Elizabeth Barrette (ysabetwordsmith) wrote,
Elizabeth Barrette
ysabetwordsmith
  • Mood: busy

Nature Photos

Tags: nature, networking, photography, space exploration
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  • 4 comments
siliconshaman

siliconshaman

February 6 2013, 10:31:36 UTC 8 years ago

And that would be one possible answer to the Fermi paradox. The super-massive black-hole in our galaxy is quiet for now.. but it wasn't always. Perhaps the reason we haven't detected other intelligent life elsewhere is because they all got irradiated last time it burped, and we're the oldest and most advanced civilisation within range.
ysabetwordsmith

Hmm...

ysabetwordsmith

February 6 2013, 18:22:03 UTC 8 years ago

Excellent point. I hadn't thought about that before, and it's very rare for anyone to discuss natural hazards as a reason for the low observed presence of sentient life.
siliconshaman

Re: Hmm...

siliconshaman

February 6 2013, 19:55:22 UTC 8 years ago

I think it's an unconscious arrogance on our part. We assume that once a civilisation has reached a certain level of development [i.e ours or above] that it's the captain of it's own fate, able to survive anything nature can throw at it, and that the arc of development is only ever upwards.

It's not of course. A strong enough gamma burst is going to ionise our atmosphere, and generate an EMP same as a nuclear bomb in orbit. [only much, much bigger and longer.] A big enough rock or comet is going to really ruin our day and put a hole in our supposed invulnerability. And those are only the known extinction level hazards...I'm willing to bet there's a helluva lot more we don't have the slightest idea about, because they only occur every few millennia or so.
ysabetwordsmith

Re: Hmm...

ysabetwordsmith

February 6 2013, 20:01:32 UTC 8 years ago

>>A strong enough gamma burst is going to ionise our atmosphere, and generate an EMP same as a nuclear bomb in orbit.<<

Surviving that would require a species to be 1) sufficiently mobile to move out of the way, or 2) sufficiently widespread that even a gamma burst could not sterilize all of its habitat.

That's a pretty high level of development.

>> A big enough rock or comet is going to really ruin our day and put a hole in our supposed invulnerability. <<

I think we actually have the technology to avoid this now, if we chose to apply it. We can identify NEO threats. We have access to the solar system. It takes very little to nudge an object off course if you do so early -- even at close range we might manage to pulverize a projectile into small enough pieces to be survivable.

So if we don't bother to put up the umbrella, well then, Homo sapiens has applied for a Darwin Award and deserves to become extinct if smacked in the balls by a big enough rock.

>>And those are only the known extinction level hazards...I'm willing to bet there's a helluva lot more we don't have the slightest idea about, because they only occur every few millennia or so. <<

Excellent point.