1) The whole "lack of genetic diversity" issue is one of the more ridiculous things i've heard about cloning. I mean, i REALLY doubt that cloning will be the next fad and suddenly no more natural reproduction will occur.
2) "unethical"? why?! you don't modify the dna, you don't even really get a look at the dna. you just reproduce a person. it's not like you grow the fetus in a test tube, the only difference with cloning is that there's none of that "getting too drunk then waking up pregnant with your own clone the next day" thing (i should hope).
3) And as for only certain people "qualifying" to have themselves cloned, that's pretty crazy. someone already mentioned, sex isn't regulated, why should cloning be?
4) bacteria reproduce asexually, why is it so bad if humans do too?:P
I'd say it's slim unless mankind manages to get off this rock in the next few millenia and actually manages to colonize other planets or maybe even other solar systems. But that has nothing to do with whether or not extraterrestrial intelligence actually exists. Our universe is filled with galaxies, each filled with star systems, some of which have rather hospitable planets. Some may say that's a pretty ridiculous assumption, that there are other life-supporting planets out there, but the sheer number of other stars makes it rather probable for at least one other planet to be inhabited by a sentient race. So what's all this boil down to? Well I say we shouldn't be thinking about this, at ALL. If for some reason one day humans make contact, it's most likely not going to be in the near future (by that I mean in the next few millenia), and I think it's safe to say it's not going to be because of donated clock cycles. We're approaching this whole situation with a brute-force strategy (keep looking, keep sending messages saying "Hey speak up"..) and I personally doubt that a) We're going to "see" anything, b) Anyone's going to "hear" anything, and c) If they do, they're not going to have the first clue as to who we are, what we want, or what the hell we're saying in the first place. So my solution to this whole problem is to not give the search for extraterrestrial intelligence another thought for another couple centuries or millenia when mankind stumbles on some crazy new technology that'll end up either dropping us on an alien's doorstep or dropping an alien on our doorstep. And that's that.
I'm not exactly too well read on this subject, but for some reason I'm thinking that space, or anywhere that's not protected by a nice cozy atmosphere, is chock full o electromagnetic radiation and other nifty little phenomena like that.. I'm sure satellites designed for warfare would have at least the same shielding abilities that modern-day commercial satellites have, and shit, those things have been floating in the sky for, well, a damn long time.
So yup, that's why all this weaponry can't be blasted out of commission by way of EMP.
btw, I think this whole space war with satellites thing is ridiculous. look at it this way. imagine the level of difficulty involved in designing a satellite system where a whole bunch of satellites work together to identify, track, and destroy "threatening" objects. take into account atmospheric distortion, weather patterns, ground targets getting mixed up in the fray, basically a whole load of factors in one really big equation. Now lets look at a satellite with some solar panels, some electricity storage thing (capacitor maybe? i'm no electrician.), and a powerful laser. targeting another satellite w/ empty space as a backdrop would be childs play compared to finding missiles flying over motley terrain. the safety issue would be more or less removed, along with a bunch of other problems that are attached to sdi. Right, my point.. almost forgot.. although EMP isn't gonna work too well, there should be a multitude of technologies out there that would let satellites render enemy satellites inoperable at a fraction of the cost of protecting a whole country from missile attacks. so what i'm saying is if the US goes through with this plan and for some reason war breaks out, these missile defense satellites will be sitting ducks that an enemy nation gets to pick off with ease. i say in the end, sdi'll end up with all those other wonderful useless-space-related-spinoff-things (moon shoes?)
Alright, so what do your grandmother, A DOLLAR, and the future of SEGA and Dreamcast have in common? Apparently a lot since this thread is going on and on and on..
I'm not trying to sound ignorant or anything, but who really cares about martian microbe leftovers? I mean, it might be fine and dandy if they exist, but how much of a positive effect on humanity can their existence possibly exert? I mean, scientists get to study a no-longer-existing form of life indirectly, possibly learn something of interest. I say, damn, humanity has gotten along just fine and well for countless millenia without knowing a damn thing about life forms on mars, so why should we worry about that now? I say if there is any remaining life on mars and it's resistant to human colonization, kill it! Otherwise, leave it be. I'm sure there's much better things to be doing on mars than studying bacteria remnants. (Mining, building, playing chess, sleeping..)
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Just want to throw in my 2 cents..
:P
1) The whole "lack of genetic diversity" issue is one of the more ridiculous things i've heard about cloning. I mean, i REALLY doubt that cloning will be the next fad and suddenly no more natural reproduction will occur.
2) "unethical"? why?! you don't modify the dna, you don't even really get a look at the dna. you just reproduce a person. it's not like you grow the fetus in a test tube, the only difference with cloning is that there's none of that "getting too drunk then waking up pregnant with your own clone the next day" thing (i should hope).
3) And as for only certain people "qualifying" to have themselves cloned, that's pretty crazy. someone already mentioned, sex isn't regulated, why should cloning be?
4) bacteria reproduce asexually, why is it so bad if humans do too?
I'd say it's slim unless mankind manages to get off this rock in the next few millenia and actually manages to colonize other planets or maybe even other solar systems. But that has nothing to do with whether or not extraterrestrial intelligence actually exists. Our universe is filled with galaxies, each filled with star systems, some of which have rather hospitable planets. Some may say that's a pretty ridiculous assumption, that there are other life-supporting planets out there, but the sheer number of other stars makes it rather probable for at least one other planet to be inhabited by a sentient race. So what's all this boil down to? Well I say we shouldn't be thinking about this, at ALL. If for some reason one day humans make contact, it's most likely not going to be in the near future (by that I mean in the next few millenia), and I think it's safe to say it's not going to be because of donated clock cycles. We're approaching this whole situation with a brute-force strategy (keep looking, keep sending messages saying "Hey speak up"..) and I personally doubt that a) We're going to "see" anything, b) Anyone's going to "hear" anything, and c) If they do, they're not going to have the first clue as to who we are, what we want, or what the hell we're saying in the first place. So my solution to this whole problem is to not give the search for extraterrestrial intelligence another thought for another couple centuries or millenia when mankind stumbles on some crazy new technology that'll end up either dropping us on an alien's doorstep or dropping an alien on our doorstep. And that's that.
I'm not exactly too well read on this subject, but for some reason I'm thinking that space, or anywhere that's not protected by a nice cozy atmosphere, is chock full o electromagnetic radiation and other nifty little phenomena like that.. I'm sure satellites designed for warfare would have at least the same shielding abilities that modern-day commercial satellites have, and shit, those things have been floating in the sky for, well, a damn long time.
So yup, that's why all this weaponry can't be blasted out of commission by way of EMP.
btw, I think this whole space war with satellites thing is ridiculous. look at it this way. imagine the level of difficulty involved in designing a satellite system where a whole bunch of satellites work together to identify, track, and destroy "threatening" objects. take into account atmospheric distortion, weather patterns, ground targets getting mixed up in the fray, basically a whole load of factors in one really big equation. Now lets look at a satellite with some solar panels, some electricity storage thing (capacitor maybe? i'm no electrician.), and a powerful laser. targeting another satellite w/ empty space as a backdrop would be childs play compared to finding missiles flying over motley terrain. the safety issue would be more or less removed, along with a bunch of other problems that are attached to sdi. Right, my point.. almost forgot.. although EMP isn't gonna work too well, there should be a multitude of technologies out there that would let satellites render enemy satellites inoperable at a fraction of the cost of protecting a whole country from missile attacks. so what i'm saying is if the US goes through with this plan and for some reason war breaks out, these missile defense satellites will be sitting ducks that an enemy nation gets to pick off with ease. i say in the end, sdi'll end up with all those other wonderful useless-space-related-spinoff-things (moon shoes?)
I dunno bout you folks, but I see black pot all the time :(
Alright, so what do your grandmother, A DOLLAR, and the future of SEGA and Dreamcast have in common? Apparently a lot since this thread is going on and on and on..
and on..
I'm not trying to sound ignorant or anything, but who really cares about martian microbe leftovers? I mean, it might be fine and dandy if they exist, but how much of a positive effect on humanity can their existence possibly exert? I mean, scientists get to study a no-longer-existing form of life indirectly, possibly learn something of interest. I say, damn, humanity has gotten along just fine and well for countless millenia without knowing a damn thing about life forms on mars, so why should we worry about that now? I say if there is any remaining life on mars and it's resistant to human colonization, kill it! Otherwise, leave it be. I'm sure there's much better things to be doing on mars than studying bacteria remnants. (Mining, building, playing chess, sleeping..)