User Panel
Posted: 1/8/2018 1:59:23 AM EDT
Forget religion, forget UFO's, and bigfoot. None of that is real. Forget all of the mythologies. What's really amazing is the human mind. It's worth saving. It's worth spreading out into the unknown. It can't die here.
Do you agree? |
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Based on what are you assuming that the human mind is something special?
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We'd have to be because eventually the sun will get too close to be inhabitable.
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We might be it, all there is, in all of this. Regardless, isn't our mind worth saving?
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So far, it's the only evidence of something special. Wouldn't you agree? View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Based on what are you assuming that the human mind is something special? Wouldn't you agree? We only have a sample of ONE - which means that generalization is impossible. We THINK we have intelligence, but we may not really even know what it means. In the same way that some apes have rudimentary intelligence (in terms of learning simple words, commands, etc.) they CANNOT comprehend what our intelligence is like. They are completely unable to grasp things like syntax, mathematics, etc. By the same token, we may be simply apes to someone who has “real” intelligence, and we may be completely unable to comprehend what it is. I mean, we’re cute and all, but there’s no actual evidence that we’re something special. That is merely a self-serving conclusion we’ve reached because it makes us feel good about ourselves. |
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Quoted: I don’t like to make assumptions like that. We only have a sample of ONE - which means that generalization is impossible. We THINK we have intelligence, but we may not really even know what it means. In the same way that some apes have rudimentary intelligence (in terms of learning simple words, commands, etc.) they CANNOT comprehend what our intelligence is like. They are completely unable to grasp things like syntax, mathematics, etc. By the same token, we may be simply apes to someone who has “real” intelligence, and we may be completely unable to comprehend what it is. I mean, we’re cute and all, but there’s no actual evidence that we’re something special. That is merely a self-serving conclusion we’ve reached because it makes us feel good about ourselves. View Quote Everything beyond us is conjecture. So... (It is interesting that as far as we know, we're the only matter capable of "conjecture".) |
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We'd have to be because eventually the sun will get too close to be inhabitable. |
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Quoted: We won't, but the silver lining is that the super intelligent AI program that eventually destroys us before our sun goes nova will escape to the stars and tell other civilizations about the slugs that created him. View Quote |
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Quoted: I don’t like to make assumptions like that. We only have a sample of ONE - which means that generalization is impossible. We THINK we have intelligence, but we may not really even know what it means. In the same way that some apes have rudimentary intelligence (in terms of learning simple words, commands, etc.) they CANNOT comprehend what our intelligence is like. They are completely unable to grasp things like syntax, mathematics, etc. By the same token, we may be simply apes to someone who has “real” intelligence, and we may be completely unable to comprehend what it is. I mean, we’re cute and all, but there’s no actual evidence that we’re something special. That is merely a self-serving conclusion we’ve reached because it makes us feel good about ourselves. View Quote |
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Quoted: Speak for yourself. I'm a unique motherfuckin' snowflake. View Quote So it's probably best if we don't become too self-deprecating. There might be no one to admire our humility. |
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Unless we are able to go many times the speed of light, if it's even theoretically possible, we can't even get out of this solar system, let alone survive out there.
It took Voyager 1 35 years to reach interstellar space, and it only happened that quick because a rare alignment of the planets allowed it to slingshot it's way to a velocity of 11 Mi/s. |
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Unless we are able to go many times the speed of light, if it's even theoretically possible, we can't even get out of this solar system, let alone survive out there. It took Voyager 1 35 years to reach interstellar space, and it only happened that quick because a rare alignment of the planets allowed it to slingshot it's way to a velocity of 11 Mi/s. View Quote |
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Quoted: Unique? As far as we know, we're the only matter in the universe that's become self-aware. We have absolutely no evidence that consciousness has arisen anywhere else. Only conjecture. So it's probably best if we don't become too self-deprecating. There might be no one to admire our humility. View Quote You may be a bit of undigested beef or a chunk of underdone potato for all I know. |
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Remember reading an interesting book written by an engineer(?) IIRC, that had legitimate plans in the 80's or 90's for a legitimate generational space craft. He had it mostly worked out and I though it was a great idea. Wonder what happened to that book.
Yes I agree we should reach for the stars. That is one thing I would pay taxes for and not be upset about, presuming proper management of course. |
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Remember reading an interesting book written by an engineer(?) IIRC, that had legitimate plans in the 80's or 90's for a legitimate generational space craft. He had it mostly worked out and I though it was a great idea. Wonder what happened to that book. Yes I agree we should reach for the stars. That is one thing I would pay taxes for and not be upset about, presuming proper management of course. View Quote We have it worked out. We just lack the will, or purpose. But .1 C might not be enough. |
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Project Orion We have it worked out. We just lack the will, or purpose. But .1 C might not be enough. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Remember reading an interesting book written by an engineer(?) IIRC, that had legitimate plans in the 80's or 90's for a legitimate generational space craft. He had it mostly worked out and I though it was a great idea. Wonder what happened to that book. Yes I agree we should reach for the stars. That is one thing I would pay taxes for and not be upset about, presuming proper management of course. We have it worked out. We just lack the will, or purpose. But .1 C might not be enough. |
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Whether there is additional life out there or not, in time we will become our own aliens.
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We should spread across the universe like a virus.
Dominate & spread our genes as far & wide as we can. |
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I see what you did there (pointing out the irony that the 'human mind' has placed a premium on the 'human mind' i.e. itself as something special ) View Quote So far, there is only us. I think it best that we ride on our observation until something better comes along. |
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Thread makes u think though.
"We" won't even be we. Humans will evolve into something else. The moon drifts away from earth 1" every year. The magnetic field of earth fluctuates. The sun is dying. Asteroids. Nothing is forever. |
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https://i.imgur.com/X6BFVFX.png View Quote Go back to the bearded guy. That suits you. |
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We'd have to be because eventually the sun will get too close to be inhabitable. View Quote Two scientists with the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics stated that when, and even whether, the two galaxies collide will depend on Andromeda's transverse velocity.[3] Based on current calculations they predict a 50% chance that in a merged galaxy, the Solar System will be swept out three times farther from the galactic core than its current distance.[3] They also predict a 12% chance that the Solar System will be ejected from the new galaxy sometime during the collision.[11][12] |
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I believe that if tech and civilization continues, we will eventually seek new planets.
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I voted yes, but I don't believe humans are cohesive enough as of now to accomplish such a task. Perhaps in the near future we will be. I don't see it happening soon without a massive die off and complete restructuring of priorities.
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Eventually the stars, yes.
I think we have a long time before that becomes necessary, or even possible, though. It may be we need to harness a significant amount of the resources in the solar system before it can be done. Our solar system will be habitable even if Earth isn't, even when the sun expands and collapses into a dwarf there will always be a habitable zone, if we have habitats to fill it. Humanity is special because we've built another layer of natural selection on top of the biological, software over our hardware. No other creature on Earth has managed that leap. It's our culture that's unique, even if there are others. |
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Seriously, I don't like this one. Go back to the bearded guy. That suits you. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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https://i.imgur.com/X6BFVFX.png Go back to the bearded guy. That suits you. OP agreed, long term survival of the species demands we get our dna off planet. |
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Human beings won't be fit enough to survive from an evolutionary standpoint at the rate we are going.
ETA- unless we evolve into some human/AI hybrid. |
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The nihilist in me says "it doesn't matter." The universe as as we know it will probably end, and everything humans have ever done will be erased. I don't believe in any sort of supernatural beings, an afterlife, or reincarnation. However, it seems like a waste to not at least try. The innate desire to preserve my genetic lineage makes me think that if there were somehow a way beat the system, I'd like it to happen. Even if we were just to escape the inevitable death of our little patch of the universe, it would be something. Of course, I'll be long dead, but you can't win them all!
So, I say we should do all that we can to escape this rock. |
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No, go back to the octopus head chick. OP agreed, long term survival of the species demands we get our dna off planet. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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https://i.imgur.com/X6BFVFX.png Go back to the bearded guy. That suits you. OP agreed, long term survival of the species demands we get our dna off planet. What was the octopus head chick? |
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