General Discussion

GreenStormCloud

(12,072 posts)

82. You hit on the BIG question.

Sun Jun 9, 2013, 08:30 PM

Jun 2013

Using instruments in our own solar system we search for human habitable planets that are close enough for a multi-generation ship to be launched to. Once every 500 years we launch a colony ship that takes 500 years to get there. After 500 years on that planet they have a fully developed space faring civilization that searches for other habitable planets. So 1,000 years have passed and you now have two launching planets, each making a launch every 500 years. Like the famous example of the person who earns a penny the first day, two pennies the second day, four on the third day, and at the end of the month his is a multi-millionaire, in a couple of hundred thousand years the entire galaxy is filled with humans.

That does suggest that we are alone.

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Do you believe there are species that have mastered FTL travel? [View all] Twofish Jun 2013 OP

Probably. Laws are meant to be broken. NYC_SKP Jun 2013 #1

I thought you said "limited current suppositories" cliffordu Jun 2013 #34

Those, too, brother. NYC_SKP Jun 2013 #36

Any truly intelligent interstellar traveling species would avoid us like the plague. hobbit709 Jun 2013 #2

Yes, I think so. After all, everything is impossible until someone does it. Glorfindel Jun 2013 #3

I think there may be and I think it would behoove us not to attract their attention Fumesucker Jun 2013 #4

Space, the final frontier.... Buzz Clik Jun 2013 #5

Common sense... fadedrose Jun 2013 #6

I don't know. LWolf Jun 2013 #7

Quantum interaction: 10,000 times faster than light warrior1 Jun 2013 #8

My own speculation would be that there are possible pasts, just as there are possible futures. hunter Jun 2013 #51

Yes, Thompson's Gazelle Bluenorthwest Jun 2013 #9

This message was self-deleted by its author JaneyVee Jun 2013 #10

No, but I believe that there are esseentially immortal species that do interstellar travel. FarCenter Jun 2013 #11

Duh. Stargate travel. Apophis Jun 2013 #12

I believe the human race is alone. sellitman Jun 2013 #13

How can you be so arrogant to believe that RebelOne Jun 2013 #16

How can you be so arrogant to believe that the we are an intelligent species? FSogol Jun 2013 #18

Touche burnodo Jun 2013 #20

How do I nominate this for a DUzy? Shankapotomus Jun 2013 #21

You just did. nt longship Jun 2013 #22

I would use the word technological species exboyfil Jun 2013 #48

I'm sure intelligent life exists elsewhere, but it's a lot less common than we think Hugabear Jun 2013 #46

That's just the anthropic principle. Marr Jun 2013 #63

You misapply the anthropic principle. GreenStormCloud Jun 2013 #92

I think Adams was using the puddle metaphorically. Marr Jun 2013 #94

And I continued the methaphor. GreenStormCloud Jun 2013 #106

Correction - probably quintillions of stars. closeupready Jun 2013 #57

I have yet to see ANY evidence to the contrary sellitman Jun 2013 #130

I don't think it's a belief to say there are other intelligent species in the universe burnodo Jun 2013 #19

Fully agreed. lumberjack_jeff Jun 2013 #55

squid...and i think that's obvious. nashville_brook Jun 2013 #14

You fool! You're going to get us all killed! Orrex Jun 2013 #39

Nonsense. But you might want to lose the red shirt... pinboy3niner Jun 2013 #80

i've worked out a deal with my squidy space brothers nashville_brook Jun 2013 #128

I have no opinion on that, and wouldn't speculate. MineralMan Jun 2013 #15

The DU hosts appear to believe that FTL travel is more likely than Wellstone being murdered. Nye Bevan Jun 2013 #59

Absolutely. My cat routinely teleports herself out of the kitchen if I happen to drop a dish. tanyev Jun 2013 #17

I don't believe FTL is possible mick063 Jun 2013 #23

We already know that it is possible. Twofish Jun 2013 #24

Harness the power of an entire star? mick063 Jun 2013 #29

No, not an entire star. Scroll down to my reply to longship. Twofish Jun 2013 #30

Indefinite human lifespan will probably be achieved long before FTL / generation ships MillennialDem Jun 2013 #97

Nnnnnope. cherokeeprogressive Jun 2013 #25

I doubt it. longship Jun 2013 #26

Not quite. Twofish Jun 2013 #27

Maybe dilithium crystals will do it. ;) longship Jun 2013 #32

None of that breaks any current understanding of relativity. Twofish Jun 2013 #43

Well then, that's good. longship Jun 2013 #45

No way to know treestar Jun 2013 #28

If we don't bomb ourselves back to the stone age. If we don't decide that feudalism......... wandy Jun 2013 #31

I have thought this very thing for years. I speculate that beings may have to evolve to a state that Lint Head Jun 2013 #33

Going from Point A to Point B faster than light leads to time travel paradoxes, no matter how... Silent3 Jun 2013 #35

This is not true. Twofish Jun 2013 #42

You're missing the big picture, where more than one person has a warp drive at the same time. Silent3 Jun 2013 #50

Wow... because I think we are looping in #2.... n/t nebenaube Jun 2013 #76

Yes. Democrats often hit those speeds when reversing previously held convictions. nt Demo_Chris Jun 2013 #37

No, and same for time travel too. Sorry. hunter Jun 2013 #38

I believe that the peregrine falcon has been clocked at over 200 mph. Orrex Jun 2013 #40

No, simply for the reason that I have no reason to believe that. ZombieHorde Jun 2013 #41

I'd say most UFO's are optical illusions. gvstn Jun 2013 #44

I am not saying Roswell was real but ... former9thward Jun 2013 #72

yes, and I think there are many things we don't have a clue about yet quinnox Jun 2013 #47

In short, yes. Savannahmann Jun 2013 #49

I know far too little to rule it out. But the idea of aliens is really kestrel91316 Jun 2013 #52

Don't believe anybody has mastered perpetual motion either. dimbear Jun 2013 #53

No. 'Cuz we're alone. n/t lumberjack_jeff Jun 2013 #54

So you don't think there's even microbial life anywhere else in the entire universe? /nt Marr Jun 2013 #64

I think microbial life is probable. lumberjack_jeff Jun 2013 #67

Hmm, well-- we're operating from same complete lack of evidence, so... Marr Jun 2013 #70

True. The complete lack of evidence makes even microbial life a wild-assed guess. lumberjack_jeff Jun 2013 #74

I read something once that said, with only the technology we have today... Marr Jun 2013 #78

You hit on the BIG question. GreenStormCloud Jun 2013 #82

Absolutely, yes. Given the immensity of the universe, I have no doubt of it. Akoto Jun 2013 #56

I don't know, we can only perceive of about 30% of the known universe. Rex Jun 2013 #58

No evidence at all that the have. Or that there are any other living beings. I like evidence. n-t Logical Jun 2013 #60

Considering that in my lifetime of seventy + years, I have seen so much of what Cleita Jun 2013 #61

If such a thing is physically possible, I have to think it's been done *somewhere* in the universe. Marr Jun 2013 #62

Fermi Paradox lumberjack_jeff Jun 2013 #75

Not necessarily. It's a very big place, after all-- and very old. Marr Jun 2013 #77

The Fermi Paradox contains one fatal flaw. Xithras Jun 2013 #98

You argument has a fatal flaw. GreenStormCloud Jun 2013 #112

Nonsense. lumberjack_jeff Jun 2013 #122

"We" is not "Them" Xithras Jun 2013 #124

This is the part of the argument I love. lumberjack_jeff Jun 2013 #126

And yet... Xithras Jun 2013 #127

The flaw in your argument: GreenStormCloud Jun 2013 #129

Id like to but i cant yet. Notafraidtoo Jun 2013 #65

Yes. Street Preachers. Jamastiene Jun 2013 #66

I know nothing about physics. johnp3907 Jun 2013 #68

No. It's impossible. alarimer Jun 2013 #69

http://phys.org/news/2013-06-quantum-teleportation-atomic-distances.html nebenaube Jun 2013 #79

No. Twofish Jun 2013 #81

Most people a thousand years ago would have said putting a human on the moon is impossible. Incitatus Jun 2013 #83

Once upon a time a jetliner flying through the air was "impossible" Marrah_G Jun 2013 #93

There is a difference between... GreenStormCloud Jun 2013 #120

I sincerely doubt we are unique in the universe. dipsydoodle Jun 2013 #71

Yes. And they travel trillions of intergalactic miles... SidDithers Jun 2013 #73

No evidence that any have mastered it. Why would anyone believe it? Faith? eom yawnmaster Jun 2013 #84

If some UFO's are built by humans... ZX86 Jun 2013 #85

Yes...the more background I do onto the future nexus world nadinbrzezinski Jun 2013 #86

If they did, why stop here? nt rrneck Jun 2013 #87

Of course tova Jun 2013 #88

In the whole universe then multiplied by all possible universes, yeah. TheKentuckian Jun 2013 #89

Do you think some of these aliens are using chemtrails? Ian David Jun 2013 #90

Where are they? GreenStormCloud Jun 2013 #91

I disagree some species in the galaxy has discovered it at this present moment. It's possible yes, MillennialDem Jun 2013 #95

Universe or galaxy? GreenStormCloud Jun 2013 #107

Regarding leaving Earth, I was simplifying things for making my point of MillennialDem Jun 2013 #110

Think exponentially, not linearly. GreenStormCloud Jun 2013 #113

That's making a buttload of assumptions (pun intended) MillennialDem Jun 2013 #114

Your post #95 already assumes C & D. GreenStormCloud Jun 2013 #116

Ah the Fermi paradox nadinbrzezinski Jun 2013 #111

I believe they are there, but confined to their own planetary system. GreenStormCloud Jun 2013 #117

I know there so much we don't understand about physics nadinbrzezinski Jun 2013 #118

If FTL is possible, do you think we would be the first in our galaxy to find it? GreenStormCloud Jun 2013 #119

Alas the Fermi paradox nadinbrzezinski Jun 2013 #121

You ducked the question as I posed it. GreenStormCloud Jun 2013 #123

You are assuming colinization. nadinbrzezinski Jun 2013 #125

I'd say your pizza delivery happened quickly, but not remotely close to FTL...nt SidDithers Jun 2013 #96

My amazing powers of precognition have once again served me well. Orrex Jun 2013 #100

Amazing. Are you a wizard?... SidDithers Jun 2013 #101

The best part... Orrex Jun 2013 #103

I'm sure they'll be back... SidDithers Jun 2013 #104

I'll bet that he travelled here from the future Orrex Jun 2013 #105

I think time travel is easier than FTL. sofa king Jun 2013 #99

Well, for one thing, I wouldn't call them "species." ananda Jun 2013 #102

I'll tell you yesterday KamaAina Jun 2013 #108

If there are Proud Liberal Dem Jun 2013 #109

A sequal to ID could be really interesting. GreenStormCloud Jun 2013 #115