[ExI] deep space again, was: RE: riots again

[spike]

From: extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org
[mailto:extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org] On Behalf Of Alfio Puglisi
Subject: Re: [ExI] deep space again, was: RE: riots again

 

On Mon, Oct 1, 2012 at 7:25 AM, spike <spike66 at att.net> wrote:


.

Here's the photo:

http://www.space.com/17755-farthest-universe-view-hubble-space-telescope.htm

>.Doesn't this photo make the Fermi paradox even more problematic?  Given
the ginormous number of stars out there, and given that, once you achieve
interstellar capability, extragalactic adventure is not that far away (i.e.
the distance to Andromeda is only 20x the diameter of our Milky Way, and
what's an order of magnitude between friends?), why don't we see even a
damned single photon out there that even remotely smells artificial? The
more we know about the cosmos, the more puzzling this problem becomes.Alfio

 

 

Alfio, how many postcards have you written to Aboriginal pen pals in the
Australian outback?  Neither have I.  During Extro5, I kept starting one,
but more interesting immediately adjacent conversations kept distracting me,
and furthermore I kept being overwhelmed by the fact that I don't know where
to send the card, I don't know their language, I don't know their customs, I
have no clue how to even start to explain to them the very basics they must
understand to even vaguely grok what it was we were doing there.  Even I
only vaguely grok what we were doing there, with decades of preparation.
The Australian aboriginals have never received a single postcard from me,
even though the cost to send one would be minimal.

 

During that same conference, about fifty or more of us wrote out, using
those ancient devices called "pen" and "paper" to two of our own however,
both of whom were not in a position to receive the normal communications.
The aboriginals had and now have zero knowledge of the communications from
the Extro5ers to the two recipients not present at that gathering.  My
apologies to any Australian aboriginals who may be reading this list.

 

I suspect that any interstellar or intergalactic communications would be
intentional, ultra-low bandwidth, carefully crafted and directed, requiring
a specific technology to receive which we may or may not have, vaguely
analogous to our writing postcards to the two prominent extropians, but not
to the aboriginals.

 

spike

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