet at the first sign of our existence? The weapons may take hundreds or thousands of years to reach us, but that doesn't make it impossible for a alien society from launching them. On the other hand, if they are that xenophobic, launching an attack would broadcast their presence, and they would need to ensure that their weapons could 1) approach completely undetected and 2) completely destroy their target - otherwise a retaliatory response could be mounted against them. Though as we see too often with our own species, intelligence and wisdom do not always go hand in hand - there is no reason to assume alien species would always have increased wisdom with increased intelligence or increased knowledge.
I think we have to be very careful. The old Bugs Bunny cartoon where Marvin the Martian cavalierly wants to destroy the Earth because it gets in the way of his view of Venus could have a kernel of chilling truth to it.
Lately, the one question on my mind related to Alien Realities is "should we actively try to make contact with other planetary civilizations?" IF distances between solar systems are such that viable physical travel between them is virtually impossible, then there is little physical danger and thus, little reason to fear contact. Psychological, sociological, theological, and cultural dangers are another topic - we don't need physical contact to still be affected. Many scientists so far say interstellar travel is highly impractical: the energy costs are enormous (maybe close to infinite) and the time needed generational. Also, the speed of light does seem to be ultimate speed barrier, and there are no workarounds that seem viable. For instance, many feel that wormholes are not a viable workaround, despite what one my favorite Sci-Fi series uses for their main means of interstellar travel - as they would require far too much energy, and can not be controlled. But just because we can't see any viable "workaround" at present doesn't mean there are not any.
There are other assumptions at work here as well: what may be a generational travel for us (would take many generations of people to get there) may not necessarily be a generational trip for an extremely long lived alien species. They may not mind the long separation from loved ones (if they even feel such emotions, or have such emotional equivalents).
Also, in such a large universe, could there not be a species that is so xenophobic for whatever reasons (even reasons that may not make sense to us) that they are willing to send out a barrage of weapons toward our planet at the first sign of our existence? The weapons may take hundreds or thousands of years to reach us, but that doesn't make it impossible for a alien society from launching them. On the other hand, if they are that xenophobic, launching an attack would broadcast their presence, and they would need to ensure that their weapons could 1) approach completely undetected and 2) completely destroy their target - otherwise a retaliatory response could be mounted against them. Though as we see too often with our own species, intelligence and wisdom do not always go hand in hand - there is no reason to assume alien species would always have increased wisdom with increased intelligence or increased knowledge.
I think we have to be very careful. The old Bugs Bunny cartoon where Marvin the Martian cavalierly wants to destroy the Earth because it gets in the way of his view of Venus could have a kernel of chilling truth to it.
"Where's the Kaboom? There's supposed to be an Earth-shattering Kaboom?" - Marvin the Martian.On such an uplifting note I will leave for now, but shall return to this topic from time to time.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Finally!
Finally! Grading is over, and our short quarter break is about to begin. I will be attending to the backlog of science articles and press releases during this time, and will thus be posting in earnest shortly.
Oh, and if you are in school, or have a child who is, thank your teacher for all the work they put in. Making syllabi, tests, quizzes, assignments and grading them, plus finishing administrative paperwork, as well as advising students and, finally, attending committees and meetings, makes for long, and too often thankless, days! OK, so maybe I am feeling a big melodramatic, but I feel I earned it today!
OK, diversion/digression is over. Next post will be on an Alien Realities' topic.
Oh, and if you are in school, or have a child who is, thank your teacher for all the work they put in. Making syllabi, tests, quizzes, assignments and grading them, plus finishing administrative paperwork, as well as advising students and, finally, attending committees and meetings, makes for long, and too often thankless, days! OK, so maybe I am feeling a big melodramatic, but I feel I earned it today!
OK, diversion/digression is over. Next post will be on an Alien Realities' topic.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Update: Bad Link Removed - Blog Back Up
This morning I discovered I could not access my blog - a widget I had added from Galaxiki.org some time back was suddenly asking for a password instead of just showing the solar system I "adopted." This had the unfortunate effect of making it very difficult to load my blog.
I removed the offending widget.
I have no doubt many others, who have a Galaxiki widget installed, are having the same problem. Their entire website is asking for a password - it may be that it has been hacked by someone who is enjoying the temporary power they have exerted over their fellow beings. Seems there are better ways to get attention, there is power in doing good works with one's talents, and attention - but that's a topic for other blogs, not this one.
My apologies for any inconvenience this caused.
I removed the offending widget.
I have no doubt many others, who have a Galaxiki widget installed, are having the same problem. Their entire website is asking for a password - it may be that it has been hacked by someone who is enjoying the temporary power they have exerted over their fellow beings. Seems there are better ways to get attention, there is power in doing good works with one's talents, and attention - but that's a topic for other blogs, not this one.
My apologies for any inconvenience this caused.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Update - Comments
Mea culpa to those who wanted to post a comment but were met with the "Google account" restriction. That setting has been changed - you do not need a Google account to be able to post a comment.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Comments Are Welcomed!
Just wanted to take a moment to emphasize that comments are most certainly welcomed. Comments that challenge, correct, or debate are as welcomed as those that add to, support, or pose additional questions. This blog is an discovery process and a brainstorming process for me, and, I hope, for others as well, and it is helped along by comments.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Update
The post Drake Equation has been updated - the javascript error has been corrected again (blogger loves to insert break tags on you if you are not careful), and some additional information and commentary included.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Methuselah - Addendum
The Methuselah - 13 Billion Yr Old Planet (Garden of Eden?) post has been updated, thanks to a reader's feedback who correctly pointed out that I mislabeled M4 as an open cluster. I also addressed the issue of the low metallic nature of early globular clusters more clearly - early stellar nurseries should not be capable of producing planets, yet here we have at least one that was formed 13 billion years ago. The probability of life forming on that planet is rather low (at least life as we know it) as it is most likely a gaseous planet, but not zero. And it does raise the possibility (this blog is about speculation, after all) that other ancient planets exist - including a smaller terrestrial planet orbiting in the same system as Methuselah which current methods do not allow us to detect. And that raises the possibility, even if a slim one, that life did arise far earlier in the universe than first thought.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Links Updated
The Exoplanet Links have been updated: not only have I added more links, but I have also divided the Astrobiology links from the Exoplanet Links, giving each their own section.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)