Everything Geek goes here...

[Psi U MC Vito]

Originally Posted by cheerfulgreek

Oh, and when I was watching, one of my classmates was watching it with me, and she asked me do I believe that UFOs have been coming to Earth ...Umm, no. I just told her that our galaxy alone is much too vast.

You never heard of the Fermi Paradox then?

[cheerfulgreek]

Originally Posted by Psi U MC Vito

You never heard of the Fermi Paradox then?

Yep. I have, and I don't necessarily totally disagree with it. Have you ever seen "What the bleep do we know?" It's a really cool documentary that kind of elaborates on something like this. I really don't believe aliens have been travelling to Earth. At least not now. I mean, if they are, I think they've already done it. But another part of me thinks that they don't have the technology to explore space like that. It's just too big and everything is so far apart. I really get into quantum theory because it's pretty much based on the idea that there is a probability that all possible events, no matter how crazy or silly, might occur. I mean, how do we know parallel universes don't exist? I guess that's one reason why I'm so intrigued with black holes. Oh, and this reminds me. Vito, I'm not sure if you're into the Twilight Zone, but I remember in one episode, there was this guy who woke up only to find that his wife doesn't recognize him. She screams at him to leave before she calls the police. When he wanders around town, he finds that his lifelong friends also don't recognize him, as if he never existed. Finally he visits his parents' house, but they too claim they've never seen him before. They told him that they've never even had a son. Without friends, family or a home, he just drifts around town, eventually falling asleep on the park bench, like a homeless guy. When he wakes up the next day, he finds himself back in bed with his wife. However, when his wife turns around, he's shocked to find out that she's not his wife at all, but instead, she's this strange woman he's never seen before. That was probably one of the best ones I've seen. I'm just bringing this up because maybe a single quantum event can separate two worlds, one in which you live as a normal, productive citizen, and another that is exactly identical, except that you were never born. And to be able to travel between these worlds is within the laws of physics. I mean, I know the probability of it happening is pretty small. It's just that the universe is so big, and so weird, that quantum theory gives us a picture of the universe much stranger than we've ever imagined. I mean, just think about it, our galaxy is smaller than a grain of sand compared to everything else that make up the universe. So, imagine how small that makes Earth. I'm open to a lot of things, it's just that I can't see why other intelligent life forms would be travelling here, or even know of our existence. And if by chance they have, I just think it's already been done.

[Psi U MC Vito]

Originally Posted by cheerfulgreek

Yep. I have, and I don't necessarily totally disagree with it. Have you ever seen "What the bleep do we know?" It's a really cool documentary that kind of elaborates on something like this. I really don't believe aliens have been travelling to Earth. At least not now. I mean, if they are, I think they've already done it. I'm open to a lot of things, it's just that I can't see why other intelligent life forms would be travelling here, or even know of our existence. And if by chance they have, I just think it's already been done.

I never heard of what the bleep do we know. But the main point Fermi was making was why have we found no sign yet of them. Even if they came and left, we would have found some sign. But he also calculated, being Fermi, roughly how long it would take them to do so if they wanted to. I think the figure was like 50 million years? I forget, but it was insignificant compared to the total age of the galaxy.

[PiKA2001]

Originally Posted by Psi U MC Vito

But he also calculated, being Fermi, roughly how long it would take them to do so if they wanted to. I think the figure was like 50 million years? I forget, but it was insignificant compared to the total age of the galaxy.

How was he able to calculate how long it would take an alien craft to get to Earth?

[Psi U MC Vito]

Originally Posted by PiKA2001

How was he able to calculate how long it would take an alien craft to get to Earth?

In a matter of speaking. What he did was calculate how long it would take a civilization to colonize the entire galaxy, even assuming they couldn't go faster then light. Fermi was very famous for his back of the envelope calculations. He calculated within one OoM the power of the first atomic bomb by dropping pieces of paper and seeing how far the blast blew them.

[Animate]

I'm becoming more and more of a snob when it comes to technology. I love technology, no question of that; I'm just starting to cringe whenever nontechnical people try to talk like they know what they are talking about. Its easier to just tell people "you wouldn't understand even if I tell you" than to try to dumb it down.

Prime example, my current interest is cell phone technology since I have a new phone. Cell phone customers are friggin idiots! I hear people complain about something going on with their handset and my initial response is...that sounds like a network problem and nothing is wrong with the phone itself, especially when others are experiencing similar things with different handsets.

I have to go watch the iPhone 4 vs EVO youtube thing to make myself feel better now. lol

[cheerfulgreek]

Originally Posted by Psi U MC Vito

I never heard of what the bleep do we know. But the main point Fermi was making was why have we found no sign yet of them. Even if they came and left, we would have found some sign. But he also calculated, being Fermi, roughly how long it would take them to do so if they wanted to. I think the figure was like 50 million years? I forget, but it was insignificant compared to the total age of the galaxy.

I liked "What the bleep do we know". I thought it was interesting. Well, no one really knows anything about ET intelligent life forms. We can only come up with our own thoughts about them, if they even exist.