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Milky Way Inhospitable?
tdfunk writes "Space.com reports that life in the universe may be more rare than previously thought.
In an article published today, Space.com quotes Guillermo Gonzalez, an Iowa State University researcher, who has studied the structure of our galaxy and has concluded that life may not be as common as we may have believed. Apparently, conditions around the Milky Way Galaxy are generally less hospitable than once thought.
No wonder all the UFOs and Aliens come to Earth, their looking for a place to live and no where else will do.
99.9999% or more of it is empty space, a near vacuum. What do we pay these scientists for again? :)
I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
A Milky Way is quite hospitable. Leave one on your back porch. It'll be teeming with ant life pretty darn quick.
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"Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
Doesn't that assume that the life forms will be something like us? Terry Bisson has a great perspective on this from his short story/play "They're Made Out of Meat":
"They use the radio waves to talk, but the signals don't come from them. The signals come from machines."
"So who made the machines? That's who we want to contact."
"They made the machines. That's what I'm trying to tell you. Meat made the machines."
"That's ridiculous. How can meat make a machine? You're asking me to believe in sentient meat."
"I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. These creatures are the only sentient race in the sector and they're made out of meat."
"Maybe they're like the Orfolei. You know, a carbon-based intelligence that goes through a meat stage."
"Nope. They're born meat and they die meat. We studied them for several of their life spans, which didn't take too long. Do you have any idea the life span of meat?"
"Spare me. Okay, maybe they're only part meat. You know, like the Weddilei. A meat head with an electron plasma brain inside."
"Nope. We thought of that, since they do have meat heads like the Weddilei. But I told you, we probed them. They're meat all the way through."
"No brain?"
"Oh, there is a brain all right. It's just that the brain is made out of meat!"
"So... what does the thinking?"
"You're not understanding, are you? The brain does the thinking. The meat."
"Thinking meat! You're asking me to believe in thinking meat!"
"Yes, thinking meat! Conscious meat! Loving meat. Dreaming meat. The meat is the whole deal! Are you getting the picture?"
"Omigod. You're serious then. They're made out of meat."
"Finally, Yes. They are indeed made out meat. And they've been trying to get in touch with us for almost a hundred of their years."
Read the rest here (it's very short).
wait a second, how can you be so sure we are more intellegent than pond scum, hell they could be plotting to destroy us as i type this;)
If it is 7-10,000 light years away wouldnt that mean that if it went off then it would take at least that many years to get here? If thats the case then im not worried
Make it idiot-proof and someone will build a better idiot.
(* If it is 7-10,000 light years away wouldnt that mean that if it went off then it would take at least that many years to get here? If thats the case then im not worried *)
You must be an Enron accountant.
Table-ized A.I.