One supposes. On closer look though more just a step out the primordial ooze of ignorance into greater understanding of the facts of the world and universe we live in. That there is life out there should be news to no one, Of much greater interest the WWWWW&H of it, or them.It would be one if the all-time great discoveries. — Wayfarer
I think it would be extremely extraordinary if life existed only on Earth. — baker
Why? The matter is trivial. (And they're spending billions on it.) What if space exploration is a subtle and blatantly desperate attempt to prove the Abrahamic religions wrong?! Oh! — baker
In terms of costs and solving engineering problems the matter is, of course, tremendous.So you'd be very surprised if life didn't exist elsewhere, but think proving it; knowing for sure is a trivial matter. — counterpunch
That's just so pathetic.If the only reason for space exploration is to prove the Abrahamic religions wrong then they will have served yet another useful purpose!
In terms of costs and solving engineering problems the matter is, of course, tremendous. But beyond that, what's the point? To find another planet for humans to destroy it?
Rather than make an effort to work things out here on Earth, the solution is to go "business as usual", and consume up another planet, and eventually, what, the whole Universe? Because mankind's appetite knows no bounds nor should any limits be imposed on it? — baker
That's just so pathetic. — baker
The last thing I'll say is probably the most important; and it's that religion made a mistake making an enemy of science. Science could have, and should have been welcomed as the means to know the Creation - rather than been rendered suspect of heresy, true knowledge should have moral worth. Why? Because, as implied above, survival is a matter of the application of the right technologies. We do not have a limited amount of resources we are consuming, and once they're gone, we're done. That's not how it is. We create resources by the application of technology, and have not applied the right technologies because science was made a heresy - rather than valued as true knowledge of Creation. — counterpunch
What if space exploration is a subtle and blatantly desperate attempt to prove the Abrahamic religions wrong? — baker
Humanity and unrestrained science do not mix. The world almost became an irradiated wasteland SEVERAL TIMES now due to NON-WILLED NON-HUMAN NATURAL OCCURRENCES/MALFUNCTIONS. See nuclear false alarm incidents. We create all these germs and mutations in things that have the potential to kill us all, there's so many science fiction movies about this that nevertheless speak from a strong position of scientific fact. Please just honestly stop reading, thinking of a reply, and just think about that for a few minutes. — Outlander
we would not have created nuclear and biological weapons. — counterpunch
I humbly reject this, — Outlander
Makes you proud to be a 'mercan. — Banno
the Church made an enemy of science — counterpunch
The alleged war between science and religion is greatly exaggerated in the telling. — Bitter Crank
Is that your argument? Help show me the light here. — Outlander
I mentioned the possibility of microorganisms as having little prominence in my opinion, if not from the fact that microorganisms were inevitably brought there via not only this probe but those before it. Between the actions of the instruments of the previous craft introducing them and the possibility of solar wind and lack of atmosphere spreading them and perhaps cosmic radiation mutating them into forms now unrecognizable or.. alien, I'd suggest there's still little cause for a "eureka!" moment. — Outlander
What if it's beyond that of a microorganism. Say a "space algae" of a sort. I'd still default toward the belief this is hardly a game-changer. Now.. something with a nervous system and full-fledged brain on the other hand.. would be a bit of an eyebrow-raiser. Though still nothing outside of the realm of scientific possibility. — Outlander
then they discovered scientific method, and the Church declared it a heresy — counterpunch
In 1533, Johann Widmanstetter, secretary to Pope Clement VII, explained Copernicus's heliocentric system to the Pope and two cardinals. The Pope was so pleased that he gave Widmanstetter a valuable gift
That's how deep this issue is. It's of existential import. — counterpunch
What if they hadn't declared it a heresy? What if they'd embraced it instead? Our natural evolution would have unfolded. This isn't our natural course. We are not "who we were meant to be." — counterpunch
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