2012 Conspiracies..

Imperfect1,

Totally agree --- being able to get off of this planet (and having somewhere hospitable to go) would be our only hope of survival.

Meanwhile, I would be eating all those fattening things I've been depriving myself of, not to mention indulging in other treats of various sorts!

Sorry to be a party pooper, but what makes you think that there is another planet out there that would be a suitable habitat for you? I know that is a popular concept, but a very faulty one. Even if such a place existed, it would be subject to all of the same dangers as the one that we live on and call home. I also know that in the modern world that the word "home" doesn't have the meaning that it once did, and should still have. I spent the majority of my adult life moving around the country due to employment considerations, and never spent more than a year or two in one place, until recent years (retired). Where I now live is not really a home, but it is the closest thing to it that I have had since childhood, and have come to enjoy it enough that I don't intend to move again, so long as I have a choice.

I realize that your comments were just being facetious, so forgive me for using them for launching my little rambling rant from, but I do so because many people do not appreciate the value of the planet that we live on. No, I'm not an environmentalist or of any mindset related saving the whales, seals, dogs, cats or any other critter including humans, except in less material terms. I shall not go directly into that, partly because I'm not inclined to do so, and partly because it wouldn't be tolerated anyway. What is important is that we all need to prepare ourselves for events that we would prefer would never happen...because they will regardless, but not by some Mayan calendar.

That preparation does not include tossing it all to the wind, and going into binges of behavior that we have trained ourselves to avoid for health or other forms of well being, but it does mean coming to terms with life...ours and others. Doing so will probably not prevent a cosmic collision, as is being discussed, and may not save our lives in this flesh, but our lives will continue long after this flesh is dead, and life shall continue on Earth long after the dust settles. The Earth shall never end...neither will we.

seekermeister said:

Imperfect1,

Totally agree --- being able to get off of this planet (and having somewhere hospitable to go) would be our only hope of survival.

Meanwhile, I would be eating all those fattening things I've been depriving myself of, not to mention indulging in other treats of various sorts!

Sorry to be a party pooper, but what makes you think that there is another planet out there that would be a suitable habitat for you? I know that is a popular concept, but a very faulty one. Even if such a place existed, it would be subject to all of the same dangers as the one that we live on and call home. I also know that in the modern world that the word "home" doesn't have the meaning that it once did, and should still have. I spent the majority of my adult life moving around the country due to employment considerations, and never spent more than a year or two in one place, until recent years (retired). Where I now live is not really a home, but it is the closest thing to it that I have had since childhood, and have come to enjoy it enough that I don't intend to move again, so long as I have a choice.

I realize that your comments were just being facetious, so forgive me for using them for launching my little rambling rant from, but I do so because many people do not appreciate the value of the planet that we live on. No, I'm not an environmentalist or of any mindset related saving the whales, seals, dogs, cats or any other critter including humans, except in less material terms. I shall not go directly into that, partly because I'm not inclined to do so, and partly because it wouldn't be tolerated anyway. What is important is that we all need to prepare ourselves for events that we would prefer would never happen...because they will regardless, but not by some Mayan calendar.

That preparation does not include tossing it all to the wind, and going into binges of behavior that we have trained ourselves to avoid for health or other forms of well being, but it does mean coming to terms with life...ours and others. Doing so will probably not prevent a cosmic collision, as is being discussed, and may not save our lives in this flesh, but our lives will continue long after this flesh is dead, and life shall continue on Earth long after the dust settles. The Earth shall never end...neither will we.

You're more than welcome to be a party pooper if you so wish, and to have all of the views you espoused. I disagree with you on several points, however -- but not all.

First and probably most importantly, I believe there are most likely
many, many life sustaining planets (and perhaps other celestial bodies as well) in the skies, because of the incalculably vast number of stars that we are already aware of, not to mention the probably trillions and trillions and trillions of others, of which we are not yet aware. Our problem is not the lack of a hospitable place to go, it is that we have not devoted the time, resources, energy, and funds to develop the technologies we would need if people, in mass numbers, decided/needed to leave this planet. I believe that eventually we will though, assuming our planet is still here and in tact at that time.

Which brings me to the 2nd point on which I disagree with you -- Our sun, like any star, won't last forever and neither will the Earth or any of the other planets in orbit around it. That's just a fact.

And 3rd, I also doubt that our species will last forever. I think that there is a fairly high chance that we will blow ourselves up -- or create some other equally catastrophic event that will end mankind as we know it, (including contaminating our environment so badly that it is no longer habitable) --- or even if, by some miracle, we can control ourselves from doing so, the chances are always present that the planet may be destroyed by the forces of nature before we have developed the means of saving ourselves.

Imperfect1,

I could counter each of your points with many of my own, but there would be no point, because it is clear that you wouldn't accept any of them. There shall come a time when you will understand on your own, and I doubt that time is very far off.

seekermeister said:

Imperfect1,

I could counter each of your points with many of my own, but there would be no point, because it is clear that you wouldn't accept any of them. There shall come a time when you will understand on your own, and I doubt that time is very far off.

Fair enough. We'll just agree to disagree, okay?

So be it, for there appears to be no choice.

Wishmaster said:

Due to the sheer numbers of stars, planets, and galaxies out in the universe I think the chance of other Earth like planets is likely quite good.

Even if a earth type planet is a 1 in a million chance, theres still a very good chance there are more, and very well may have life of some form.
Either Intellegent, or just microbial.


However, the chance of us actually being able to get to one of them is a complete different matter.

The chance of us being able to make that journey is significantly less, than the chance such a planet exists.
At least IMO.

That might be true, if life here were by chance, but it is not. All forms of life, including bacterial, require a very long and complex chain of other lifeforms to continue existence. To find a planet with a single lifeform, regardless of how small, will never happen.

It seems clear to me, that even science has proven that no life bearing planets exist, outside of our own, within a distance that makes it a viable option for migration. Therefore, thoughts and discussions along these lines are strictly academic.