Space
The Fermi Paradox rears it’s ugly head…
The Fermi Paradox refers to the apparent lack of evidence of the existence of extraterrestrial life, when all other probabilistic scientific determinations would indicate that the alternative should be true, and there should be intelligent life out there.
In other words, if we assume that the way life developed on earth is stereotypical of the development of life in general, and that given the same conditions, life should developed again in the same way, then given the high probability of similar conditions existing on other planets in the universe, having existed far longer than the earth has, why have we not seen any evidence this extraterrestrial life?
At first people thought that we simply lacked the technology to detect the signs of this life, but recent scientific advancements have suggested that this may not be the case. It is an interesting dilemma. What I find equally interesting is that in spite of this paradox, the possibility that we were created, as opposed to simply springing out of some prehistoric primordial soup does not seem to have been honestly considered.
I’ve always thought this argument an interesting one, and being that I consider myself both a theist (of sorts) as well as a firm believer in science, I would offer this thought. Maybe we are still not advanced enough to detect extra terrestrial life. Or maybe theists are right, and we were all created. The absence of evidence can never be the evidence of absence, so as a scientist, in my own humble opinion, all I can honestly say is that we simply do not have enough data to rule anything out. Nor should we assume that the two are mutually exclusive…
Just a thought…
The Fermi Paradox is Back – [Slashdot]
The Fermi Paradox: Back with a vengeance – [Sentient Developments]
Please step out of the shuttle and walk the vapor trail Sir…
It would appear that there may have been cases were we had astronauts piloting space missions with blood alcohol levels in excess of the legal limit…
At least twice, astronauts were allowed to fly after flight surgeons and other astronauts warned they were so drunk they posed a flight-safety risk, an aviation weekly reported Thursday, citing a special panel studying astronaut health. – [Yahoo/AP]
Considering the rather obscene cost of the equipment that our tax precious dollars have been spent constructing, I would have thought that there would be at least as much emphasis placed on an astronauts drinking habits, as there are on the average American Joe Shmoe that gets pulled over for driving under the influence of “one too many”.
The article points out that it hasn’t actually been proved that they actually flew with over the limit BACs, but given the circumstances, I will honestly admit to being very suspicious if guess these guys are not found to have been “piloting under the influence”. They may get off with little more than a slap on the wrist either way. I dunno if legislation even exists that covers DUI in space…
07/28/2007 – UPDATE :
So apparently the study did in fact find that on at least two occasions, astronauts had been allowed to pilot spacecraft while under the influence… Oddly, the article fails to state what penalties will be assessed, or even if there will be any… I guess we shall have to wait and see won’t we…
Report: Astronauts drank before launch – [Yahoo/AP]
Study finds drunk astronauts allowed to fly? – [Yahoo/Reuters]
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