New Scientific Discoveries, Part Vier

[Zoraptor]

4 hours ago, Amentep said:

I think the problem is less about 'academics' and more in general a problem with people who tend towards "absence of evidences IS evidence of absence" (or seeing is believing) that plagues certain people's logic in any field.  

That is, essentially, the Scientific Method applied to the problem though. If someone wants to prove that you can do 'impossible' 5000g acceleration with a 'man' made object then they do have to prove it, and in a testable way. Ancient Aliens style "you can't conclusively prove some grainy unverified footage wasn't aliens (with 5000g acceleration), ergo it was aliens (with 5000g acceleration)" doesn't really cut the mustard, and it's also a really antagonistic style of argument that begs for a highly negative and dismissive response. That's changed a bit with the new evidence, but you can only go on what there is available at the time.

The question about the existence of aliens is slightly different, of course, in that we know that life has evolved at least once, and to a level that is capable of extremely slow and limited interstellar travel. Given the number of stars in the galaxy let alone the universe the idea that we are unique in that respect shows... extraordinary hubris, and isn't a position any scientist should be taking.

The question as to why they'd bother visiting us especially in such a way as suggested is very much an open one though.

[kanisatha]

3 hours ago, Gfted1 said:

What if the tic-tac is the is the NGAD prototype theyre already flying?  

I know its not but Im really excited to see whatever form NGAD took.

Keep in mind, though, that NGAD is a family of systems including unmanned bits. Recently the CSAF commented that he sees two separate airframes emerging from NGAD, one a high-end air dominance aircraft and the other a low-end (but still stealthy and very capable) multi-role aircraft. Plus likely also a Skyborg-operated "wingman" drone. And then there's also the Navy's 6th-gen program (F/A-XX).

But yeah, I too can't wait to see these airframes.

Edited July 1, 2021 by kanisatha

[Amentep]

1 hour ago, Zoraptor said:

That is, essentially, the Scientific Method applied to the problem though. If someone wants to prove that you can do 'impossible' 5000g acceleration with a 'man' made object then they do have to prove it, and in a testable way.

I didn't say they didn't have to prove it.

What I am saying is the lack of hard evidence to date doesn't mean hard evidence doesn't or can't exist, which is something that I think people, including academics,, miss or forget.

[Zoraptor]

I don't think they miss it, or forget it. I'd say that almost all academics are/ were open to the possibility that aliens exist and even visit, but dismiss(ed) most of the evidence because it had literally no ability to be independently verified- and is thus useless as evidence. That's different to dismissing the possibility of aliens visiting completely.

The more definitive 'no' position tends to come about if asked repeatedly about unverifiable evidence and theories, because any equivocation tends to encourage yet more questions and yet more shonky evidence being produced. It might be lazy, but in that situation it's understandable to take an absolutist position.

For an example, it's certainly possible that aliens built the pyramids. It's also quite understandable that saying they did to Zawi Hawass does not get a very constructive or nuanced reply.

[Gfted1]

13 hours ago, kanisatha said:

Plus likely also a Skyborg-operated "wingman" drone.

Speaking of which; Skyborg makes its second flight, this time autonomously piloting General Atomics’ Avenger drone.

[Amentep]

10 hours ago, Zoraptor said:

I don't think they miss it, or forget it. I'd say that almost all academics are/ were open to the possibility that aliens exist and even visit, but dismiss(ed) most of the evidence because it had literally no ability to be independently verified- and is thus useless as evidence. That's different to dismissing the possibility of aliens visiting completely.

The more definitive 'no' position tends to come about if asked repeatedly about unverifiable evidence and theories, because any equivocation tends to encourage yet more questions and yet more shonky evidence being produced. It might be lazy, but in that situation it's understandable to take an absolutist position.

For an example, it's certainly possible that aliens built the pyramids. It's also quite understandable that saying they did to Zawi Hawass does not get a very constructive or nuanced reply.

You clearly haven't talked to the same academics I've talked to.  The type who won't even entertain a hypothetical question about UFOs because "aliens don't exist".

Note most scientists I've talked with (and of course anecdotal evidence and all) are more likely to not be dismissive of the possibility due to lack of evidence.  But other disciplines...

2 minutes ago, Gfted1 said:

Speaking of which; Skyborg makes its second flight, this time autonomously piloting General Atomics’ Avenger drone.

 

[InsaneCommander]

On 7/1/2021 at 12:20 PM, kanisatha said:

Hey, thanks for sharing this! Very interesting.

For me, it isn't just the people who lied or obfuscated or covered up who need to be held accountable, but also the people who laughed. All people within the academy who scoffed and laughed will have lost all credibility and should be dismissed from their jobs. Far too often, in the West, academics are utterly wrong about things they've said/claimed, and yet they're never held to account. The academy has come full-circle and is now much like the Church from five centuries ago.

Well, if it is aliens, then abductions should be taken seriously and it is indeed the case to apologize to a lot of people.

On 7/1/2021 at 1:53 PM, kanisatha said:

Yeah, it's an 'absence of evidence means there's nothing there/it doesn't exist' mentality. But it goes farther, to include a 'whatever little evidence there is, I'm going to dismiss out of hand as not being meaningful to me' mentality.

This is why Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb is my hero right now, because he is willing to publicly give the Orthodoxy the middle finger.

This channel has some interesting interviews with scientists from many different areas. In the one below, Michio Kaku speaks of the Tic-Tacs as if they are indeed alien. And there is another one with Avi Loeb, where he takes it seriously too. Let's see if others start to do the same, as it should be expected based on what Sam Harris said.

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 2, 2021 by InsaneCommander

[rjshae]

On 7/2/2021 at 11:37 AM, InsaneCommander said:

Well, if it is aliens, then abductions should be taken seriously and it is indeed the case to apologize to a lot of people.

Err... whut? You're expecting the "aliens" to apologize? Because I won't be. 

[majestic]

Edited July 3, 2021 by majestic

[Gorth]

For whatever reason, my brain is wired so I'm much better at perceiving the world through sound and touch than visuals. I suck at remembering faces, names etc. but I can quote somebody on what they said 30 years ago and I can pick a voice out of a crowd of 50 people arguing and recognize it. I can't remember the 8 digit code to the gate in the face around where I live, but my fingers "remember" the sequence by the familiarity of the touch of the buttons in specific places. So, I thought (because of my personal bias) that audio recordings from other worlds are a fascinating thing

 

[Gfted1]

SpaceX will soon fire up its massive Super Heavy booster for the first time.

[Gfted1]

Event Horizon Telescope captures birth of black hole jet in Centaurus A.

[Gorth]

Making octopuses high on Ecstasy makes otherwise very solitary creatures more sociable...

https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2018-09-21/octopus-ecstasy-mdma-social-behaviour/10280706

"An object such as a flower pot was placed in the left chamber and another octopus trapped in the right.

Without ecstasy, test octopuses spent significantly more time in the chamber with the object. But with ecstasy, they became more social, preferring the chamber with the other octopus in it.

And the nature of the interactions between octopuses changed too.

Before a dose of ecstasy, social interactions were "limited, usually to one extended arm", the scientists wrote in the paper.

"After MDMA treatment, social interactions were characterised by extensive ventral surface contact, which appeared to be exploratory rather than aggressive in nature," they said."

 

Edit: The article didn't say if it resulted in some kinky tentacle sex

[Lexx]

"appeared to be exploratory" says it all to me.

[rjshae]

Astronomers make first clear detection of a moon-forming disc around an exoplanet

[InsaneCommander]

Announcing the Galileo Project for the Systematic Scientific Search for Evidence of Extraterrestrial Technological Artifacts

Quote

The multi-institutional, international Galileo Project founders, research team and advisory boards, in conjunction with the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, today announce the Galileo Project (website: projects.iq.harvard.edu/galileo). It is a transparent scientific project to advance a systematic experimental search for cross-validated evidence of potential astro-archeological artifacts or active technical equipment made by putative existing or extinct extraterrestrial technological civilizations (ETCs).

They will also study UFOs:

[rjshae]

Sure, why not? We have a field of astrobiology now, so why not look for signs of past visits? Personally I think we might find something when we do in-depth searches of the asteroid belt. That's an ideal location for Von Neuman-style self-replicating machines to make more copies of themselves.

[Guard Dog]

Water vapor detected in the atmosphere of Ganymede

this would be a bigger deal if the hypothetical water of Ganymede was not so far below the surface. Ganymede would actually be a pretty compelling target for future probes. It’s only 2/3 the size of Mars but has equivalent gravity. Europa is still our best shot of finding liquid water

[kanisatha]

19 hours ago, InsaneCommander said:

Announcing the Galileo Project for the Systematic Scientific Search for Evidence of Extraterrestrial Technological Artifacts

They will also study UFOs:

I was reading about this yesterday. Loeb seems to have quite a bit of funding for this project, so I'm hopeful.

[Gfted1]

Strange Black Hole Discovery Confirms Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity.

[Gorth]

21 hours ago, Gfted1 said:

Strange Black Hole Discovery Confirms Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity.

Ah, the potential for gravity drives... Event Horizon one step closer to become a reality

[Chilloutman]

whats gravity drive?

[Amentep]

9 minutes ago, Chilloutman said:

whats gravity drive?

Apples.

[Chilloutman]

low blow bro

[rjshae]

60% of astronauts test positive for active herpes virus in space