Interesting News, Articles & Stuff

florduh

Well-Known Member
One of American History's most unlikable losers has chimed in again.


This dummy:

1) Voted for the Iraq War. I'm sure she thought the college kids protesting against that war back then were dumb too. They were 100% right and she was disastrously wrong.

2) Personally spearheaded America stabbing Gaddafi in the back with a violent coup. Her exact quote was "We came, we saw, he died [villainous, cackling laughter]". Libya is now a humanitarian disaster with open slave markets in the 21st century.

3) Lost a layup election to an absolute clown, plunging America into a bizarre dark age we may never escape from. Her only job ever has been Politics, a pursuit she is insanely bad at.

If this was my humiliating and atrocious résumé, I would at least have enough shame and self-awareness to go away and shut the fuck up forever :shrug:
 

GetLeft

Well-Known Member
GetLeft,
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florduh

Well-Known Member
and to think in an alternate universe biden could have been the democratic nominee

I don't remember the exact palace intrigue, but he was going to run. And he would've won in a landslide! 2016 was before his brain turned to soup.

For all the sexism allegations he put up with, Bernie begged Elizabeth Warren to run in 2016 too. He only threw his hat in because she refused. I also think she would've won. IMO, Democrats went with maybe the only person in their party capable of losing to that dipshit game show host. And now the whole world has to keep suffering the consequences.
 

florduh

Well-Known Member
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We're basically in a situation where every astronomer on earth is saying that a comet is about to hit the Earth. Best case scenario, life will be significantly worse for every human being. There is also a very real chance it could end human civilization as we know it. And no one really seems to give a shit.

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CANtalk

Well-Known Member
A severe solar storm is bringing an incredible aurora forecast for Friday tonight! go Canada 👍

noaa-just-issued-the-severe-g4-level-geomagnetic-storm-v0-vk9a1vcp0gzc1.jpeg





:peace: :leaf:
 

coolbreeze

Well-Known Member
O3n9D6VKEZwy.png


We're basically in a situation where every astronomer on earth is saying that a comet is about to hit the Earth. Best case scenario, life will be significantly worse for every human being. There is also a very real chance it could end human civilization as we know it. And no one really seems to give a shit.

1*FzsnF3vyKpNidj_mwtYNwg.jpeg
Ever wonder what the Great Filter looks like? We're looking at it.
 

CANtalk

Well-Known Member
:uhh:

Louisiana Court Blocks Congressional Map That Fixed Racial Discrimination Against Black Voters After White Voters Sue, Claiming It Damaged Their ‘Personal Dignity’​


:peace: :leaf:
 

florduh

Well-Known Member

In a study published in the Oxford journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Academy of Sciences, a group of scientists have found 7 possible stars that may be surrounded by a Dyson Sphere.

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It looks like many of the 7 candidates are within a few hundred lightyears of Earth. IMO, it's bad news if there are aliens advanced enough to surround an entire star or star system with a megastructure that close to us :shrug:
 

Radwin Bodnic

Well-Known Member

In a study published in the Oxford journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Academy of Sciences, a group of scientists have found 7 possible stars that may be surrounded by a Dyson Sphere.

frasercain_scientific_illustration_of_a_dyson_sphere_the_sphere_59595d2a-69b4-405f-b5c9-8698e45861e3-768x768.jpg


It looks like many of the 7 candidates are within a few hundred lightyears of Earth. IMO, it's bad news if there are aliens advanced enough to surround an entire star or star system with a megastructure that close to us :shrug:

I'm convinced that a Dyson sphere would devastate the natural ecosystem of any livable planet in this specific solar system.

Can you imagine a world that is 100% artificial ? That's what we're talking about. How would it be to live on this world ? Wouldn't life degenerate at one point ?
Life can't rely only on technology. Life is about balance between a billions parameters and complexes cycles. But moreover life is biodiversity : a total intrication of life beings at any scale. Life need this diversity and I can't imagine a Dyson sphere could be compatible with maintaining that level of diversity and balance.
 
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florduh

Well-Known Member
I'm convinced that a Dyson sphere would devastate the natural ecosystem of any livable planet in this specific solar system.

I think you're right, if you literally build an impenetrable shell around an entire star system. Wouldn't that eventually cook everything inside?

There are other options though.


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A Dyson Swarm would involve millions or billions of tiny satellites that harvest much, but not all of the energy produced by a star. I don't think something like that would kill everything living in the star system.

I didn't read the entire paper, but I believe many of those Dyson Sphere candidates are probably not inhabited systems. Aliens may have thrown up a sphere around only the star, not an entire solar system. And are simply exporting that energy to their home system or using it for some other project.

A few years ago, there was another a paper published suggesting it is possible to harvest the energy of a black hole.


I think the most interesting aspect of the recent Dyson Sphere paper though is the authors' idea that there is evidence of massive alien engineering projects hiding in data we've already collected.

While I think discovering such structures nearby would be bad, maybe I'm wrong. Given the age and size of our galaxy, it is creepy that we haven't found a single example of an alien species becoming advanced enough to build these structures. So far, it looks like something prevents life from reaching that level of development.
 

Radwin Bodnic

Well-Known Member
So far, it looks like something prevents life from reaching that level of development.
That's what some people think and they are really convincing.


To me this just reveal how much we should focus on our own planet and ecosystem and start treating it like it should be : the most precious thing we will ever have.

imho, infinite technological development is something that will destroy social development and natural resources, making it impossible not to threaten our civilization if not our entire planet.
 

florduh

Well-Known Member
imho, infinite technological development is something that will destroy social development and natural resources, making it impossible not to threaten our civilization if not our entire planet.

I somewhat disagree. Technological progress isn't the problem. Our economic system is. A system that prioritizes shareholder value over everything else and demands infinite growth within a finite system.

For example, the invention of cold fusion would be a boon to human and non-human life on Earth.

To me this just reveal how much we should focus on our own planet and ecosystem and start treating it like it should be : the most precious thing we will ever have.

Completely agree here. We all rolled a Natural 7 being born on this paradise planet and look what we're doing. I think we can have a prosperous technologically advanced society that also preserves the natural world for future generations. But we can't have that AND our current conception of capitalism.

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Radwin Bodnic

Well-Known Member
I somewhat disagree. Technological progress isn't the problem. Our economic system is. A system that prioritizes shareholder value over everything else and demands infinite growth within a finite system.

For example, the invention of cold fusion would be a boon to human and non-human life on Earth.

Agree to disagree. I'm pretty sure technological progress isn't sustainable at all. Cold fusion seem to be a myth. But even if it's not, how do you invent it and how do you make it accessible to all humans beings without extracting gigatons of metals and others needed elements ? With which energy do you extract the copper needed to vehicle electricity ? How do you make this copper available all around the world ?

(Edit : says the guy typing on a computer).

Locally sourced Low tech could be sustainable. But we're back to the XVIII th century.
 

TigoleBitties

Big and Bouncy
I somewhat disagree. Technological progress isn't the problem. Our economic system is. A system that prioritizes shareholder value over everything else and demands infinite growth within a finite system.

For example, the invention of cold fusion would be a boon to human and non-human life on Earth.

Agree to disagree. I'm pretty sure technological progress isn't sustainable at all. Cold fusion seem to be a myth. But even if it's not, how do you invent it and how do you make it accessible to all humans beings without extracting gigatons of metals and others needed elements ? With which energy do you extract the copper needed to vehicle electricity ? How do you make this copper available all around the world ?

(Edit : says the guy typing on a computer).

Locally sourced Low tech could be sustainable. But we're back to the XVIII th century.
Technological progress poses problems but not because of anything inherent in the technology. A knife can be used to cut steak or to kill someone. It's a neutral object. I submit it's the user that's the problem.

We could blame our economic system but who is behind the systems in place? People created them.

We are the problem it seems. If you believe in evolution (hope so!) you will find it interesting that homo sapiens outcompeted or interbred and were the last of the all the hominins left standing.

I think we're innately tribal and we compete for resources still every day. It seems very easy to trigger the "us" and "them" response in humans unfortunately. We've been at war with each other since our existence.

I don't know if our supposed advantage, our big brains, will ever allow us to rise above this behavior that seems imprinted in our DNA.
 

cybrguy

Putin is a War Criminal
"Trump’s own supporters are leaving during his rally right now while he’s speaking. This is embarrassing for him. (per
@aliyareports)"

These are probably the ones who were paid money to show up for the cameras, but were only paid an hour so left at the end of the hour.
 

florduh

Well-Known Member
I think we're innately tribal and we compete for resources still every day. It seems very easy to trigger the "us" and "them" response in humans unfortunately. We've been at war with each other since our existence.

I don't know if our supposed advantage, our big brains, will ever allow us to rise above this behavior that seems imprinted in our DNA.

I think this is more or less the old argument for capitalism that humans are naturally greedy and cruel. To that I say...so what? Rape is perfectly natural. No one during Neanderthal times would have a moral issue with rape. But 99% of people living today find rape to be reprehensible. So we pass laws against this perfectly "natural" behavior.

Maybe humans are naturally tribal, cruel and greedy. Does that mean we should build an economic system that encourages and rewards these behaviors? To me, that is insane.

The fact is, none of this is written in the sky or our DNA.

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Edit: I just want to make sure I'm not coming across like a dick to you guys ( @TigoleBitties and @Radwin Bodnic). You guys are clearly correct. We're not doing a good job at this whole technologically advanced global civilization thing. I'm just saying, I don't think it HAS to be that way.
 
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macbill

Oh No! Mr macbill!!
Staff member
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TigoleBitties

Big and Bouncy
I think this is more or less the old argument for capitalism that humans are naturally greedy and cruel. To that I say...so what? Rape is perfectly natural. No one during Neanderthal times would have a moral issue with rape. But 99% of people living today find rape to be reprehensible. So we pass laws against this perfectly "natural" behavior.
No, not at all. That's an example of us evolving in a good direction. Prohibiting rape. Sadly, these advances take a glacial amount of time and human rights advances that are won can easily be stripped away in many countries. Abortion anyone?
Maybe humans are naturally tribal, cruel and greedy.
Well, all historical evidence so far sadly does seem to indicate this. At the very least, the most greedy and most tribal have a disproportionate influence.
Does that mean we should build an economic system that encourages and rewards these behaviors? To me, that is insane.
I don't think we should do this. However it's not just my decision.
So we get a bunch of people together and call them a government and have them hammer out the economic system. What happens in every case? Put enough humans together and tribalism, greed, whatever you want to call it, leads to corruption far, far more often than not. Not saying we can't get better but our track record isn't encouraging.

We have inertia along this path and objects in motion, tend to stay in motion... It's sad.
The fact is, none of this is written in the sky or our DNA.

quote-card-graeber.png


Edit: I just want to make sure I'm not coming across like a dick to you guys ( @TigoleBitties and @Radwin Bodnic). You guys are clearly correct. We're not doing a good job at this whole technologically advanced global civilization thing. I'm just saying, I don't think it HAS to be that way.
No offense taken! I love the discourse. I don't know if it's written in our DNA that we're doomed for sure. No one does. But imo the data is discouraging.
 
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