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The Science of Star Wars
anonymous lion writes "National Geographic has an interesting interview with a couple of scientists on the scientific reality of Star Wars. For example, related to the cohabitation of humans and Gungans on NabooSeth Shostak states, "So maybe it's possible to share, as long as neither species has the technology to obliterate, enslave, or merely cook and eat each other.""
what about that emotion called fear,
fear of nuking the whole planet keeps everyone in line.
related to the cohabitation of humans and Gungans on NabooSeth Shostak states, "So maybe it's possible to share, as long as neither species has the technology to obliterate, enslave, or merely cook and eat each other.""
Doesn't that qualify more as "The Sociology of Star Wars"?
Look, normally I am against genocide, but if I found a pile of gungans on my planet... nuke the fuckers.
...by the Bad Astromer. Still, I can never get enough of nitpicking sessions on Hollywood science. :-)
That's all you need to know about the "science" of Star Wars.
Something I never understood: in the first movie, the Death Star blows up Alderaan. Then at the end, the Death Star is moving in on Yavin. How did the Death Star get to the Yazin system? Are we to assume that it can movie around at light speed?
We can't even get on with others that have diffent skin and cultures than us, let alone genes...
Wookie Sandwiches!!! That Rocks
For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother.
The sad part of this is, that my dad and I once had this conversation a couple of years back (related to the original 3 Star Wars). He always kept nit-picking at them, explaining to me that Luke should have two shadows (if I remember correctly Tattooine had 2 suns, I could be wrong). I guess thats what I get for having a physics teacher for a father.
YOU'RE WINNER !
Another lame blog
did i miss something.. i ... i though starwars was about making money..
'...if only "Jumping to a Conclusion" was an event in the Olympics.'
This is nearly as irrelevant as that ten page report about caffeine. So much for real geography :/
RIP NGS
Well, that's all well and good, but massive underwater nuclear warfare has unknown (probably rather devastating) consequences on the environment as a whole. A decidedly better option is to create a briefcase-sized tactical neutron device and have carriers go inside the enclosed urban habitat to detonate.
TSIA.
Brackets contain world's first nanosig, highly magnified:[.]
> So maybe it's possible to share, as long as neither species has the
> technology to obliterate, enslave, or merely cook and eat each other.
What a crock. Forget the tech and look to morals and clue for the answer. How many countries on THIS planet have the tech to "obliterate, enslave or cook" most of the rest of the population? Obviously it isn't a techological limit. And besides, those Gungans appeared to have a fair bit of tech themselves.
Democrat delenda est
The secret's out, people. Now everyone knows that Star Wars is not actually "hard" science fiction!
At least they didn't do a study or anything.
Wired is going to do a feature on the Programming Logic behind the Matrix
They begin the article with the admittance that this is a galaxy far different from our own, with faster than light travel, etc, then they keep comparing it to our own galaxy. Just because in our universe we may not play nicely with another civilization, doesn't mean that they can't cohabitate peacefully. We are talking about a galaxy that is built on the force, which creates it's own balance amongst its inhabitants. So while there are races that are war hungry, you'd have to believe that most people fall in the middle which means living with each other without constant war. So I don't think this article holds much water.
"Plans are for fools! Oglethorpe, the plutonian (Aqua Teen Hunger Force)
I think it may require some creative use of math in order to scientifically explain Star Wars phenomena...
derivative = used to explain aliens in TPM that conveniantly conform to racist stereotypes from Earth.
l = new constant used to explain how, as time increases, Han goes from shooting first, then second, then at the same time as an enemy. l standing for lameness, of course.
continuity = Leia remembers mother?
eccentricity = What was going on Lucas's head with regards to Midichlorians
hyperbola = NoooooooOOOOOOOOOOoooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
etc.
There was a book published with this exact title many, many years ago.
2 209584/103-6435152-7840603?v=glance
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/031
In short, there's no science in the movies at all. None. And everyone should know that.
So Obi and Qui Gon find Anakin infested with force bacteria. Qui Gon says he's make a good Jedi. Yoda says hell no he's to freaking old. The kid is what? four.
Well, spoiler coming, turns out that wasn't the best idea. As Yoda predicted he went to the dark, a bunch Jedis got it in scenes reminiscent of the original Godfather.
Somehow Obi makes it. Hooks up with Luke eighteen years later and says, basically, screw it four years old may be too old to be a Jedi but eighteen is no problem. No freakin way a half assed jedi could get turned to the dark side and make things even efffin worse. I'll train Luke.
Fake science I can live with, clear jedi incompetence is a bit harder.
Human civilization is approx. 4000 years old. In that time we have pretty much closed the technology gap of the vairous tribes of humanity. We can all forge metal, we can all make things move via petroleum based products, we can kill each other with projectiles ect...
In 10,000 the technology gap of a community of star systems that communicate with each other woudl also close. So it's not such a huge issue. Technology doesn't have to spread directly, even the rumor of something being possible can send other cultures into a frenzy to find out how. The stories marco polo brought back from china were more useful then the inventions and products he brought back. It sent europe into a frenzy into trying to mimic these items.
In the proccess of trying to mimic these products they derived their own innovations and advanced further. Over 10,000 this would equilize the technologies of the various intelligent life forms. As for the robots, perhaps innovation in robot designed leveled off long ago and even 100 year old droid are useful. Or AI requires some rare material that is now in short supply so even old droids must be maintained.
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
Check out the The Force Skeptics Page:
At the bottom of the
In a galaxy far, far away a long time ago.
You can't argue with history. noobs
... they get past the faulty idea of conflict, just as we today know that if the president of the or leader of any other country was taken out it wouldn't make much difference to the gears and bearing organization really running the show.
We know today there are things we did hundreds and even thousands of years ago that we have found better deceptive ways of dealing with instead of in brute force conflict. like duping teh Aerican public about WMD in iraq...
Anyways we are still babies in comparison to any civilization advanced enough to travel here and probably not skilled at all in comparison to techniques in deception and leaving no proof of visitation.
war does not contribute to the survival of conscious being needed to continue expanding what all exist in existance..
that story was gay. star wars is gay. where's my pills?
In the future there will be homosexual robots
That article should not have been named the Science of Star Wars. I should have been named the climate and science of the worlds of star wars.
Supporting World Peace Through Nuclear Pacification
Are they trying to imply that Star Wars wasn't real?
I suppose they didn't really have light sabers, either?
What next, Darth Vader's voice was dubbed?
I'd better lie down a while.
Raise your children as if you were teaching them to raise your grandchildren, because you are.
How is moving from more advanced concepts to more basic ones a realistic view of society? They've reverted to hand-to-hand combat. Using those stupid light sticks is nothing more than glorified sword fighting. Perhaps if their technology becomes even greater, their fighting will regress even further and they'll use Super Dentures to bight each other. Lame.
So maybe it's possible to share, as long as neither species has the technology to obliterate, enslave, or merely cook and eat each other.
Speaking in response to a fictional situation. The Naboo may have a completely different culture than the humans of Earth. Cultures also vary differently on Earth in violence, for example compare the modern USA to the modern UK. They may completely and utterly shun unprevoked violence. I believe the human inhabitants of Naboo did not even have a standing army.
Finally science being put to good use. No more of that looking for cures for cancer or finding new cleaner energy sources.
You prefer Papa the John?
The Internet is full. Go Away!!!
He's only viewing the Star Wars universe from an evolutionary perspective.
I was hoping for a more scientific foundation, but it's easy for some people to confuse the two I suppose.
"Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
They make a few good points, but they're missing some of the Star Wars facts. A few that come to mind:
1. Yoda knew Luke was coming. It wasn't coincidence that he lost control of his fighter and landed in Yoda's back yard. That was the Force. They mention that it might be the case, but aren't sure. Well, it is.
2. There's very little or no liquid water on Tatooine, which they say. But they neglect the fact that this is obvious. Uncle Owen runs a moisture farm, which collects water vapor through a series of vaporators spread across the desert. They grow crops underground in tunnels.
3. Chemists correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't the molecular weight determine where oxygen might occur in an atmosphere? If Tibanna, a gas used in heavy blasters in the Star Wars galaxy, weighs more than oxygen, isn't it very possible that there would be oxygen above it? Maybe it's something that's common in the upper atmosphere (we see mining pods floating around), but is breathable in its natural form, sort of like how nitrogen makes up a good part of our breathable atmosphere?
4. They totally copped out on Coruscant. They worry too much about the location. I'd figure that all this intense development on Coruscant might have started long before anybody decided it would be the seat of galactic government. Sure they risk a lot by being there, but you don't want to make the trash on the other side of the outer rim fly all the way across the galaxy, do you? Location, location, location!
5. I don't think Hoth is right in the asteroid field. The Falcon had to fly for a while before they got to it, and eventually (it seems conceivable that the trip took weeks) made it to Bespin. Even at sublight speeds, space vessels in the Star Wars galaxy have got to be pretty fast. All kinds of junk from space makes its way to Earth's atmosphere every day, and it hasn't stopped us from developing civilization. I don't see why the occasional small meteorite would stop animals from living on Hoth.
It seems that for a couple of scientific types, those guys didn't really ask enough of the right questions. That's all I've got.
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Somebody is getting interviewed about the science of Star Wars. Again.
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In X-Windows the client serves YOU!
500 years ago we thought the earth was flat, today we think its a scientific impossibility to travel at the speed of light. 500 years from now we'll probably be wondering if its possible to leap over to the neighbouring universe.
It is spooky enough for me when I see a sci-fi movie where you can hear shots fired in space.
And people manually driving fighter ships or aiming guns at other ships (double you tee eff they have no computers?). And old robots cracking codes in seconds in order to open some door. And tiny planes size of cessna refuelling some chemical and able to land/takeoff on a planet. And ubiquity of oxygen. And some 'force shields' around ships and abundance of them around compounds.
SW and science/common sense don't compute for me. Didn't they mean sociology of cultures presented in the movies?
The other is stating that an advanced civilization would shun planets for artificial habitats. For an astronomer, he seems unfamiliar with the fact that the universe is largely cold, empty space with nasty hazards and such. Why would a race automaticly want to go live in space?
"A language that doesn't affect the way you think about programming, is not worth knowing" - Alan Perlis
There was also a National Geographic 'Science of Star Wars' TV special on (I think) Discovery HD. It was basically a 3-hour infomercial with no useful information, at least not for anyone who makes any reasonable effort to keep current in tech.
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what i never understood was the scientific reasoning behind how a "long time ago" in a "galaxy far far away" a species identical to humans (so much to be called by the same name IIRC) evolved and is technologically superior by probably a few centuries to a millenium to us. Anyone have any ideas?
Move Sig, for great justice.
*yawn* I'm not even going to bother with the real science.
A bullet in your head and the head of every other prepubescent idiot who thinks it's KEWL to troll places like Slashdot would be a really good start.
Oh, sorry. I thought that you said, "What can I do to make the Internet better".
I agree with king-manic that technological gulfs, while huge, could be reduced significantly through interstellar trade. What is more signficant -- and I never see mentioned in these types of discussions -- are the huge gulfs in intelligence and mental abilities. There are going to be species out there that are vastly more intelligent or have incredible memories. In the movies and TV shows, all aliens have pretty much the same brainpower. That's just unrealistic.
Consider the following scenario: a race of technologically advanced reptiles are being attacked by intelligent insects from another world. The insects are more intelligent than the reptiles and have the same level of technological development. The reptiles are fucked unless they can get some help. They approach a world called Earth that contains intelligent bipedial mammals named humans. These mammals show promise but are relatively young and do not have sophisticated technology. They also are highly unpredictable and warlike. Knowing the risks, the reptiles make an offer: if the humans agree to enter the war by serving as tactical officers onboard their warships, the reptiles will provide the humans with advances in medicine, communications, power generation, and warp drive. Humans, eager for a chance to obtain technologies necessary to solve problems on their planet, leap at the chance. The highly-logical insects are used to the methodical, logical battleplans of the reptiles and are baffled by the unconventional tactics of the humans. They are quickly and easily defeated. Fearing they have created a monster, the reptiles quickly sever ties with the humans but not before they have transfered a signficant amount of technological know-how. Within a few decades, humans become a threat to the very reptiles who kick-started their space exploration.
Technology gaps are easily solved. Huge gaps in cognitive function are what make long-duration star wars unlikely.
GMD
watch this
I think the Star Wars universe makes a pretty good case for light sabers. Look at it this way... a force field generator in the Star Wars universe appears to be a heavy, unwieldy piece of equipment. Only larger machines, beasts of burden, and droids seem to be able to carry them around. A lightsaber appears to be able to deflect directed energy weapons and blaster bolts (which I think are supposed to be some sort of magnetically contained plasma) and probably just evaporate solid projectiles. Combined with a Jedi's precognitive abilities, a lightsaber seems to be nearly as good as a forcefield and is nice and compact. It can also be used offensively and has some purely utilitarian uses for cutting and possibly for emergency welding as well.
I admit it: i was waiting for a Star Wars story so i could finally post this link (and yes, it is obligatory). That guy's a genious.
Scientst: but... what about... George: wizard
Indeed, the science in question is called "accounting".
What keeps me going is my inertia.
NabooSeth Shostak, is he a character in one of the films, or an unfortunately named researcher?
Are you...Are you some kind of genius?
No, ma'am, I'm just a regular Slashdot reader.
The story is being told in the future. Therefore, "a long time ago" isn't referring to our past, but the past of the narrator.
The "galaxy far, far away" is our own. But in the future, when the story of Star Wars is being told, humanity has moved to distant galaxies.
is very similar to Star Wars.
The Museum of Science in Boston is opening a Science of Star Wars exhibit in October. They've been building it for 2 years! It's going to be huge and very cool. The website is here: http://starwars.mos.org/>
Why are we worried about the realism of the science in Star Wars when we're all still pissed off about the wholly fictional midichlorians?
You see, he has mastered the art of Offscreen Teleportation
Either that or a load of Bothans were forced at blaster-point to get out and push. Certainly explains how they'd be familiar with the exterior vulnerabilities of the Death Star, don't it?
can someone who RTFA clear up the Wookies on Endor conundrum?
"Hello. I'm a human. How do you taste with fava beans and a nice chianti?"
As much as the next scientist, I like to find ways to conduct outreach and bring science to the public. But I have my limits, and Star Wars is about as far from science as you can get. There are plenty of other, better vehicles. We may as well do the "science" of Sex and the City or the "science" of American Idol. Really.
Lucas and/or some non-scientific Hollywood writer types made some shit up that they thought would fly. It's just dumb for scientists to sit around and come up with justifications for it after the fact when so much of it is so dumb to start with. It doesn't serve the cause of education.
Professor of Astronomy, Author of Spider Star & Star Dragon (Tor)
After the last star wars movie, my friends and I spent twenty minutes outside of the theater arguing whether Naboo was an apartheid state.
The only conclusion we came to is that we're total geeks, and we needed to stop before anybody noticed.
Science applies to Star Wars less than acting, directing, or writing.
According to this book, tauntauns generally live in underground caves and grottos pretty well stocked with lichens. Remember, Lukes died out in the open at night, they werent built to survive much on the surface.
"Sic Semper Tyrannosaurus Rex."
They both went into Iraq. Provoked?
1) It's fiction. And a movie. 20 minutes of silent space battle would be boring. It works in Firefly because it's not 30% of the screen time. Maybe they have little AIs in the spaceships that make Surround Sound representations of the events around the ship to aid in navigation. Who knows?
2) What's with the sociology? Repulsorlifts! Lightsabers! Blasters! FTL! That's what we want.
3) It's become amusing how rapidly the "we don't know that yet so it's impossible" crowd jumps out. Sure, it may be the case that we eventually conclude that none of these "effects" are possible in the real world. But what kind of a world can be made in a place where people never research antigravity or FTL or "force fields" 'cause it's all just presumed to be "impossible?"
The "anti-explorers," we'll call them.
.. that slashdot managers actually waste server space on such blatantly stupid nonsense.
I'd eat roasted Gungans, anything to SHUT JAR-JAR UP! I hear they taste like chicken.
Why all these "science of..." articles? Star Wars and Star Trek are space opera. You want semi-realistic science fiction? Babylon 5. The only made-up aspect of B5 was the jump gates - no fake grav on human ships, realistic space physics and space marines. Nuff said.
gigantino.tv - Heavy but weighs nothing.
and all I got were these lousy t-shirt ashes.
Say hello to my little sig.
There is no sound or fire in space!
Heck, the next-to-last episode of "Star Trek: Enterprise" actually had a zoomed-in camera shot of a Carl Sagan memorial on mars.
By contrast, the gem of "Stars Wars" is not the technology but, rather, is the philosophy: the battle between good and evil. One of the themes of that battle is that good will triumph if you stick to your ideals. In the original trilogy, the Force was available to all, and Obi Wan Kenobi even offered to teach the Force to Han Solo, but the swashbuckler was too arrogant to accept the offer.
Notice how "Star Wars" I and II rather sucked after Lucas tried to inject all that technology into the movies. First and foremost is that concept of midichlorians (which turned the notion of Jedi into some sort of snobbish club into which you are born -- if you inherit midichlorians in your blood). Then, Lucas packs every scene with speedsters (air-borne cars), special effects, etc. All that technology just smothered what little philosophy was there.
300 years from now, the original "Star Wars" trilogy will still be watched by our descendents. The philosophy of "Star Wars" has made it timeless.
I cannot say the same for "Star Trek" or the "Star Wars" prequels.
There is the objection that an underwater species might have difficulties fostering technology. Smelting metals, or even developing radio or astronomy, are challenging, to put it modestly, in a watery environment.
Just because your race/species' progression along your race/species' tech tree follows one path and have certain pre-requisits doesn't mean another species has to.
While the humans are sitting around in their cars, congratulating themselves on their brilliant wheels and combustion engines, a parallel but different species may well be wondering why the hell humans haven't figured out that really obvious teleporting trick that just relies on simple [to them] bacteria and water based science.
For hundreds of years, similarly arrogant Europeans congratulated themselves on how advance they could make their tin suits and big imposing castles. They laughed at those strange Eastern folk in their silly bamboo armor and paper houses. Right up until those weird Eastern guys invented this cool stuff called gun powder. At which point the really advanced armor and castle construction suddenly seemed painfully, embarassingly backward.
Besides, much as I despise supporting Gungans... He's putting down a speciest that are comfortably amphibious competing against one that's air breathing only.
The sciences he quotes have only been around for the last five thousand years or so, most for only a couple of hundred - a mere blip in evolutionary terms. So, assuming both species evolved to the point where they could learn such technologies at the same time, what would happen?
Humans invent fire.
Gungans wander out of the water and try to copy it.
Humans chase Gungans away.
Gungans run to the safety of the water where humans, having not invented submarines yet, can't follow.
Repeat a few thousand times until Gungans get lucky. Now they have fire too.
At the same time...
Gungans invent [some basic water driven tech]
Humans can't copy it because they can't enter the water and see it.
So Gungans get every human tech and they get all of their own. And a pompous human scientist sits there observing how they can't possibly smelt metals or invent radios while some water based tech that he's never heard of, fused with smelting, radio and everything else they simply copied, obliterates his entire species.
Well, except that they're stupid idiots which we all hated but actually, when you think about it, is the only way to explain why they didn't wipe the limited air breathing humans out millenia ago.
Of course, we pompous humans are so convinced our approach is the only one that we apparently miss all that.
Things just got geeky.
I'd be happy if someone undertook a study to find the PLOT behind the Prequels...
Fiat Homos et Pereat Theos
And Leia, Obi-wan puts her where she'll become a princess, because her mother was a queen. Fer crying out loud, a princess is a princess only because she can document her lineage and everyone will know it! Way to hide her, Obi-wan!
I hate to break it to you man - but Mark Hamill is not really the son of James Earl Jones!
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
The fleet has a history of dropping out of hyper-drive at the wrong place/time. Hoth battle as example. Navigation seems to be subject to human error. That, or the Station was unable to fire it's blast at Yavin moon w/o a charge. Charging the primary weapon cannot be done while power sources are being diverted to getting that hunk of sht up to 98.5 Mph (wrong flick?) in hyper-drive. I will make up a few more next session on the can. Shoot some holes into these for me, then help out with my latest project. Vader disses . . . everybody I talked to thought the "Noooooooo" line was a horrible topper to a pretty btch made sissy telling of Vaders first days. What would you say before getting choked out from 10 yards away? Hmmm... -Where's your whip? -I guess you like black. -That suit looks itchy. -Hi, my name is Luke Sr. -Have you seen a counselor? -Daddy didn't love you? -What, is your dominatrix out shopping for a new leash? As the poor quality of some of these disses illustrate I have made them up quite independently of any source. If anybody out there is actually reading all of these posts and you get to this - think about your Vader diss and get back at me.
I hold a similar view to a friend of mine, if technologicaly advanced aliens landed here, it would scare the crap out of me. Many think they would be benevolent. These people think aliens will be like Ewoks, friendly, happy-go-lucky little aliens. My friend and I think they would be more like Gungans who use Earthlings as lab mice, food additives, or just something fun to annoy. If basing Earth sociology and how it has progressed since our civilization began on a Star Wars like galaxy...I must say that in the last 4000 years of recorded history there has been, what..less than 200 years of peace? (non consecutive of course)
good credit is the worst thing that ever happened to me.
It's evolution, baby! Random mutation towards aggression eventually occurs and prevails upon the (purely hypothetical) pacifist species. It's very unlikely that a species would develop who would go, "hey, how about we all have half as much children and half as big apartments so these guys have as much of this planet's resources as we do."
However, we shape our planet with two other intelegent species: mice and dolphins.
There are four sorts of people in the world: fools, lunatics, idiots and morons. - Umberto Eco, Foucaut's pendulum.
This isn't about science, it's about having a laugh. If nit-picking about the "science" of a fantasy world is what gives you your jollies, then good luck to you
All Palindromic Recursive Acronyms Like APRALARPA Require Pronounceable Abbreviations
If you look very closely at the death star attack scene at the end of Ep IV you can actually see the 'Intel Inside' sticker on the surface of the death star.
Its a fucking movie.
We want to know about about Makeing REAL Light sabres. Check this out for info http://www.exn.ca/starwars/plasmasaber.cfm
What I mean by that is, everytime we consider ourselves to be at the center of anything, we're wrong.
We aren't on the center of our planet cause its not a floating disk. We're in the center of our solar system, cause we orbit the sun instead of the opposite. We're way off from the center of the galaxy aswell. Yet there's been times when we believed it all revolved around us.
When I say universe I simply mean that which we as humans consider to be the entirety of existence. Which by popular scientific belief happens to be that which was the result of the "big bang".
Even after all the lessons weve learnt from the history of human beliefs. Some people still seem to try and imply that "the big bang" created the only universe. When it would only be natural to assume that the birth of universes could be equally as abundant as the galaxies created within them.
Pitched Battles, medieval style.
Now I know it was a long time ago, but they aint dumb. As soon as repeating weapons became mainstream here, pitched battles like in Phantom menace and to some extent Clone Wars. Strategies where changed as it was just suicidal. I know the Gungans were behind shields, but the driods just marched through in formations.
Also in Revenge of the Sith, firing a broadside in space? What was the deal with that?
To me they're always seemed a great lack of missiles in space combat. Saying that if it was truely realistic it would probably have everything cloaked, with the occasional explosion as something was detected and nuked. Should be called Cloaked Wars. As everything now is moving towards stealth and slealth detection.
Also back in Phantom menace, the Droids were controlled by the Ships in space. hmmmm Latency. Be like my trying to play Natural Selection in Austalia (i live in the U.K). It just didnt seem right to have Driods that wernt automated in they're own right.
Automation - The Car Company Tycoon Game
The only scientific thing in Star Wars is the Force. Really.
...as long as neither species has the technology to obliterate, enslave, or merely cook and eat each other.
Hell, the rest of the world has tolerated the French.
There's actually a good semi-sci-fi book that addresses the cohabitation of sentient beings called the Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. She also has a follow up book. I thought it was a very good commentary on the sociology, biology, and ethics of the matter.
Look, any futuristic story is completely bogus if the reality of nuclear weapons isn't considered. The chances of mankind making it out of the next 100 years is so near infinitesimal. Even if we did make it out, stories like Star Wars have whole groups fighting against each other...with simply pulses of laser beams? There is no reason to think one group wouldn't pull out a nuclear weapon (or something even more powerful) and light the fuse. But that would ruin the movie since it would only last through the first battle scene or 2, maybe 10 minutes max. Star Wars Science? Not even close.
You nerds overdo it sometimes. Willaim Shatner parodied his appearances at scifi conventions on Saturday Night Live by insulting his over enthusiastic fans.
i know this sounds really anal, but one thing that I noticed in particular, is the noise from the crazy space vessels.. when a little Jet flies over your neighborhood, the sonic boom, and engine noise, is so fucking incredibly loud.. in star wars, there are aircrafts coming from every direction.. seems like life would be just a little too freakin loud..
*plays the Apogee theme song music*
Isn't this a fantasy film? I sit down at any movie like I'd sit down at any James Bond movie: I "turn off" all rationalization, because I'll enjoy it more that way.
Chewbacon
The Bible is like Wikipedia: written by a bunch of people and verifiable by questionable sources.
...it's a MOVING Space Station!!
I don't have a sig.
Yoda's fears about Anakin turning to the dark side were a self-fulfulling prophecy. In their distrust, the Jedi held Anakin down in every way they could, instead of embracing him as the chosen one. The Jedi were poor masters.
Anakin was born as a slave on Tattooine, conscripted into a Jedi slavery where he could not rescue or even visit his mother, and finally sucked into Sith apprenticeship under Sidious. He was always somebody's slave, never free to follow his dreams and wishes. Luke may have felt tied down on the farm, but at least he wasn't a slave. He lived with family, had friends, and got to fix and fly spaceships for fun. Yoda never sensed fear in Luke, only recklessness: a fearlessness that comes from living free.
Obi-Wan totally let Anakin down. Qui-Gon would have let Anakin rescue his mother, the Council be damned. Then Obi-Wan lies to and manipulates Anakin's innocent children to try to undo his mistakes. I'm surprised he waited for Luke to grow up, rather than taking him to Dagobah at age 3.
Yogurt: Merchandising, merchandising, where the real money from the movie is made. Spaceballs-the T-shirt, Spaceballs-the Coloring Book, Spaceballs-the Lunch box, Spaceballs-the Breakfast Cereal, Spaceballs-the Flame Thrower.
[turns it on]
The Dinks: Ooooh!
Yogurt: (reacts to dinks) The kids love this one. (A dink hands him a doll that looks likes Yogurt) And last but not least, Spaceballs the doll, me.
[Pulls string]
Doll: May the schwartz be with you!
...
Philosophy my ass...
It's machine vs. man, man vs. woman, and woman vs Your Mother!
Sounds like a good way to build up my infamy Soon as Automator sent for me We headed over to receive our registration forms from the galactic embassy (Yes may I help you) Remember me To escape a global panic we had to intercede (Oh you're here for the battle forms) Yeah can we get them for free (I'm afraid not you'll have to pay the entry fee) It was worth a try when we 1st arrived on mercury Gravity adjustment must then Step up contestant Number 12, I was 13 he started bursting ammunition that wasn't working His rudimentary technical abilities couldn't kill me Not me for a loop But I can still breath He had the crowd going by appearance Here comes the anticipated interference from his squad and guards I bust back with on slough of Hydrothermal clod that burnt they're third eye They out num but I come with heat & trigger a massive explosion to the beat They hit me compressed air Left my chest bare My sonic stun gun takes em out by the next snare
I thought this article was wooden and had no romantic chemistry what-so-ever.
I'll have to go back and read it again and again and again...
They think they so smarty they think their brain so big.
Ice Age. Or do suppose Hoth sprung full-blown out of the forehead of someone?
What? Oh. Never mind.
You are only a bigot if you are intolerant, not if you disagree. I can disagree with modern Christianity all I want and not be a bigot. When I become unwilling to listen to differing opinions, then I'd be a bigot.
No, when you're unwilling to listen to new differing opinions, then you're a bigot. If you're merely unwilling to rehash the same arguments over and over to the latest crop of clueless zealots, you're at worst curmudgeonly, but not bigoted.
--
An old curmudgeon
Star Wars is more scientifically sound than the theory of evolution!
This demonstration to "prove" the theory of evolution requires the addition of living things to be added to the tank before the experiment to "prove" that life evolved. These animals are hidden, with the intent to bring them out to the appropriate time, with a claim that they "evolved" from inert materials.
http://faraday.physics.uiowa.edu/astro/8A30.90.htm
Gee, if evolution is so "factual" and so directly based on scientific observations, why is it necessary to resort to fraud for demonstration?
Code Number : 8A30.90?
Disclaimer:
Reprinted by permission of Dick Berg, University of Maryland, for use on this website.
The demonstrations contained and referenced herein are listed for the purposes of cataloging and describing physics demonstrations which should be conducted only under the direction of a trained instructional support professional or physicist. These demonstrations are not presented for the purpose of being conducted by persons unconnected to this Facility and/or persons not consulting with or being supervised by the recognized instructional support professional or physicist and his/her staff. The University is responsible only for those demonstrations carried out using its own equipment using established safety and scheduling policies, and bears no responsibility for those choosing to use this source material for their own purposes. All demonstrations described and contained herein are public domain, and can also be found in reference materials in libraries, bookstores, and electronic sources.
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Condition : Good
Principle : Evolution
Area of Study : Solar Astronomy
Equipment : Aquarium (Large Tank), U.V. Lights, Variac, Light Bulb, Two Carbon Electrodes and Holder, Test tube Holder, Aquarium Accessories, Water (40 Liters), Liquid Nitrogen (2.4 Liters), Carbon (Charcoal - 10 lb.), Sulfur (60 grams), Calcium (120 grams), Ground Chalk, Phosphorus (Phosphoric acid - 13 ml), Trace amounts of elements (Na, Cl, K, I, Fe, Mn, Mo, Si, F, Cu, Zn), Large Stirring Rod, Large Tongs, Sponge Animals.
Procedure : This demo is based on an experiment where amino acids were created using much the same conditions.
Set the fish tank on the table. Fill this with water to a height of 6 1/2 inches above the table and you will have approximately 40 liters. Put the 10 lb. of charcoal into two large plastic beakers with the small sponge animals hidden in amongst the charcoal. The liquid nitrogen is picked up from Biochem Stores ahead of time. The rest of the chemicals can be measured out into their own separate petri dishes. Place the U.V. lights above and/or behind the tank. Have the electrodes all set up and ready to put into the tank when ready. Procedure: The Lecture Demonstration Coordinator helps with this experiment. Pour the charcoal into the tank of water. Now with stirring pour in the liquid nitrogen. A nice rolling fog will develop. Next add the sulfur (60 gr.), calcium (120 gr.), Phosphorus (Phosphoric acid - 13 ml.), and the trace minerals sodium, chlorine, iodine (Iodized Salt), potassium (Salt Substitute), iron, copper, zinc, (Metal filings), manganese (Manganese Oxide - MnO2), Silicon (Sand), Molybdenum and Florine (We usually do without these two). Now we have all the ingredients to make life. Add a little energy in the forms of U.V. radiation (U.V. Lights), and Lightning (Electrodes hooked to variac). The light bulb is put in series with the electrodes so that you can see that current is flowing in the mixture. At the end of lecture the teacher shut off and unplugs the variac and
> And if the question is "How many countries on THIS planet have the tech
> to obliterate, enslave or cook most of the rest of the population
> without suffering severe losses in the process", then the answer is
> "None".
They aren't even twenty years in the 'ashbin of history' and you young pups have already forgotten the Evil Empire. They DID have the tech to enslave half the planet and pretty much got away with it because the West was engaged in a navel gazing exercise at the time, questioning its own moral authority and right to live. Thankfully some of us snapped out of the funk, tossed Jimmy "Age of Limits" Carter out on his plump ass and installed a more effective leader of the Western Alliance.
So yes, we DO have ample examples of amoral clueless societies with more tech than wisdom attempting to enslave a planet with a fair degree of success. So I'd assert it is the higher moral stature of the West that prevents it from doing likewise.
For example, the US could currently do it at little risk to itself. Lets do a thought experiment to test this theory.
The liberals are right, Dick Cheney IS a Sith Lord, who reveals himself and becomes Emperor Dick The First and Biggest. And for the sake of this theoretical he gets away with it, method left to the imagination and paranoia of the particular reader. Ok, we now have the biggest baddest military machine ever in the hands of someone with the Will to Power, but how to do it.....
Easy actually. Just DO it. Blow a bit of smoke about The Threat, perhaps North Korea. Set off a nuke somewhere newsworthy but not really critical, say Hollywood and claim it to be Them. Now we embark on a program to ENSURE WORLD SAFETY by making sure only 'responsible' countries have the bomb. Russia and China will go for that if they are in the club. Now you can crush North Korea and Iran, confiscate every other nuke and crush the countries who refuse with few objections. Doing so gets the US on a real war footing so manpower is no longer a problem. Some countries will try to form a bloc to resist, especially if we secretly encouraged such a plan, creating a perfect excuse to crush em. Really. the Emperor in SW knew all the right moves but in reality a plan as complex as his wouldn't be likely to succeed. In the modern world few countries would have the actuall testes to stare down the US military machine, exploit that fact and you could roll up half the countries who could be a threat before the rest could screw up the courage to resist. Keep the Russians and Chinese out of it for a few years and the rest could be ours. Then deal with them one at a time.
This scenario isn't likely to happen because WE aren't that sort of people... yet. We grow more debased each generation so you guys in the rest of the world better watch your backs.
> Colonialism is an example of this. Either you realise it and go away
> in a reasonably orderly fashion (as the English did most of the
> time), or you're in for a long, painful, ugly struggle in which you
> have simply no chance to prevail (the French in Algeria, possibly
> the ugliest war ever fought by a Western democracy).
By a democracy or republic yes, colonialism isn;t a longterm winner. The British saw themselves fulfilling the "White Man's Burden" to bring enlightenment to those living in darkness. When the people they thought they were helping yelled "Go Away!" loud enough they did. Read an interesting alternate history a few years ago though. About Gandhi[sp?] and India, but except for the British being in charge, the Third Reich was in charge. Very different outcome, things ended very badly for Mr. Gandhi.
> Oh, BTW, pray remind us what happened to American Indians ?
Never claimed we were the ultimate evolution in enlightened civilization, only the highest point in human history so far. Yes, at one point we did lots of things that wouldn't be considered very nice now. But also remember which civi
Democrat delenda est
"...it's just a show."
"I really should relax."