PantherLotus
Professional Schmuck
it's a natural conclusion to the the question: if there are, where are they?
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Star exhibits strange light patterns which could be a sign of alien activity
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it's a natural conclusion to the the question: if there are, where are they?
Ether_Snake
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Assuming one can't travel faster than the speed of light, it's extremely unlikely that a "civilization" would seek to travel far away unless it did so as a whole. If they spread separately, they will experience different things and mutate, not necessarily just physically but socially, culturally, mentally. Their knowledge will start to differ from one another, and soon enough they would be so different as to potentially have competing agendas. What one would consider true, another could consider false because they don't have the same knowledge. This can only be avoided if you can travel or send information faster than light, in which case vast distances don't prevent the "civilization" from staying homogeneous.
This is true even if said civilization became machines or anything else. It's why Von Neumann probes don't make any sense, unless DNA is Von Neumann probes that were sent out to eventually evolve into intelligent species that would re-discover knowledge stored in some data banks somewhere and pick up the torch from there, but seems logistically unlikely.
This is true even if said civilization became machines or anything else. It's why Von Neumann probes don't make any sense, unless DNA is Von Neumann probes that were sent out to eventually evolve into intelligent species that would re-discover knowledge stored in some data banks somewhere and pick up the torch from there, but seems logistically unlikely.
Yup! There's no real evidence either way right now. Scientists are just trying to explain it in the only way they can, which involves little to no real evidence as at the end of it all we've never seen this before.
TimeEffect
Member
If AI can advance alongside space travel, it would just be best to send A.I out there first.
Maybe there's some super A.I robot herd hibernating through space as we speak.
I cant imagine to wonder what a super civilization being would look, think, and function like, as at that stage, they must be infused with all kinds of technology.
Sleight of Jam
Banned
Ofc we wont be able to be 100% certain until technology allows us.
We are monkeys who are just barely getting past the radio signal communication stage, if you think we have the tech or scientific understanding to locate the super civilizations out there then you are quite naive about where we are in our history.
To use our current tech, look out into the cosmos, and come to the conclusion "welp, we must be it" is akin to looking out your bedroom window and trying to see a piece of kelp in a trench at the lowest part of the ocean and coming to the conclusion that there is none because you can't see it from your current state.
We don't know but human technological limitations mean we can't say yes or no to that question. Only know-it-alls think they have an answer.
TimeEffect
Member
The question isn't necessarily about us. It's more like "if there is such advanced life, why haven't they contacted us"
You'd think at least one would. You'd think a whole multitude of life would be all over the galaxy and if there are a few that have mastered space travel, one would eventually come for us. But we dont see that.
So we either think that they all somehow agreed not to touch primitive worlds, or that they are still in their own little bubble as space is so unfathomably large that the idea of regular travel and communication is downright impossible
No one says that we're the only ones out there. It seems likely life springs up in all parts of the universe. But the extent to which to imagine a super civilization is much more harder to believe, and then to imagine that they can travel space is an even bigger leap that is unfathomable and much more unlikely
CadetMahoney
Member
There are probably some good "fan-fiction" arguments to explain that. Like "we are so advanced it would fuck up their worldviews, let them find their own way, plus it's interesting seeing how they develop."
literally. poster actually bolded that part.
PantherLotus
Professional Schmuck
no. this is a paradox. not a question with an answer. there is no conclusion. it's a set of facts that conflict with other facts. that's it. that's why it's a paradox.
Okay, but I'm not sure what philosophical point you are trying to make other then paradoxes exist.
Insane Metal
Member
So... it just got weirder: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QlQc7XYxmk
https://arxiv.org/abs/1704.02535
A group of astronomers looked for signs of intelligent life on over 5600 stars close to our planet. More precisely, they looked for sources of laser light that couldn't be produced naturally.
While there was no actual positive sign for any of the targets, they got some potentially 'false positives', and guess which star showed up... yup.
https://arxiv.org/abs/1704.02535
A group of astronomers looked for signs of intelligent life on over 5600 stars close to our planet. More precisely, they looked for sources of laser light that couldn't be produced naturally.
While there was no actual positive sign for any of the targets, they got some potentially 'false positives', and guess which star showed up... yup.
LookAtMeGo
Member
I knew it. I never lost faith.
MrToughPants
Brian Burke punched my mom
Swamp lasers.
Just to make it clear, this research presumably excluded natural laser light?
And yes, that does actually happen, so called "astrophysical masers" can happen, at least on microwave or radio frequencies.
EDIT Presumably these are excluded. They're rather rare anyway, and not on visible frequencies...
And yes, that does actually happen, so called "astrophysical masers" can happen, at least on microwave or radio frequencies.
EDIT Presumably these are excluded. They're rather rare anyway, and not on visible frequencies...
Given the rapid changes in understanding of physics in the last century, i find it hard to believe that there isn't some trick around the speed of light.
Jason's Ultimatum
Member
These bumps. I hope we get a definitive answer one day.
The star started flashing in morse code and they said,"Fuck you Earth!"
This can't end well... But the hope is still there for real life out there.
Phycisists Hate Him!
Try this one weird trick to travel
faster than the speed of light.
The Jazz Cabbage Master
Member
🌚🌝
Thursday War
Banned
the best space thread gets bester
Please enslave us, KIC 8462852.
Super cool, thanks for the update.
Strange coincidence that it would be this star, but if I'm correct it's been labeled a false positive a few times already in different tests. Fun nonetheless. And I'm sure there are technologically superior dudes and dudettes out there, but who knows if they are in our galaxy and when.
PantherLotus
Professional Schmuck
My heart always leaps when this thread is bumped. Interesting update.
They probably enjoy reading our reactions through their micro wormholes and mind reading apparatuses. "Remember that great space war we had so-and-so many megacenturies ago? The fools just started picking up on our interplanetary Laser battles, and they are debating what to make of it!" *bunch of slightly intoxicated aliens start giggling and sharing favourite reactions among each other*
But seriously, what are the odds.
But seriously, what are the odds.
Dagobert Duck
Member
I love it when this thread get bumped
Interesting star got interesting again? Im in.
Those aliens are clearly making fun of us
Interesting star got interesting again? Im in.
Those aliens are clearly making fun of us
fierrotlepou
Member
Why are they 'false positives'? Aren't they just positives?
It's not impossible for a star to produce lasers by itself:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eta_Carinae
neurosisxeno
Member
It could be naturally occurring.
Still hoping I'm.going to live through the generation of humanity that first finds out for real that we are not alone in the universe. We all know they're out there, the universe will be teeming with life, but the probabilities of it being on our doorstep at the same time as we are around is still probably quite slim.
Just imagine it! With any luck somehow we can actually intercept a message or even images. I don't want to die not knowing.
Just imagine it! With any luck somehow we can actually intercept a message or even images. I don't want to die not knowing.
There are some ways to move between two points at a speed people would consider FTL without actually moving through space at FTL, which is what is dissalowed. The most popular is the Alcubierre Warp Drive, which basically cheats and solves the Einstein Field Equations around a negative mass.
Of course this comes with a hosts of problems (as all hypothetical solutions do), the largest of which is that we're not even sure negative mass is possible, and it may take more energy than I'm the observable universe to use one.
It's not really a coincidence when of the 5600 stars they monitored, ~5000 gave back false positive results. :lol
So it would actually be more remarkable if it didn't give false positive results.
Milly Osworth
Member
They are signaling "LOL TRUMP" in morse.
I'm stupid. What does that actually mean?
LordKasual
Banned
this made me giggle alot more than it should have
Octavianus
Banned
Maybe it's a form of alien morse code
Mr. Poolman
Member
This thread is like a very slow heart attack.
The Auxiliary
Member
I think it means that the star's brightness is dipping, meaning something is passing in front of the star.
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