Notice NONE of his ideas for peacetime use of the hydrogen bomb were remotely useful. The Soviets built a hydrogen bomb only because they knew the US was doing the same. While it's possible that building up a vast arsenal to wipe out all life may indeed have been the reason for the USSR's collapse, "vindicating" Teller's observation that we would all be speaking Russian and he would be in a concentration camp, it still seems that there could have been a more effective way to win the cold war then build up a vast arsenal capable of wiping us all out many times over.
And the threat isn't over yet.
Personally, I got the impression Teller was suffering in part from cognitive dissonance in an attempt to justify that his life wasn't completely wasted.
"The bomb WAS good." "I thought of it, not Ulam." "Alaska would be much improved if we blew up half a dozen hydrogen bombs just off shore."
In other words, complex life would be unlikely. The little beasties around the black spouters make incredibly efficient use of the heat energy they get. But as life goes, there just isn't a whole lot of room for variety.
The latest SciAm article on the oceans of europa (which didn't mention this cool discovery) also talked about the limitations of chemosynthesis.
Still, the life found on earth around these undersea vents is pretty impressive for what it's got to work with.
The Drake equation depends in one key portion on the number of earth-size planets out there. The more accurate a count, the better we can figure out the probabilities.
SETI would receive far more funding, for example, if we had evidence of pure oxygen (although it's possible that that isn't necessary) in the atmosphere of planets orbiting 50% of all stars.
O2 has a hard time existing on it's own, being so reactive and all...
But still, even if we knew earth-size planets were common, SETI would be a much higher priority.
The other star was at the center of our galaxy. That's a long ways away. Furthermore, it's unlikely to have moved from the arm to the center in 4.5 billion years.
And if he was "outside the universe", that allows him to have been always existant?
Sorry, I don't follow that at all.
Also, a pantheist would argue god could be inside the universe, and a part of it, and not require external creation. It would simply have always existed.
Remove the existing DNA from a mycoplasma genitalium, then replace it with their 350 gene version?
Not only would the resulting descendants share no DNA with their parent, but it would also offer the opportunity to learn if indeed they had got those 350 genese "right."
With such a small set to work with, it would be easy to knock out, modify, and generally hack about the genome to learn what each sequence does, and in combination with what.
Granted, it's far from creating life from scratch, but we're still a little fuzzy on the details of that far back, and it looks like the only process we have to go with at the moment is a tortorously slow continuum from self-replicating proteins (prions and the like), to more complex cellular organisms, and virii.
Sure it would kill the mobile phone.. And the car. Do you really want their car to die on the freeway while going 80mph? Think they can bring it safely to a stop? How many other cars would you hit?
http://www.ft.com/hippocampus/q14ae5a.htm Also, I don't understand how self-similarity would change the bell curve. You'd think every portion would still have the same probabilities, no?
Perhaps you would have gotten some flames if people had either: A)Believed you knew what the hell you were talking about B)Been able to access your sources online. C)Had known what the hell you were talking about, if you had actually explained what these sources said.
The article mentions: Canada's national human genome project, an effort to map all the DNA in the human body, is using CA*Net3 to link 40 powerful computers to perform necessary calculations.
I can see it now, all WHOIS for a microsoft registered domain get Office ads. Or perhaps auctioning off popular WHOIS queries. I realise they could just put a random ad every time you pull up the page, but there does seem to be some potential for targeting of advertisement here. Would that be illegal?
I'lll have to visit. It looks like it could really give people an idea of the vast distances of space, and the tiny bits we're interested in... That and I could tour the solar system in a day.
The sun in the palm of my hand, venus between my fingers. Did he think this up, or was it done as a memorial after his death?
It's been around for a while now, and we've bought the books. And one of the t-shirts. So obviously the author is making some money from this. Besides, I love the super-size, full colour, Sunday strips. That and the insanity in the general storylines.
Any chance you could post some links? Why was no legal action taken?
The website I found vaguely annoying, but just because someone's taste or storytelling abilities are not of a type I enjoy doesn't automatically mean they ripped someone off.
Slashdot Mirror
Given that he had invested his entire life in defending them against most of the scientific community.
In some way, the ideas could be said to be Teller.
Notice NONE of his ideas for peacetime use of the hydrogen bomb were remotely useful.
The Soviets built a hydrogen bomb only because they knew the US was doing the same. While it's possible that building up a vast arsenal to wipe out all life may indeed have been the reason for the USSR's collapse, "vindicating" Teller's observation that we would all be speaking Russian and he would be in a concentration camp, it still seems that there could have been a more effective way to win the cold war then build up a vast arsenal capable of wiping us all out many times over.
And the threat isn't over yet.
Personally, I got the impression Teller was suffering in part from cognitive dissonance in an attempt to justify that his life wasn't completely wasted.
"The bomb WAS good."
"I thought of it, not Ulam."
"Alaska would be much improved if we blew up half a dozen hydrogen bombs just off shore."
In other words, complex life would be unlikely.
l
The little beasties around the black spouters make incredibly efficient use of the heat energy they get. But as life goes, there just isn't a whole lot of room for variety.
The latest SciAm article on the oceans of europa (which didn't mention this cool discovery) also talked about the limitations of chemosynthesis.
Still, the life found on earth around these undersea vents is pretty impressive for what it's got to work with.
http://www.amnho nline.org/expeditions/blacksmokers/life_forms.htm
Page that talks about black smokers.
Of course, the trick would be a design that would disable it should the transponder be fiddled with.
The Drake equation depends in one key portion on the number of earth-size planets out there.
The more accurate a count, the better we can figure out the probabilities.
SETI would receive far more funding, for example, if we had evidence of pure oxygen (although it's possible that that isn't necessary) in the atmosphere of planets orbiting 50% of all stars.
O2 has a hard time existing on it's own, being so reactive and all...
But still, even if we knew earth-size planets were common, SETI would be a much higher priority.
The other star was at the center of our galaxy. That's a long ways away. Furthermore, it's unlikely to have moved from the arm to the center in 4.5 billion years.
And if he was "outside the universe", that allows him to have been always existant?
Sorry, I don't follow that at all.
Also, a pantheist would argue god could be inside the universe, and a part of it, and not require external creation. It would simply have always existed.
One good infinite series deserves another.
Remove the existing DNA from a mycoplasma genitalium, then replace it with their 350 gene version?
Not only would the resulting descendants share no DNA with their parent, but it would also offer the opportunity to learn if indeed they had got those 350 genese "right."
With such a small set to work with, it would be easy to knock out, modify, and generally hack about the genome to learn what each sequence does, and in combination with what.
Granted, it's far from creating life from scratch, but we're still a little fuzzy on the details of that far back, and it looks like the only process we have to go with at the moment is a tortorously slow continuum from self-replicating proteins (prions and the like), to more complex cellular organisms, and virii.
Sure it would kill the mobile phone..
And the car.
Do you really want their car to die on the freeway while going 80mph?
Think they can bring it safely to a stop?
How many other cars would you hit?
Wish I'd paid attention to whether I was hitting "submit" or "preview"
Handy to use terrorist resource?
or tourist guide?
Handy to use terrorist resource?
or tourist guide?
Handy to use terrorist resource? or tourist guide?
He had linked to both articles.
sorry.
http://www.ft.com/hippocampus/q14ae5a.htm
Also, I don't understand how self-similarity would change the bell curve. You'd think every portion would still have the same probabilities, no?
Anyone have a username/password for this URL?
cypherpunk/cypherpunk
cypherpunks/cypherpunks
didn't work.
Are they perhaps actually charging for access?
Perhaps you would have gotten some flames if people had either:
A)Believed you knew what the hell you were talking about
B)Been able to access your sources online.
C)Had known what the hell you were talking about, if you had actually explained what these sources said.
The article mentions:
Canada's national human genome project, an effort to map all the DNA in the human body, is using CA*Net3 to link 40 powerful computers to perform necessary calculations.
I can see it now, all WHOIS for a microsoft registered domain get Office ads. Or perhaps auctioning off popular WHOIS queries.
I realise they could just put a random ad every time you pull up the page, but there does seem to be some potential for targeting of advertisement here.
Would that be illegal?
I'lll have to visit.
It looks like it could really give people an idea of the vast distances of space, and the tiny bits we're interested in...
That and I could tour the solar system in a day.
The sun in the palm of my hand, venus between my fingers.
Did he think this up, or was it done as a memorial after his death?
Cop's "flashlight heart-beat detector" means a criminal can mount a similar cheap device on a rifle. Then, simply fire through the wall.
It was fairly obvious as a satirical reference.
queen VALVOLENE?
Do you think Erisians and Slackers are SERIOUS?
It's been around for a while now, and we've bought the books.
And one of the t-shirts.
So obviously the author is making some money from this.
Besides, I love the super-size, full colour, Sunday strips.
That and the insanity in the general storylines.
Any chance you could post some links?
Why was no legal action taken?
The website I found vaguely annoying, but just because someone's taste or storytelling abilities are not of a type I enjoy doesn't automatically mean they ripped someone off.
Spawn and Dream are better characters anyway.
The magic 8-ball jpeg may not be playing at normal speed. (compression?)
Try saving a few images with the same answer, and comparing file attributes.