100 billion planets

[jj2007]

I get the distinct impression that EDGAR is actually an extra-terrestrial,...

No, just working for them  :bg

[dedndave]

if they want to find intelligent life, they have to aim at something besides earth   :bg

[donkey]

I get the distinct impression that EDGAR is actually an extra-terrestrial,...

'Fraid not, as you can see from my yearbook picture I'm entirely human:

[dedndave]

Edgar's appearance doesn't change much when he dons his new hockey mask...

[Vortex]

If we are the only intelligent species in the Universe then all when need to cry... After ruining this nice blue planet, what makes us so special to be one in the whole Universe?

[oex]

.... Every action we perform, everything we have thought to date may be the learning curve of a planned global AI system embedded in our biological hardware, taking into account the expected environmental parameters over the last 400,000,000 years.... Like a neural network uncoiling for a singular purpose beyond our scope of comprehension....

That smacks of Theism or begs the question what is the communication method used to direct the AI. I believe in the more chaotic model, everything is coincidence but the problem with coincidence in a unary system is that it can never appear that way until we have something to compare it to. Once we have a valid statistical base to study the issue of why we are here I'm confident that the answer will be "no reason, we're just here".

Edgar

That is an interesting point Edgar and I believe in the more chaotic model also I just dont believe that *we* were neccessarily born of chaos as there was enough time before life evolved on earth for it to have evolved many other times in many other places.... It's like believing we are first generation human beings because we can not remember anything before us or believing chickens are grown in packages in supermarkets.... Imagine the monitoring of life systems we might be doing in 1000 or even 10,000 years in other solar systems and the whole startrek genesis idea whilst sparse in science would then have more than enough technological input....

[vanjast]

God moves in mysterious ways...

You should have seen him at the 70's disco inferno?
:green2

[dedndave]

 :bg
we watched the movie "Starsky and Hutch" last night
gawd - disco really did suck - lol

disco   :tdown
cheerleaders   :thumbu

[whakamaru]

Agree with donkey.  There are two big problems, 1. the distance iissue. Although there are lots of stars, the universe is so big.  Someone has calculated that the average distance between starts which MIGHT have an earth-like planet, (ie, right size, right age, right temperature etc) is 1200 light years , so any message is meaningless.  2.  What I call the "Time window". There has been intelligent life on earth for ... 600 million years?  There has been radio-telescopes for 60 years. So the time window is open one ten-millionth of time.  SETI is a total waste of effort.

[vanjast]

I hope this was a side project, instead of pouring $$ to repeat what Carl Sagan told us yonks ago  :eek

disco   :tdown
cheerleaders   :thumbu

Hmm... dancing girls... hoola hoola !!

[dedndave]

yah - that movie has Carmen Electra and Amy Smart as cheerleaders 

as for the planets thing
i saw they had found several new "earth-like" planets
from the limited information that the article gave, the criteria was all about being in the "temperate zone" of the star
my understanding is that, for a planet to be habitable, the system also needs a large planet (like our Jupiter) to pull all the space debris (asteroids, comets, etc) toward it

[FORTRANS]

Agree with donkey.  There are two big problems, 1. the distance iissue. Although there are lots of stars, the universe is so big.  Someone has calculated that the average distance between starts which MIGHT have an earth-like planet, (ie, right size, right age, right temperature etc) is 1200 light years , so any message is meaningless.  2.  What I call the "Time window". There has been intelligent life on earth for ... 600 million years?  There has been radio-telescopes for 60 years. So the time window is open one ten-millionth of time.  SETI is a total waste of effort.

Hi,

   Unless you think trilobites as intelligent, your timing is off by
a few magnitudes.  Try (for relatively modern humans) 125
thousand years.  Or around 6 (to 8?) thousand since the invention
of writting.

Cheers,

Steve N.

[vanjast]

..the system also needs a large planet (like our Jupiter) to pull all the space debris (asteroids, comets, etc) toward it

That's probably what they are hoping... a large planet (or sun) can also pull a big rock into the habital planet.
:wink

[carlos]

While the distances involved in space travel are enormous. not everything is lost, and we may reach the stars in the future ....... provided we don't vaporise ourselves in a nuclear war (or apophis didn't hit us, (or the Mayans are wrong.....))

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcubierre_drive

Carlos