Mestiv he/him Posted August 5, 2015 Posted August 5, 2015 For all the Lord of the Rings fans, have this song: Christopher Lee as Treebeard sounds just majestic. And now I'm sad that he died
Blaze1616 he/him Posted August 5, 2015 Posted August 5, 2015 So, a lot of astrophysicists have expressed their doubts that extraterrestrial civilizations exist, because radio signals from Earth have been beaming outwards into space for nearly a hundred years now. This is the crux of the Fermi Paradox--if the universe is teeming with life, why don't we see any of it? There are plenty of proposed solutions to the Fermi Paradox. Some say alien civilizations tend to go extinct before they become advanced enough to contact us. Some say aliens don't use radio signals, and thus have no reason to listen to our messages. Some say this is proof positive that there is no extraterrestrial life. I prefer a simpler solution, though. Consider that under the most liberal estimages, humanity has only been emitting audible signals into the galaxy for two hundred years. These signals travel only at the speed of light, and thus, our radio signals have only reached an approximate sphere two hundred light years in diameter, centered around our homeworld. The thing to remember though is that the galaxy is huge. In all this time, the only aliens that could have heard our messages are the ones that evolved and developed within that tiny blue sphere. There could a civilization hundreds of years more advanced than our own just three hundred light years away, and they won't get our messages for another century. When you look at this perspective, panicking about the Fermi Paradox seems... kind of silly. The universe is so huge and so ancient that worrying why we haven't gotten a reply after just two hundred years is like a castaway tossing a message-in-a-bottle into the ocean and despairing when minutes pass and he gets no response. Worrying that all the other alien civilizations have gone extinct is like sending a text to your girlfriend, not getting a reply after ten seconds of waiting, and then assuming that she's been murdered by a serial killer. We've only just started looking up at the sky hoping to find other eyes like our own. The galaxies are packed with mystery still, and no one knows what we'd find if we left the bounds of our tiny solar system. I've always felt the same way you do about the Fermi Paradox. It seems...silly?...to me to think that there must be other life far more advanced than us which should have contacted us by now. Is the assumption that there must be life more advanced than us even valid? Why should they be any further along than we are? Yes, I understand that probability dictates they be more advanced, and yes I understand just how old they could be, and how far advanced that implies they be, but still. The universe is huge, with potential billions of light years between us and the next world with life. No need to freak simply because we haven't made contact yet. 1
Edgedancer he/him Posted August 5, 2015 Posted August 5, 2015 , 61! FISSION MAILED Anyway aliens... yeah the Fermi Paradox is somewhat of a non-paradox at this point. Also who says aliens don't already know about us but just don't want anything to do with us babarians? 1
TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her Posted August 5, 2015 Posted August 5, 2015 FISSION MAILED Anyway aliens... yeah the Fermi Paradox is somewhat of a non-paradox at this point. Also who says aliens don't already know about us but just don't want anything to do with us babarians? If they're sitting there, discussing what barbarians we are, then those aliens are clearly racist and not the sort of aliens we want to hang out with. 2
Kobold King he/him Posted August 5, 2015 Posted August 5, 2015 If they're sitting there, discussing what barbarians we are, then those aliens are clearly racist and not the sort of aliens we want to hang out with. Or maybe they're observing us for their strange alien reality shows. "This cycle on Civilization Fails, we take a look at some furless primates who are so backwards, they're trying to talk to us with electromagnetic radiation! Don't miss it!" 2
TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her Posted August 5, 2015 Posted August 5, 2015 Or maybe they're observing us for their strange alien reality shows. "This cycle on Civilization Fails, we take a look at some furless primates who are so backwards, they're trying to talk to us with electromagnetic radiation! Don't miss it!" I want nothing to do with those racist aliens. 1
Kobold King he/him Posted August 5, 2015 Posted August 5, 2015 I want nothing to do with those racist aliens. We're a strong, independent species that don't need no First Contact. 2
TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her Posted August 5, 2015 Posted August 5, 2015 (edited) Thanks to everyone who donated to the Pug Fund yesterday! Here's the link again: http://www.gofundme.com/danipugfund Edited August 5, 2015 by TwiLyghtSansSparkles 5
Kobold King he/him Posted August 5, 2015 Posted August 5, 2015 Thanks to everyone who donated to the Pug Fund yesterday! Here's the link again: http://www.gofundme.com/danipugfund Stare into the face of the Hypnopug! You will buy TwiLyght a pug... 3
TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her Posted August 5, 2015 Posted August 5, 2015 And I just got two downvotes. Did I say something wrong? 2
Kobold King he/him Posted August 5, 2015 Posted August 5, 2015 And I just got two downvotes. Did I say something wrong? Where did you get them? I've been getting a few lately myself. I think it's the influx of newcomers, reading through old posts and disapproving of some of them.
TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her Posted August 5, 2015 Posted August 5, 2015 Where did you get them? I've been getting a few lately myself. I think it's the influx of newcomers, reading through old posts and disapproving of some of them. I have no idea. I make so many posts that I don't have time to go through and check all of them. Still, I wish there was some sort of indicator, because if I said something offensive, I want to know what it was so I can clarify or apologize for it. 1
Kobold King he/him Posted August 5, 2015 Posted August 5, 2015 I have no idea. I make so many posts that I don't have time to go through and check all of them. Still, I wish there was some sort of indicator, because if I said something offensive, I want to know what it was so I can clarify or apologize for it. I highly doubt you said anything offensive. There are a few members who use the Reddit Theory of downvotes--downvote not what is offensive, but what you disagree with, or jokes that you simply don't find funny. It's not against the rules, but I find it kind of annoying, especially once your post count is so high you can't figure out what people are downvoting in the first place. On the bright side, all the new users reading through the Sanderson Memes thread for the first time are also netting me a lot of upvotes.
Orlion Blight he/him Posted August 5, 2015 Posted August 5, 2015 And I just got two downvotes. Did I say something wrong? They're just jealous of your swagger. 4
RippleGylf she/her Posted August 5, 2015 Posted August 5, 2015 A bit off-topic, but does anyone else get anchovies and sardines mixed up sometimes, or is it just me? 1
TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her Posted August 5, 2015 Posted August 5, 2015 A bit off-topic, but does anyone else get anchovies and sardines mixed up sometimes, or is it just me? I don't concern myself with either, so I wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
Kobold King he/him Posted August 5, 2015 Posted August 5, 2015 My grandma's visiting today. We have absolutely nothing in common. Nothing to talk about. She shares none of my interests, and if she has any interests to speak of then I don't know of them. She has proven herself quite content to sit on a couch and stare at me, unblinking, with a slightly dazed smile on her face for up to ten straight minutes at a time without speaking. So what the news of her visit said to me was... 4
TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her Posted August 5, 2015 Posted August 5, 2015 My grandma's visiting today. We have absolutely nothing in common. Nothing to talk about. She shares none of my interests, and if she has any interests to speak of then I don't know of them. She has proven herself quite content to sit on a couch and stare at me, unblinking, with a slightly dazed smile on her face for up to ten straight minutes at a time without speaking. So what the news of her visit said to me was... I'm working on a new installment of Memes of Radiance, if that helps. 2
Kobold King he/him Posted August 5, 2015 Posted August 5, 2015 I'm working on a new installment of Memes of Radiance, if that helps. 2
ThirdGen Posted August 5, 2015 Posted August 5, 2015 A bit off-topic, but does anyone else get anchovies and sardines mixed up sometimes, or is it just me? Anchovies were a frequent enough punchline back in the 80s-90s that that never really happened for me. Sardines rule!
Quiver he/him Posted August 5, 2015 Posted August 5, 2015 So. I... kind of like G.I.Joe: Retaliation. Its a dumb movie, but it feels like some effort was put into it. I feel dirty.
Orlion Blight he/him Posted August 5, 2015 Posted August 5, 2015 So. I... kind of like G.I.Joe: Retaliation. Its a dumb movie, but it feels like some effort was put into it. I feel dirty. 1
Quiver he/him Posted August 5, 2015 Posted August 5, 2015 I know! Im not saying its good, by any stretch. But for some reason, I find it...perversely entertaining? Also NINJAS.
Kobold King he/him Posted August 5, 2015 Posted August 5, 2015 Where do you see yourself in five years? I dunno... I don't have 2020 vision. I hope you enjoyed this joke, because under our current calendar this is the only year it will ever make sense. 8
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