I would guess E=mc², but the Drake equation's last 4 variables are complete conjecture at this point in time.
The Science Thread
- Thread starter Louanne Learning
- Start date
As a student, I found physics neither beautiful nor easy. I was a straight A biological science student who got a B in physics because it connected with so few synapses in my brain. Physics simpy did not compute despite the massive amount of time and effort I put into studying the subject. A few colorful diagrams and childish videos might've been a great help.
Zatamon
New Member
Look at a figure-skater. She starts a pirouette by giving herself a small spin on the ice, with her arms stretched out. Once she has a low-speed rotation, she gradually pulls her arms in, lifting them slowly to a vertical position, until her arms are as close to the axis of rotation as possible. Observe how her spin speeds up as she does that. Her body, without any further effort on her part, obeys the law: “Your angular momentum shall remain the same” - the law of conservation of momentum must be obeyed. Just imagine how a little girl must feel when she first learns this neat trick: without any effort, just by raising her arms, a sudden force grabs her and starts spinning her body in a dizzying pirouette!
The beauty of the pirouette is enhanced by understanding why and how nature (physics) has this ability to create it.
The beauty of the pirouette is enhanced by understanding why and how nature (physics) has this ability to create it.
Yup. Can't even make a half-assed guess without a second civilization of data. Even then you'd barely be quarter-assed.
From the Drake Equation webpage on the SETI Institute site:
While the Drake Equation cannot be “solved” or even accurately calculated, it retains considerable utility for discussions about extraterrestrial life and intelligence. And that, after all, was the reason for its invention. It’s also noteworthy that this famous formulation encompasses all the research activities of the SETI Institute, from our efforts to probe the harsh landscapes of Mars to our extremely high-tech searches for alien signals. It is the scaffolding upon which the Institute has been built.
While the Drake Equation cannot be “solved” or even accurately calculated, it retains considerable utility for discussions about extraterrestrial life and intelligence. And that, after all, was the reason for its invention. It’s also noteworthy that this famous formulation encompasses all the research activities of the SETI Institute, from our efforts to probe the harsh landscapes of Mars to our extremely high-tech searches for alien signals. It is the scaffolding upon which the Institute has been built.
I'd like think that being the arrogant humans were are, that we're uniquely special and the result of one of the infinitesimal celestial configurations that is not duplicated. All the variables leading to our evolution cannot be counted or put into a formula. From the velocity of the big bang, to the collision with Theia forming our moon, to unknown collisions with other planetary objects with gaseous atmospheres, to the spacing of earth's orbit to the sun, the intensity of the sun, the tilt of earth's axis, etc., etc., the list is unfathomable. I'm not planning on any "little green men"
showing up or sending us a message anytime soon. But, that's just me.
showing up or sending us a message anytime soon. But, that's just me.
Last edited:
And thus you provide the visual that evokes understanding in a student who zones out when presented with the formula for the law of conservation of momentum. A video of Dorothy Hamill's scratch spin is not so childish, is it? However, even Dorothy's spin doesn't arouse in me a desire to fit numbers into formulas to anayze and quantify the phenomenon. Now, if you'd like to gaze at that perfectly formed Lady of Shalott rosebud while I enhance your appreciation by expounding on photosynthesis, biological controls for rose nematodes, and the importance of deep watering, you're on.
Stray memory: When I was about 24, a university professor hired me to dance for a beginning physics class wherein the subject du jour was wave motion. Lots of wave motion in a belly dance. He made a point, the students had an unexpected start to Monday morning, and I made thirty bucks for a few minutes work.
I hesitate to make any definitive, absolute statements about what may, or may not, be out there. That closes the book to possibilities, and with what we know so far about exoplanets, combined with the vast amount of the unknown, who I am to say intelligent life out there cannot exist? It's the same way I approach religion. I could never make the absolute statement, "God does not exist." That is way beyond the parameters of my feeble human knowledge.
How so? How do you think we are special?
There are two kinds of people in the world: those that divide human motivation into opposing absolutes and those who have water to haul and wood to chop.
I see your Drake Equation, and I raise you a Fermi Paradox.
The fact that we can communicate via the magic of wires and waves with a keyboard and a video screen is pretty special to me? I did use the word arrogant and special in the same sentence which go hand in hand as we are at the top of the food chain. Human intelligence and inventiveness are moving forward at an exponential speed and I am just hanging on for the ride with what little understanding I can manage to try and understand all of the knowledge being developed and implemented continuously as the days go by. My view of existence has changed somewhat since having my chest opened up and having very skilled and intelligent professionals go into my heart and replace a valve while also re-plumbing and splicing otherwise redundant vascular vessels in around damaged arteries. I am in wonderment of what mankind/womankind has been able to achieve and continue to bring forth in all forms of endeavors. Yep....special! We all are, at least my Momma thought I was. LOL
You make a compelling argument for humans being special on this planet, on Earth, and that gets into all the ways we are differentiated from other animals. But I don't think this is evidence that special species cannot exist on other planets.
I respect your view and consider your post the last word! Unless you want to add some more?
Seals do the banana pose when they are happy and content.
Eeeeeeeee seals! *heart melts*
Lifting their heads and flippers into to the air also helps seals to regulate their body temperature and keeps their extremities dry when close to water.
And to end on a silly note: time flies like an arrow, seals pose like a banana. (Sorry, Groucho)
Lifting their heads and flippers into to the air also helps seals to regulate their body temperature and keeps their extremities dry when close to water.
And to end on a silly note: time flies like an arrow, seals pose like a banana. (Sorry, Groucho)
Next time you're in the Rocky Mountains, we can go ask the grizzly bears what they think of that statement.
Folks who manage to draw grizzly bear tags don't count because they deliberately went out with a gun. Ask a guy with an elk on the ground and a grizzly who disputes ownership of said elk.
