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Number of ET Civilizations In Our Galaxy Is 37,964
KentuckyFC writes "The famous Drake equation calculates the number of advanced civilizations in our galaxy right now. But the result is hugely sensitive to the assumptions you make about factors such as the number of habitable planets that orbit a host star, how many of these actually develop life and what fraction of these go on to become intelligent etc. Disagreements about these figures leads to estimates for the number of advanced civilizations ranging from 10^-5 to 10^6. Now an astronomer in Scotland has worked out how to make the calculations more precise so that different theories about the origin of planets, life and civilizations can be compared. His calculations say that the rare-life hypothesis predicts only 361 advanced civilizations in the Milky Way now. However, the so-called tortoise and hare hypothesis predicts 31,573 and the theory of panspermia says that there ought to be 37,964 extraterrestrial civilizations more advanced than our own in the Milky Way."
Make that 37,965. My colleague surely has one growing in his tea cup.
yuck.
The original estimate was 32768 and an overflow flag.
1.
Is that the mice, or the dolphins?
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It must be right, because the answer came from a computer.
I follow the Mass Effect way of thinking. A handful of civilizations, each with dramatically polarized stereotypical traits, and who speak English with perfect North American accents, regardless of the structure of their mouth(s) and/or vocal cords (assuming they have them...).
Admit it. You post strawman arguments as AC so you get modded Insightful for refuting them, rather than Troll
Unless it's one of the early pentiums.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
If Trainspotting's taught me anything, it's that the Scots have a severe sense of self-loathing, after being colonized by "wankers" for centuries. So it's really not surprising that a Scottish astronomer would assume that other species are more advanced, rather than less so. I'm sure his English colleagues would (uniformly) disagree.
God invented whiskey so the Irish would not rule the world.
But the question didn't. We should make a bigger computer to determine what the question should have been.
They ignore us, we're mostly harmless.
Free Martian Whores!
That reminds me of this article from the Onion.
today :
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/10/20/britain.ufo.sightings/index.html
Read radical news here
How many of that have stargates?
And we should all listen to Michael Crichton, because he's been right about so many things.
Give him a break, he's still working on an old Pentium system.
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
Done!
Answer just in:
Hmm... I always thought something was fundamentally wrong with the universe...
Part Time Philosopher, Oft Times Romantic, Full Time Unix Geek
we are at the outskirts.
and everyone knows that the rich flee to the suburbs. That goes in line with civs that flee the core.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
and why did I read that as early penguins?
Anyhow: I for one welcome our new extraterrestial penguin overlords!
- I choked on the red pill and now I'm stuck in limbo
That's probably because they assume too many spherical cows.
Similar to the upcoming US election results
It's now 37,962. The Qnak'k'z of Kuberon II just set off a prototype nanoplasmic bomb that wiped out the whole planet. The timid and peaceful Fnumri of Kuberon VI's third moon were not directly affected, but the flash gave them such a fright they all died of double heart attacks. Sad indeed.
At the bottom of the
Indeed. Succinctly: http://xkcd.com/384/
God: Bender, being God isn't easy. If you do too much, people get dependent on you; and if you do nothing, they lose hope. You have to use a light touch, like a safecracker or a pickpocket.
Bender: Or a guy who burns down a bar for the insurance money!
God: Yes, if you make it look like an electrical thing. When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all.
A fool throws a stone into a well and a thousand sages can not remove it.
but the real question is how many are registered to vote in Chicago?
I've seen a lot of Stargate, and if I've learned anything, it's that pretty much all alien life looks like us, develops civilizations nearly identical to our own history, and speaks english.
You need to do more heavy research!
Nevermind all that. Do you know know what apples is?! And if so, how?
And this was modded +5 Funny... how????
That theory is backed up by Star Trek. Where there are few alien civilizations that differ than us in their appearance, and they too all speak English (Some of them have their own language, like the Klingons, but they can all speak English very well)
The Internet is generally stupid
Congratulations, you now hold the unbeatable record for "Shortest +5 Funny Comment Ever". Comments like this are indeed what make reading Slashdot worthwhile.
You shall see a cow on the roof of a cotton house.
Yeah, thats why we have this crazy velociraptor problem here in L.A.
NO SIG
But wait...if the cows are spherical then how do we know they are always facing north?
Your brain is not a computer.
Reminds me of an astrophysics joke:
Q: How many astrophysicists does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: 2 ± 53
Chernobyl 'not a wildlife haven' - BBC News
... our 37,964 overlords.
now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
With NTSC analog TV going away next year, one of our big identifiable sources dies
True, but any alien civilization that has been viewing our broadcasts has been given fair warning of the switch and have been told where they can obtain a digital receiver box with a government coupon.
The Internet is generally stupid
You can tell by all the mini-malls and Chilis in orbit around Mars.
God invented whiskey so the Irish would not rule the world.
How can there have been other civilizations starting and finishing in 6000 years? Especially when there is NO record (in holy texts) of god creating them. :-)
== Jez ==
Do you miss Firefox? Try Pale Moon.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Hey, stop poking fun of my girlfriend!
Table-ized A.I.
I don't mind the normal velociraptors, but I do try to avoid the crazy ones.
Soylent Green is peoplicious!
Ah yes, the classic mistake ... cowrelation does not imply cowsation.
Soylent Green is peoplicious!