92992653
submission
wisebabo writes:
In this Science Daily article: https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencedaily.com%2Fr... "Where is everybody? The Implications of Cosmic Silence", the retired astrophysicist Daniel Whitmire explains that using the principle of mediocracy (a statistical notion that says, in the absence of more data, that your one data point is likely to be "average"), that not only are we the first intelligent life on earth but that we will likely be the ONLY (and thus the last) intelligent life on this planet. (Please look at the article for details of his argument)
Unfortunately that isn't the worst of it
What this means, is that coupled with the "Great Silence", it implies that the reason we haven't heard from anyone is that intelligent life, when it happens anywhere else in the universe, doesn't last and when it does it flames out quickly and takes the biosphere with it (preventing any other intelligent life from reappearing. Sorry dolphins!). While this is depressing in a very deep sense both cosmically (no Star Trek/Wars/Valerian universes filled with alien civilizations) and locally (we're going to wipe ourselves out, and soon) it is perhaps understandable given our current progress towards reproducing the conditions of the greatest extinction event in earth's history: https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2017%2F0...
So not only are we the first, only and last intelligent organisms on earth but intelligent life when it occurs in the universe will be short lived, will happen just once, and will thus will be utterly isolated (separated from any possible equals by the gulfs of cosmic space and time).
Just thought you'd enjoy some cheery thoughts for a relaxing Sunday
90534789
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wisebabo writes:
From the I'm-sad-that-it's-coming-to-this department
Well, if you've been following the climate story for the last twenty years, estimates as to how bad it's gonna get keep getting worse not better. If that isn't enough to convince climate change denialists, then perhaps the second consecutive coral bleaching event in the Great Barrier reef should make them reconsider their position. While it may eventually recover (when the temperatures someday return to normal and the seas someday recede) it won't be within the lifetime of humanity. So for all intents and purposes it's gone for good.
Only fools fight in a burning house. (Klingon proverb.) Humanity is just showing why we're fools
90534217
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wisebabo writes:
Until now, researchers had not had a good way to study how people actually experienced what is called "epiphany learning."
In new research, scientists at The Ohio State University used eye-tracking and pupil dilation technology to see what happens as people figured out how to win a strategy game on a computer.
"We could see our study participants figuring out the solution through their eye movements as they considered their options," said Ian Krajbich, co-author of the study and assistant professor of psychology and economics at Ohio State.
"We could predict they were about to have an epiphany before they even knew it was coming."
This might be useful to determine when you are trying to teach a difficult subject to someone who you're afraid might be inclined to just nod their head. Or maybe this is how the Voight-Kampff test works. (Are you a replicant?) http://www.bfi.org.uk/are-you-...
90529957
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wisebabo writes:
Salty diet makes you hungry, not thirsty
In a study carried out during a simulated mission to Mars, an international group of scientists has found exactly the opposite to be true. 'Cosmonauts' who ate more salt retained more water, weren't as thirsty, and needed more energy.
So if you don't want to gain weight on your trip to mars don't eat salty chips. If you don't want to gain weight at home, maybe you should stay away from them as well.
89115017
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wisebabo writes:
Say goodbye to our little whiskered friends!
So there is an (approved?) effort to wipe not just any species, (there's been discussions to wipe out the mosquitos that carry Malaria), but a MAMMAL. Specifically the house mouse which, along with other invasive species introduced by Westerners, have ravaged New Zealand's ecosystem. (Amongst other things they've rendered extinct many of the flightless birds there). They'll try using the "Gene Drive" which is a new genetic weapon made possible by the editing system CRISPR-cas9 (very new but even now being taught in my course on genetic engineering). Basically, it'll make all of the the children of the genetically engineered mice MALE and then all of their children MALE and so on. This'll continue until there are no females left and the population will crash. If this is successful, they want to use this technique on other species until ALL of the predators on New Zealand are wiped out.
(I doubt if they will use this on the biggest, most damaging predator of all...) (No I didn't say Trump)
35087303
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wisebabo writes:
Of course they'll still be restricted to the equestrian events (ha ha).
One wonders if they'll be allowed to do the same in say horse or dog racing. It'll then just come down to the ability of the jockeys I guess (or training).
I wonder why they don't make all Olympic athletes use the same exact "equipment" as their competitors. That would get rid of situations like with those super efficient swimsuits that were banned. Of course they really should return to the spirit of the original Games and compete NAKED. That would really improve ratings! (But it would make the winter games rather hazardous.)
When do you think cloning ATHELETES will become legal? That's something I wouldn't put past the old USSR/East European Block. Remember the "women" atheletes they sent?
34880177
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wisebabo writes:
I think it was Newton who said that if you knew the position and velocity of every particle in the universe, you could predict the future down to the effect the flutter of a sparrows wing would have on the weather.
Aside from quantum indeterminacy (which of course he knew nothing about) and questions of free will, it is clear we are a long long way from getting even close to the theoretical limits of prediction. Still here's something that, to me, is very impressive.
Some researchers manage to track raindrops (or snowflakes) in front of a light and, IN REAL TIME, change the beam so that they are not illuminated! Voila! Drastically reduced glare! Obvious application for driving cars in inclement weather etc.
I'm hoping that we're entering a new age where computers (and cheap sensors) have become so powerful as to make possible a whole host of "magical" (like Arthur C. Clarke predicted) applications. So life will rapidly get better and better until the Singularity. :) Or Robot Apocalypse. :(
28159342
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wisebabo writes:
So, anybody going to write a program looking for artificial sequences? (primes, fibonacci, integers).
Wouldn't a good way to attract attention "cheaply" would be to put up some (very) big solar sails in orbit around a star to modulate (and maybe collect!) its output? With "micro-transits" being a preferred way to find extra-solar planets, somebody looking could stumble across this.
26921760
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wisebabo writes:
So here's a proposal by NASA to send landers to Europa to look for life. They are sending TWO landers because of the risks in landing on Europa.
They got that right! First is the 500 million mile distance from the sun which will probably necessitate RTGs (I know Juno uses solar panels but they are HUGE) and will cause at least an hour time lag for communications. Then there is the intense gravitational field of Jupiter which will require a LOT of fuel to get into Jovian and then Europan orbit. (It's equivalent to traveling amongst the inner planets!) The radiation in Jupiter space is tremendous, the spacecraft may need to be "armored" like Juno. Landing on Europa is going to be crazy, first there will not be any hi-res maps of the landing areas (unlike Mars) and even if there were, the geography of Europa might change due to the shifting ice. Since there is no atmosphere, it'll be rockets down all the way; very expensive in terms of fuel like landing on the moon. Finally, who knows what the surface is like; is it a powder, rock hard, crumbly or slippery?
In a couple respects, looking for life on Titan (already landed one simple probe) would be a lot easier: DENSE atmosphere, no radiation, radar mapped from space, have knowledge of surface). If only we could do both!
26088606
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wisebabo writes:
I just noticed that not only are ALL Afghans going to have their biometric data (fingerprints and iris scans) recorded but:
"Gathering the data does not stop at Afghanistan’s borders, however, since the military shares all of the biometrics it collects with the United States Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security through interconnected databases."
Talk about "know thine enemy" (or I guess, for now, friend!).
I wonder if the U.S. has a similar deal with the Indian govt. (which is doing the same thing). Or, if they don't, are they planning to hack the database and get it for themselves (I'm sure it'd fit on a single terabyte HD). Does this foretell the near future when the U.S. govt. (and by extension, Chinese hackers) have the biometrics of almost everyone alive?
I really hope Facebook doesn't get this!
24304026
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wisebabo writes:
In another universe, it would be on its way to Europa by now. (2011 by Arthur C. Clarke).
Anyone know what orbital plane/altitude it's at? Can it be reached by NASA/Soyuz? Are the docking ports compatible? How about the air pressure/breathing mix?
24133712
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wisebabo writes:
Unbelievable.
23220046
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wisebabo writes:
So as the article says, the Chinese have proposed sending a solar sail driven probe to hit the asteroid Apophis to make sure it has no chance of going through a "keyhole" near earth in 2029. If it goes through the keyhole then it will hit the earth seven years later.
The reason why they need to use a solar sail is because they want the very small probe (10kg?) to hit the asteroid in the opposite direction, a retrograde orbit which would otherwise require an insane amount of fuel (after being put on an escape trajectory it would need to first cancel out the earth's orbital momentum and then basically speed up to a likewise high velocity in the OPPOSITE direction). They are doing this to hit the asteroid at a very high impact speed.
While Apophis may not literally be capable of wiping us out (it "only" weighs 46 million kilograms) it might be able to wreck our civilization. So rather than putting the fate of our species into the hands of an untried technology (no solar sail has yet imparted substantial delta-V to its spacecraft) may I suggest an alternative? By using Jupiter as a gravity assist we could send a much heavier probe to hit it at comparable speeds. For example the Juno spacecraft, recently launched to the gas giant weighs almost 8000kgs.
Jupiter could sling a spacecraft around so as to completely cancel its orbital momentum (with no fuel expenditure!). Then it will fall directly towards the sun and, if guided correctly, could hit Apophis broadside. Considering it will be falling from a height of several hundred million miles it would pack quite a blow. Admittedly, the impact will be on the side rather than head on but that should be okay since all we have to do is assure that Apophis doesn't pass through the keyhole which is only 600m wide.
Don't get my wrong, I hope that solar sails become widely used for the (slow, cheap) transport of cargos in the solar system. It's just that I wouldn't base the defense of earth on them. Then again, if you were able to very accurately control the asteroid impactor, not only could you control IF the asteroid was going to go through the keyhole but WHERE it was going to go through. Then you could determine where, on earth, the asteroid was going to eventually going to hit.
Say on an unfriendly nation (that was preferably on another continent).
14673480
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wisebabo writes:
Wallpaper utility (that presents purloined copyrighted material) "quietly collects personal information such as SIM card numbers, text messages, subscriber identification, and voicemail passwords. The data is then sent to www.imnet.us, a site that hails from Shenzen, China."
Unlike some previous flame baiting stories, this one surely is "news for nerds, stuff that matters".
9533774
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wisebabo writes:
I thought it would be funny if you could put this article as soon as possible after your other article "Directed Energy Weapon Downs Ballistic Missile":
http://tech.slashdot.org/story/10/02/12/1350222/Directed-Energy-Weapon-Downs-Ballistic-Missile?art_pos=2
Actually, this application of lasers would hopefully be in use a long long time before we ever had to use lasers to stop ballistic missiles. (I don't ever want to have to rely on a beam of light being the only thing between me and a ballistic missile). Nathan Myhrvold (of Microsoft fame) demonstrated at TED a laser (built from parts scrounged from eBay) capable of shooting down not one but 50 to 100 mosquitos A SECOND. Not only that but the system is "so precise that it can specify the species, and even the gender, of the mosquito being targeted". Currently, for the sake of efficiency, it leaves the males alone (because only females are bloodsuckers, ain't that true!). Estimated cost? $50!
Maybe that's too expensive for use in preventing malaria in Africa but I'd buy one in a second! You can see it in action at: http://intellectualventureslab.com/ (Site was very slow but maybe it's because I am connecting from Thailand).
Until mosquitos evolve tin foil hats, we'll get the upper hand! (Can you tell I really really hate mosquitos?)
