What are you smoking? Yes, the probability is slim but a straight-forward analysis could derive it. We know the average number of asteroids in the orbit, we know their average speed, we can calculate the momentum difference required to achieve the necessary trajectory adjustment, and we can calculate the odds of making an adjustment that sets it in a collision course with Earth.
Can't they limit the release of new kickass cards to once every three years? I can't keep up. I haven't gotten my money's worth out of my ATI Radeon 9700 Pro yet...
A common mistake people make is to relate local fluctuations in temperature/weather to long-term global patterns. This is akin to noticing that several of your neighbors are short and concluding that average height of the world must be decreasing.
When it's a cold winter, I hear people chortling over how ridiculous global warming is. And when it's a warm winter, I hear people fretting over how global warming must be taking place.
My point here isn't to argue that global warming isn't happening (that involves complicated calculations using historical air samples in artic ice cores, etc) -- but people should realize that recent local weather patterns are insignificant in comparison to the larger scheme.
I recently attended a get-rich scam revovling real-estate. (I wasn't interested but my wife wanted to check it out).
Man, those guys were slick! Almost every other sentence had the word "money" in it. After watching a series of testimonies by people who claimed to have made thousands of dollars in just days, the speaker conducted a pep rally to get everyone excited about how rich they were going to become. He gave helpful pointers on how to deal with all the extra money coming in, like, "after you make your first sale, reward yourself with a cruise...", etc, etc. It was really sad to watch, because the room was filled with people getting really pumped up and excited.
Needless to say, I wasn't able to stay the entire time, but I did a little research once I got home. According to a Washington Post article I found, the weekend Training Seminar they try to pull on these people was priced at $3000.
So just like the Big Tent Revival scam artists in times past collected large sum in exchange for divine promises, scam artists are still setting up camp with similar tactics to soak the poor and gullible.
While we're on the topic of particle accelerators, mark your calendars for 2007 -- that's when the Large Hadron Collider will be completed in Switzerland, marking a significant step forward in particle physics.
What is LHC?
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is a particle accelerator which will probe deeper into matter than ever before. Due to switch on in 2007, it will ultimately collide beams of protons at an energy of 14 TeV . Beams of lead nuclei will be also accelerated, smashing together with a collision energy of 1150 TeV.
A TeV is a unit of energy used in particle physics. 1 TeV is about the energy of motion of a flying mosquito. What makes the LHC so extraordinary is that it squeezes energy into a space about a million million times smaller than a mosquito.
The LHC is the next step in a voyage of discovery which began a century ago. Back then, scientists had just discovered all kinds of mysterious rays, X-rays, cathode rays, alpha and beta rays. Where did they come from? Were they all made of the same thing, and if so what?
These questions have now been answered, giving us a much greater understanding of the Universe. Along the way, the answers have changed our daily lives, giving us televisions, transistors, medical imaging devices and computers.
On the threshold of the 21st century, we face new questions which the LHC is designed to address. Who can tell what new developments the answers may bring?
I'm not a biologist, although I'm pretty sure bacterial reproduction on Mars is unlikely. I believe the coldest temperatures at which we've seen Earth bacteria multiply is only -30 C or thereabouts, which is believe is above the Martian highs (~ -40 C). I doubt lingering nonreproductive (albeit surviving) smatterings would trigger a false positive.
If we do detect life or life remnants, future sample retrievals will be able to make the final call certain. Of particular interest would be the discover of a replication process different from RNA/DNA (the basis of all life reproduction on Earth).
What have they promised in terms of space launch developments? They simply haven't aimed very high, being content with their expensive shuttle launch method.
However, the next 10-15 years are looking much more positive.
See this News Article for information about NASA's Space Launch Initiative program.
"The reusable space plane, equipped with crew escape and automatic landing systems, would be far safer than the shuttle, officials said Tuesday in unveiling 15 design concepts. It also would be much cheaper to operate, they promised."
> NASA as an organization doesn't really care about cheap, reliable space launches, because that would mean that their budget would be cut!
NASA has quite a few projects under research and development. See NASA Projects -- NASA is researching cheaper ways to conduct space launches. Believe me, it behooves them to do so. Cutting costs in ANY area leaves more to apply to additional research. Congress doesn't ask NASA for bill based on the "cost of exploring space" -- they toss whatever crumbs they can spare from the budget. Granted, congress monitors how the money is spent, but to say cost savings = budget cuts is a massive oversimplification.
Unlike most astronomical spacecraft SIRTF will not be orbiting the Earth. Instead, it will be put into orbit around the sun.
"SIRTF will be following the Earth around the sun, kind of like a faithful puppy dog," astronomer Michael Werner said. The solar orbit increases the lifetime of the spacecraft.
SIRTF will gradually lag further and further away from the Earth until it's too far to be detected. But in about six decades the Earth will "catch up" with SIRTF, like a race car lapping another race car.
Is the concept of an infinite universe accepted by more cosmologists than not? I'm trying to think through how that idea would work. Is the term "infinite" referring to space? If so, then I assume it refers to mass/energy as well (based on the cosmological principle of homogeneity).
But wasn't the original material of the big bang a singularity? And doesn't singularity imply a finite (or essentially zero) amount of space? If not, then the singularity would need to be an infinitely "large" amount of space, which subsequently expanded. Thus, all of our visible universe would be but a speck amongst the "infinite singularity" that expanded/exploded. Is this how the "infinite universe" model works?
You're correct -- the story itself doesn't *prove* inconsistency with a presupposed concept of omniscience. However, if the text is analyzed independent of Christian assumptions, it lends toward the conclusion that the authors of the time saw God as a non-omniscient being. The early Genesis stories were likely influenced by the Canaan theology regarding the El god -- note that the text of the theopanies have the LORD walking and talking. Concepts of omniscience likely developed later, as evidenced by exchanges such as that between Moses and God, in which God is persuaded not to kill the Israelite nation.
Watch the Farscape episode "I, E.T." for a stimulating glimpse of what it might be like for us to discover alien-life. This script was well-written and well-acted. Note: it's a human making contact with an alien Jodie Foster-like astronomer.
I agree that traditional religions seem to have an amazing ability to adapt as new (and sometimes contradictory) information is found. What used to be regarded as a literal statement of fact becomes regarded as metaphors or symbols. You'll never read day-age and local-flood theories that pre-date modern geology.
Regarding more conservative forms of Christianity, I think a blow would be dealt. The Bible is clearly Earth-centric in how it describes both the beginning and ending of cosmic history ("In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth"). In the "Day of the Lord", it's the earth is destroyed with fire and the heavens being "rolled up like a scroll". With a conservative Christian worldview, you would not expect alien intelligence to exist (just peruse some of their websites), although with an evolutionary humanist perspective, you would. In my perspective, the religions which "can't adopt" should be destroyed for being no longer relevant, and the ones which do "change" to suit the new evidence should be held suspect. Are they really leading the way of knowledge, or just hanging on for the ride by its coattails?
A nice solution... for 8 marbles. However, I was referring to the 12 marble puzzle. I said start with 8 because if the scales is even (four vs four), you know the 4 not being weighed contains the odd stone.
Slashdot Mirror
Don't anthropomorphize computers...they will seek vengeance.
This story heading was so long I almost formed an emotional attachment with IT...
What are you smoking? Yes, the probability is slim but a straight-forward analysis could derive it. We know the average number of asteroids in the orbit, we know their average speed, we can calculate the momentum difference required to achieve the necessary trajectory adjustment, and we can calculate the odds of making an adjustment that sets it in a collision course with Earth.
I agree it would be slim odds, but nevertheless, I would wager that its finite and calculable.
The asteroid will only psas within a distance equal to 4x that of the Earth to the moon...
But what are the odds it could hit another asteroid to knock it off its current path and onto a Earth-bound trajectory?
Can't they limit the release of new kickass cards to once every three years? I can't keep up. I haven't gotten my money's worth out of my ATI Radeon 9700 Pro yet...
> I remember my college physics classes and half the class didn't understand basic algebra yet they were going to major in physics.
Where did you go to college? The small group of physics majors at the state university I attended were absolutely brilliant students.
A common mistake people make is to relate local fluctuations in temperature/weather to long-term global patterns. This is akin to noticing that several of your neighbors are short and concluding that average height of the world must be decreasing.
When it's a cold winter, I hear people chortling over how ridiculous global warming is. And when it's a warm winter, I hear people fretting over how global warming must be taking place.
My point here isn't to argue that global warming isn't happening (that involves complicated calculations using historical air samples in artic ice cores, etc) -- but people should realize that recent local weather patterns are insignificant in comparison to the larger scheme.
I think you are referring to the "South Atlantic Anomaly" (not "Southern Anomaly")...
I recently attended a get-rich scam revovling real-estate. (I wasn't interested but my wife wanted to check it out).
Man, those guys were slick! Almost every other sentence had the word "money" in it. After watching a series of testimonies by people who claimed to have made thousands of dollars in just days, the speaker conducted a pep rally to get everyone excited about how rich they were going to become. He gave helpful pointers on how to deal with all the extra money coming in, like, "after you make your first sale, reward yourself with a cruise...", etc, etc. It was really sad to watch, because the room was filled with people getting really pumped up and excited.
Needless to say, I wasn't able to stay the entire time, but I did a little research once I got home. According to a Washington Post article I found, the weekend Training Seminar they try to pull on these people was priced at $3000.
So just like the Big Tent Revival scam artists in times past collected large sum in exchange for divine promises, scam artists are still setting up camp with similar tactics to soak the poor and gullible.
Now, if we can just combine cryogenics with our ramjets, perhaps we can finally make it out of the Slow Zone to the edge of the Lower Beyond...
After watching Pepsi attempt to normalize the RIAA's abuse of power, I have no desire to purchase that soft drink.
While we're on the topic of particle accelerators, mark your calendars for 2007 -- that's when the Large Hadron Collider will be completed in Switzerland, marking a significant step forward in particle physics.
Here's a brief description from the CERN website:
What is LHC? The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is a particle accelerator which will probe deeper into matter than ever before. Due to switch on in 2007, it will ultimately collide beams of protons at an energy of 14 TeV . Beams of lead nuclei will be also accelerated, smashing together with a collision energy of 1150 TeV.
A TeV is a unit of energy used in particle physics. 1 TeV is about the energy of motion of a flying mosquito. What makes the LHC so extraordinary is that it squeezes energy into a space about a million million times smaller than a mosquito.
The LHC is the next step in a voyage of discovery which began a century ago. Back then, scientists had just discovered all kinds of mysterious rays, X-rays, cathode rays, alpha and beta rays. Where did they come from? Were they all made of the same thing, and if so what? These questions have now been answered, giving us a much greater understanding of the Universe. Along the way, the answers have changed our daily lives, giving us televisions, transistors, medical imaging devices and computers. On the threshold of the 21st century, we face new questions which the LHC is designed to address. Who can tell what new developments the answers may bring?
I'm not a biologist, although I'm pretty sure bacterial reproduction on Mars is unlikely. I believe the coldest temperatures at which we've seen Earth bacteria multiply is only -30 C or thereabouts, which is believe is above the Martian highs (~ -40 C). I doubt lingering nonreproductive (albeit surviving) smatterings would trigger a false positive.
If we do detect life or life remnants, future sample retrievals will be able to make the final call certain. Of particular interest would be the discover of a replication process different from RNA/DNA (the basis of all life reproduction on Earth).
> The USSR: 3/7 landers succeeded, though 2 of those that reached the surface sent back little data.
Considering those two probes were on the searing surface of Venus, the "little" amount of data sent is more of an accomplishment than a failure.
What have they promised in terms of space launch developments? They simply haven't aimed very high, being content with their expensive shuttle launch method. However, the next 10-15 years are looking much more positive.
See this News Article for information about NASA's Space Launch Initiative program.
"The reusable space plane, equipped with crew escape and automatic landing systems, would be far safer than the shuttle, officials said Tuesday in unveiling 15 design concepts. It also would be much cheaper to operate, they promised."
How this parent get modded to 5?
> NASA as an organization doesn't really care about cheap, reliable space launches, because that would mean that their budget would be cut!
NASA has quite a few projects under research and development. See NASA Projects -- NASA is researching cheaper ways to conduct space launches. Believe me, it behooves them to do so. Cutting costs in ANY area leaves more to apply to additional research. Congress doesn't ask NASA for bill based on the "cost of exploring space" -- they toss whatever crumbs they can spare from the budget. Granted, congress monitors how the money is spent, but to say cost savings = budget cuts is a massive oversimplification.
God, I hope they calculate the trajectories right or there might be an interesting "meteor" shower in about 60 years...
CNN Article
Is the concept of an infinite universe accepted by more cosmologists than not? I'm trying to think through how that idea would work. Is the term "infinite" referring to space? If so, then I assume it refers to mass/energy as well (based on the cosmological principle of homogeneity).
But wasn't the original material of the big bang a singularity? And doesn't singularity imply a finite (or essentially zero) amount of space? If not, then the singularity would need to be an infinitely "large" amount of space, which subsequently expanded. Thus, all of our visible universe would be but a speck amongst the "infinite singularity" that expanded/exploded. Is this how the "infinite universe" model works?
You're correct -- the story itself doesn't *prove* inconsistency with a presupposed concept of omniscience. However, if the text is analyzed independent of Christian assumptions, it lends toward the conclusion that the authors of the time saw God as a non-omniscient being. The early Genesis stories were likely influenced by the Canaan theology regarding the El god -- note that the text of the theopanies have the LORD walking and talking. Concepts of omniscience likely developed later, as evidenced by exchanges such as that between Moses and God, in which God is persuaded not to kill the Israelite nation.
Watch the Farscape episode "I, E.T." for a stimulating glimpse of what it might be like for us to discover alien-life. This script was well-written and well-acted. Note: it's a human making contact with an alien Jodie Foster-like astronomer.
I agree that traditional religions seem to have an amazing ability to adapt as new (and sometimes contradictory) information is found. What used to be regarded as a literal statement of fact becomes regarded as metaphors or symbols. You'll never read day-age and local-flood theories that pre-date modern geology.
Regarding more conservative forms of Christianity, I think a blow would be dealt. The Bible is clearly Earth-centric in how it describes both the beginning and ending of cosmic history ("In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth"). In the "Day of the Lord", it's the earth is destroyed with fire and the heavens being "rolled up like a scroll". With a conservative Christian worldview, you would not expect alien intelligence to exist (just peruse some of their websites), although with an evolutionary humanist perspective, you would. In my perspective, the religions which "can't adopt" should be destroyed for being no longer relevant, and the ones which do "change" to suit the new evidence should be held suspect. Are they really leading the way of knowledge, or just hanging on for the ride by its coattails?
Shhh!! Don't give the DoD any ideas -- they'd use this to liberate a couple more countries!
A nice solution... for 8 marbles. However, I was referring to the 12 marble puzzle. I said start with 8 because if the scales is even (four vs four), you know the 4 not being weighed contains the odd stone.