Chinahand Posted February 26, 2009 Author Share Posted February 26, 2009 Not yet Lao. It looks like the TED site has an awesome range of talks on it. Most less than 20 minutes long so pretty digestable. This one awes me about how the power of genetics and information technology is allowing just amazing advances in medicine (all dependent on evolutionary theory too - hey DjDan don't you think its only a theory - hope you never get infected by Parainfluenza-4) - shit it nearly made me say bugger it and go back and study some good old detailed specific knowledge. While Robert Wright - who's book non-zero really inspired me - goes the other way - accumulating lots of general knowledge to ask questions about morality and how to stop conflict in a world where doing so is getting ever easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinahand Posted June 8, 2009 Author Share Posted June 8, 2009 The latest issue of Evolution: Education & Outreach is all about transitional fossils. All the articles are free to view, you don't even need to register. I'd love to hear the opinion of any people who are doubtful about evolution science - DjDan, MarcusAurelius These are first rate scientific articles explaining the evolution of such species as whales, birds, dinosaurs, marine reptiles, giraffes, mammals. Each article goes into fantastic detail of the latest science - if it goes over your head, just look at the photos and drawings of fantastic fossils and embyronic research documenting the history of life going back millions of years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manxman2 Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 (edited) do you believe earth is the only planet evolution is in progress on china. whats your feelings about planet earth being seeded many millions of years ago. i find this kind of topic very interesting especially now science has advanced enough to recognise that bacteria can survive in dormant states for in excess of 100,000 years. even some mosses are still viable after 40,000 years in the perma frosts. Edited June 14, 2009 by manxman2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinahand Posted June 14, 2009 Author Share Posted June 14, 2009 Manxman2 - obviously I have no evidence whatsoever and so this is entirely speculation, but I do expect that there is life elsewhere in the universe. Basic amino acids and similar such building blocks of DNA are found in meteorites and their chemical spectrum has been measured in space. Because of this I would expect life to probably be DNA based if it was found elsewhere There is a property of organic molecules called chirality - its basically handedness - its as though all living molecules are left handed or whatever - if life was found else where and it had a different chirality it would be evidence that life evolved independently and wasn't from a common origin. I'm a little sceptical of the idea that life has been seeded throughout the universe - Fred Hoyle is the theories most famous proponent. For local systems like Mars and Earth its more feasible - I'm really looking forward to the more advanced probes to get there and do some more exploring if life was found it would be awesome, if there was evidence of a common origin it would be intriging, while evidence of independent origins would open up the idea of a universe teaming with life - but I am more sceptical of seeding occuring between interstellar systems. The distances are so trully vast that for me it seems a bit unfeasible - the dates you quote are out by 100s if not thousands - the molecules cannot travel too fast or the energy to speed them up would damage them, but the distances mean cosmic rays etc will destroy them in the timescales needed to cross the interstellar voids. Those constraints make me think life if it does exist will probably have a common chemistry - the building blocks of which seem reasonably ubiquitous - but not a common origin. Obviously we've only got our one example, but life appeared within a billion years or so of the earth cooling down - I think it is unfeasible to assume this cannot not happen in a similar sized planet orbiting in a habital zone of another star - as we've already found such planets (google Gliese 581 d) then I do think its probable that life exists elsewhere. But the distances are so great I'm sceptical we'll ever be able to confirm our specualation directly - Fermi's paradox would seem to underestimate the distances involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slim Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 But the distances are so great I'm sceptical we'll ever be able to confirm our specualation directly - Fermi's paradox would seem to underestimate the distances involved. Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manxman2 Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 (edited) the dates you quote are out by 100s if not thousands i didnt quote dates or distances .. i was merely enquiring were you open to the theory. .. and i have just in the last week been reading about the time scales i refered to so i will try to source them again. also this is a subject i have spent hundreds of hours on over the last 30 yrs it fascinates me to be honest .. but its not something you can normally discuss in a sensible manner on any forum as the dickheads wade in. and i would also put my neck on the line as to say with the incalcuable amount of earth like planets out there it is virtually impossible that what happened here on this planet is a singular occurance. however my interest sprang from being a lifelong subscriber of janes defence weekly {until shortly after i got online} and alternative technologies. .. never been a little green men philosophist. .. just the tech side really. also there is one 10 second piece of shuttle footage out of hundreds of hours of live footage downloaded live from the shuttle/space station that i watch over and over again i have never heard/read anyone else mention it .. but this little segment is a truly amazing 10 seconds and i would like your sober and level headed view on it china. however i do not want to go off topic on a thread you have spent good time on so i am going to pm it to you.. Edited June 14, 2009 by manxman2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manxman2 Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 (edited) But the distances are so great I'm sceptical we'll ever be able to confirm our specualation directly - Fermi's paradox would seem to underestimate the distances involved. Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space. quite correct slim theres more suns in the milky way than there are grains of sand on the whole planet. .. all those suns have orbiting planets the actual number is incalcuable as we do not yet have the computing power to reach the conclusion. and the milky way galaxy itself is just one of billions of viewable galaxies. no need to take my word on this however .. take wikis. The Milky Way, sometimes called simply the Galaxy, is the galaxy in which the Solar System is located. It is a barred spiral galaxy that is part of the Local Group of galaxies. It is one of billions of galaxies in the observable universe. and the universe is just one of trillions. so basically slim i agree its pretty damn big out there. Edited June 14, 2009 by manxman2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alibaba Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 Here's a cool picture showing just how big space actually is http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/2706/spaceb.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lao Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 all of that space, all that mass of creation, just to house the planet earth? creationists actually believe that a 'god' made all of this empty space for the purpose of this one planet. what a waste! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinahand Posted June 14, 2009 Author Share Posted June 14, 2009 Here's a cool picture showing just how big space actually is http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/2706/spaceb.jpg Its also a really cool . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manxman2 Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 (edited) all of that space, all that mass of creation, just to house the planet earth? creationists actually believe that a 'god' made all of this empty space for the purpose of this one planet. what a waste! i think similar loa .. only my thoughts are what was the point of the dinosaurs and all if not to be viewed and marvelled at by intelligent eyes. roaming a green volcanic planet that was 30% richer in oxygen .. Edited June 15, 2009 by manxman2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slim Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 also there is one 10 second piece of shuttle footage out of hundreds of hours of live footage downloaded live from the shuttle/space station that i watch over and over again i have never heard/read anyone else mention it .. but this little segment is a truly amazing 10 seconds and i would like your sober and level headed view on it china. however i do not want to go off topic on a thread you have spent good time on so i am going to pm it to you.. Why don't you start another thread? quite correct slim theres more suns in the milky way than there are grains of sand on the whole planet. Pretty sure that isn't true. Our galaxy has a lot of stars, 100 billion +, but there's a lot more grains of sand in the world than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinahand Posted June 15, 2009 Author Share Posted June 15, 2009 also there is one 10 second piece of shuttle footage out of hundreds of hours of live footage downloaded live from the shuttle/space station that i watch over and over again i have never heard/read anyone else mention it .. but this little segment is a truly amazing 10 seconds and i would like your sober and level headed view on it china. however i do not want to go off topic on a thread you have spent good time on so i am going to pm it to you.. Why don't you start another thread? He did it an age ago - and I debunked it then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manxman2 Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 (edited) what did i do and what did you debunk china please. ? that thread you highlighted in your last post under IT i had completely forgotten about .. however i would hardly call that a debunk you purely speculating about NASAs motives. try debunking the PM i sent you on the points i make about alternative technology regardless of whose technology it is or letting talk of little green men creep into the discussion. do you still maintain even in the link i provided in january that they are ice crystals .. ice crystals clearly travelling behind the tether 100 nautical miles away. if so i will put a seperate thread up and we will see how many members think the majority travel behind or infront of the broken tethered satelite. forget the other link for a minute and debunk this. .. ice crystals space junk entering and leaving earths atmosphere and the forces involved in doing so not to mention taking a stationary position.. Edited June 15, 2009 by manxman2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manxman2 Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 also there is one 10 second piece of shuttle footage out of hundreds of hours of live footage downloaded live from the shuttle/space station that i watch over and over again i have never heard/read anyone else mention it .. but this little segment is a truly amazing 10 seconds and i would like your sober and level headed view on it china. however i do not want to go off topic on a thread you have spent good time on so i am going to pm it to you.. Why don't you start another thread? quite correct slim theres more suns in the milky way than there are grains of sand on the whole planet. Pretty sure that isn't true. Our galaxy has a lot of stars, 100 billion +, but there's a lot more grains of sand in the world than that. bbc reckoned so slim it was in their trailer for a week or 2 when advertising their universe documentary. .. lots of people must remember that incredible fact. but true slim style pick on a very very minor point in a posting to argue and derail a thread. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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