Justaboatonic
Your virus Sounds as if it would react like a cancer (Maybe we are being contacted and don't know it ) to me ... However The "experts" say we can't go faster than the speed of light --- I agree we can't at the moment--- but the same experts said that if man exceeded 35/40 MPH he would suffocate--- they also said man can't fly and so far man can't!!! But man can sit in or on a machine and the machine can fly --- Splitting hairs I know --- But man can't fly --- Yet!!! But it is said that "When man starts living on the moon he will be able to fly" --- Splitting hairs again because he will need some kind of wings--- This could go on for ever ---But the point is --- I think the speed of light is another barrier like the sound barrier I just think we haven't found or invented the maths or the equipment to be able to exceed it YET... I also think we haven't yet invented the equipment to find other intelligent life... On a lighter note, so far, we can't hold a conversation with a Dolphin --- Yet --- As I said earlier in this thread --- I think it is the hight of arrogance to think we are the only intelligent life in this Galaxy never mind the universe ...its too big, to be empty And if we don't blow ourselves or the Earth up or get wiped out by some big space rock I think we will go to the stars and meet other ETL But be honest if you lived in this part of the Galaxy would you go out of your way to meet us... I wouldn't and I'd make sure the family silver was well hidden...
Jimmy James
De Freebooter
Hi JJ.
You are right about all the barriers they said couldnt be broken. However, the SOL does appear at the moment to be an unbreakable, universal constant barrier despite what Star Trek and the genre tells us. The major problem appears to be the amount of energy needed to go faster than SOL.
One day it may be possible to create a warp or alcubierre drive but that seems far, far off into the future.
Regarding the virus, yes it does sound a little like a cancer. However, I guess in this case, its a benign cancer rather than malignant one that the original writer proposes. TBH, this self replicating virus is very similar to von Nueman probes (I think. I always get Bracewell and vN probes mixed up!). The idea being that an intelligent species would send out these self replicating probes to find and contact other ETI.
This touches on a point I made in other posts in this thread. Given the age of our galaxy (13+ billion years), its diameter (100,00 light years) and even if self replicating probes travelled at 1% of SOL, one self replicating probe would produce enough 'offspring' to have covered the whole Milky Way galaxy in roughly 10 million years. There has been plenty of time for this to happen not once, twice or three times but, many times
if ETI's were out there. But, there's absolutely no evidence of any such probes having been this way. Ever, in 13+ billion years.
The question of us not looking (for a signal) long enough or not having the right equipment to search for ETI is one I have to disagree with. SETI's approach of looking for a signal is fatally flawed. Even the articles in the Times On Line say as much, that seti is entrenched in its method and that other methods would be better.
It is correct our current telescopes wont see ETI evidence on distant exoplanets. But, our telescopes could spot signs of galatic engineering ie Dyson Sphere constructs, Bracewell, vo Nueman probes, stellar 'salting' etc.
With respect though, thinking we are the only intelligent civilisation in our galaxy (not universe) right now isnt arrogance. One has to look at the age of the galaxy, the age of our solar system then such things as a star being of the right 'type' so it lives long enough ie it mustnt be a brown dwarf (too cold or tidally locking a planet) or too large like Sirius (or bigger) such that the star has a relatively short life.
Its estimated only 10% of stars in our galaxy are like our own Sun. But then you have to factor in how many of those Sun's have a solar system like ours. Of those solar systems, how many of them have a planet in the habitable zone ie neither too close or too far away from the star?
Next, if life did evolve to intelligence on those planets, instead of dinosaurs being wiped out by an asteroid, how many of those planets had the intelligent life wiped out by a disaster? A paper produced by two respected authors and called the Rare Earth Theory goes into considerable depth why our Earth may be a very rare phenomenen.
Its for all the reasons I have mentioned in this thread just why I think we are the oldest, most intelligent civilisation in the galaxy
right now. That doesnt mean I dont think in the past, there havent been a number of similarly intelligent civilisations in our galaxy. But again, because of the age of the galaxy they and ultimately we, die out and rarely if ever, co exist at the same time.
I dont think there have been other ETI's in the galaxy that have been significantly more advanced than us either. If they had of been significantly more intelligent, Im convinced we would easily spot signs of then via galactic engineering or artefacts such as bracewell or von Nueman probes.
I think it is very likely microbial life will be common in the galaxy. I think plant life will be less common and animal life even more less common in our galaxy. I wouldnt rule out one or two civilisations in the galaxy right now who are significantly less technologically advanced as us ie may be stone age or pre industrial revolution types.
I suspect galaxies larger than our own, such as Andromeda, will potentially have a few more ETI's co existing at the same time but, purely because it is a bigger galaxy than our own. Conversely, I suspect some smaller galaxies may not have any ETI at all since fewer stars means less chance of the 'right' circumstances occurring to support that intelligence.
IMVHO, we dont live in a Star Trek environment where the galaxy is teeming with all this intelligence. The universe may have or have had many ETI's but even so, I dont think any galaxy will be teeming with it.