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20th December 2013, 10:14 AM | #3001 |
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Simple probability tells us that we should expect coincidences, and simple psychology tells us that we'll remember the ones we notice... |
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24th December 2013, 10:09 AM | #3002 |
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So what if Sagan believed intelligent extraterrestrial life exists someplace else in vastness of the cosmos? That's by far the most reasonable position to take. Why? Because in the grand scheme, the probability that there aren't any others is so vanishingly small as to amount to a zero. Yet without conclusive evidence of the affirmative, he still admited he may be wrong. Does that make him a skeptic? Or was he just playing it safe for political purposes? On this issue I think it was largely the latter. On other issues in general, I think it's safe to say that Sagan's role in CSICOP ( now just CSI ) made him a significant player in the arena of skeptical inquiry, and if there ever was a model of behavior for skepticism in general, Sagan was the epitome of the best. His articulate and engaging style introduced science to the masses in a way that left a positive and lasting impression on all those who were fans of Cosmos and his work with SETI.
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3rd January 2014, 10:15 AM | #3003 |
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SETI (search for extraterrestrial inteligent life) is not a scientific theory. It is an experiment. Radio signals are sent out with the hope that it gets picked up by some advanced civilization familiar with radio technology and responds in kind. That then becomes the evidence for ETI.
The same approach is taken when it is anybody's guess. So we throw everything at a wall to see what sticks. The only problem with the approach is the support it has from scientists who fully endorse this wild speculation when there is no available data to even formulate a theory/hypothesis. |
4th January 2014, 09:38 PM | #3004 |
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"They want to make their molehills equal to the mountains by cutting the mountains down." -turingtest "The universe did not come from nothing, it came from 'We don't know'." -Dancing David "Cry, booga, booga, booga! and let slip the Hamsters of Silly!" -JFDHintze |
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8th January 2014, 06:38 AM | #3005 |
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For those interested you can find the various projects that targeted Stars to which messages were sent from the link below.
Active SETI (wiki) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_SETI |
8th January 2014, 06:23 PM | #3006 |
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"They want to make their molehills equal to the mountains by cutting the mountains down." -turingtest "The universe did not come from nothing, it came from 'We don't know'." -Dancing David "Cry, booga, booga, booga! and let slip the Hamsters of Silly!" -JFDHintze |
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8th January 2014, 08:02 PM | #3007 |
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15th January 2014, 08:30 AM | #3008 |
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The odds of finding extraterrestrial intelligent aliens just got a bit dimmer.
Reevaluating the Drake Equation. http://www.astro-tom.com/technical_data/alien_life.htm |
16th January 2014, 07:06 AM | #3009 |
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Sagan had 2 warnings for Humanity.
http://www.collective-evolution.com/...-to-hear-this/
Quote:
Quote:
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16th January 2014, 08:16 AM | #3010 |
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They're not. That's what people have been telling you for the last eleven hundred pages. And that's what you just admitted. Carl Sagan's main focus was on popularizing science education. The charges that you've leveled against him, even if true, took up only a small part of his attentions. Isaac Newton spent the last years of his life trying to turn lead into gold; but that doesn't take anything away from everything he got right. I'm glad you've noticed this flaw in your own argument. |
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16th January 2014, 08:55 AM | #3011 |
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What science is Sagan known for? He was a space/galactic junkie and his Cosmos TV series made him a media star. But that was a TV series about astronomy and not your everyday science.
His theory about a nuclear winter was discredited. His actual scientific achievements were judged by his peers to be trivial and derivative (Harold Urey). His rejection of UFO was controversial because he was and remained convinced of the existence of extraterrestrial intelligent being. He admitted in his last NOVA interview his life long obsession with ETI and his mission to search for them. He was an entertainer and appeared on the Tonight Show as a celebrity of sorts....no Einstein by any stretch of the imagination. |
18th January 2014, 09:19 AM | #3012 |
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18th January 2014, 06:49 PM | #3013 |
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19th January 2014, 04:27 AM | #3014 |
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Dr Carl Sagan was an astronomer and one of the original exo biologists.
The Cosmos series was about a lot more than Astronomy I watched it when it first aired in the UK on the BBC and I was also given the book that was released along side it, it is full of information about science. |
8th March 2014, 12:37 PM | #3015 |
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To connect to the OP, what do you think of Steven Novella's attempt at a definition?
Originally Posted by Steven Novella
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30th April 2014, 01:03 PM | #3016 |
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One of these things is not like the other... ...and a rational person, preferring method over conclusion, will observe the method by which these "ideas" were reached, and decide whether to accept, reject, or suspend judgement upon these "ideas". Sometimes it requires deferred gratification, and a tolerance for ambiguity. |
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"They want to make their molehills equal to the mountains by cutting the mountains down." -turingtest "The universe did not come from nothing, it came from 'We don't know'." -Dancing David "Cry, booga, booga, booga! and let slip the Hamsters of Silly!" -JFDHintze |
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30th April 2014, 01:23 PM | #3017 |
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The book by Lanza appears to be -- at its best -- the philosophical speculations of a physician-scientist outside of his field. From the reviews, it doesn't appear that he actually understands quantum physics, or has researched much of the relevant science and philosophy.
Quantum, therefore no time, therefore no death, therefore afterlife. That's not a solid chain. |
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