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I'm as Astronomer. I think it's very interesting to read about these kind of scenarios in novels, but I don't think they have a place in a scientific publicatio
by jbmorgado 10y ago
I'm as Astronomer. I think it's very interesting to read about these kind of scenarios in novels, but I don't think they have a place in a scientific publication.
We are researchers, we try to explain the universe by improving our understanding of the physical processes that lie behind what we observe. The moment we bring aliens or gods into the picture to explain something for which we don't have an answer, we are doing a disservice to science.
- pavel_lishin 10y agoIt doesn't sound very scientific to automatically discount an act of an intelligent being as the source of some phenomenon.
- fusiongyro 10y agoWhat sounds more scientific to you: "we don't know what causes effect A" or "we postulate elves are causing effect A"?
- pavel_lishin 10y ago"We don't know what causes effect A" isn't science, it's just a statement that we don't know something. If the elvish hypothesis proposes some experiments for testing and disproving it, then yes - it sounds more scientific.
- fusiongyro 10y agoYeah, but you don't have experimental design for the alien intelligence "hypothesis." This is just emotionally satisfying drivel. There's nothing unscientific about not having a hypothesis when more information is being gathered. The paucity of data on FRBs makes any hypothesis right now almost worthless. We don't even know for sure that the majority of FRB data we have are from non-terrestrial phenomena. FRB occurrences at Parkes correlate strongly with lightning storms near the observatory. But sure, it's probably angels or little green men. Why not. That's a hypothesis, you're doing science Jimmy!
- throwaway7645 10y agoNobody mentioned elves. You're trying to make his argument absurd. We explain most phenomena scientifically and this is no exception. It most likely isn't an artificial signal, but who knows.
- fusiongyro 10y agoWhat's absurd about elves? If it could be little green men, maybe they have pointy ears. This is science after all, as long as it's a hypothesis, it counts, right?
- throwaway7645 10y agoFine with me as long as they don't have names like Glorfindel, Celeborn, Galadrial, or Elrond...that would obviously be impossible;)
- Arizhel 10y agoSo if you're observing a rain forest in Central America or a high mountaintop in South America, and you see some strange patterns or interestingly-stacked rocks, you think we should only look for non-human explanations for these things? With this attitude, much archeological evidence of pre-Columbian civilizations would never have been found. In fact, the entire field of archaeology wouldn't exist.
- xenophonf 10y agoThe letter itself says: Although the possibility that FRBs are produced by extragalactic civilizations is more speculative than an astrophysical origin, quantifying the requirements necessary for an artificial origin serves, at the very least, the important purpose of enabling astronomers to rule it out with future data. Never mind the fact that it makes testable predictions: It should be possible to distinguish between FRBs of natural and artificial (light sail) origin based on the expected shape of the pulse, as the beam sweeps by to power the light sail. More specifically, the sail would cast a moving shadow on the observed beam, thereby leading to a diffraction pattern and multiple peaks in the light curve based on the sail geometry. A series of short symmetric bursts would be observed as the beam’s path intersects with the observer’s line of sight. Hence, looking for similar signatures in the signal could help determine whether FRBs are powered by extragalactic civilizations...
- anigbrowl 10y agoWe should always look for the simplest explanation but be willing to acknowledge and embrace our ignorance too. Your attitude turns people off science; it's a plodding, unimaginative attitude that pours cold water on every novel idea without even bothering to explore it properly. The history of science is full of discoveries resulting from accident or whimsy, and I think speculation is an important exercise. Nobody ever got to the top of a mountain by meticulously documenting every step of the route. So there's a risk you'll pin some hopes on an idea that turns out to be wrong. That shouldn't be bad for your career unless you do it all the time. A scientist who is never wrong about anything isn't taking any risks.
- jbmorgado 10y agoNow-a-days with the social networks, everything seems to be about excitement for some people, but the scientific method survived almost two centuries very well without it, thank you very much. If you want that kind of excitement, try other area, in here, the only excitement comes from finding an answer to a problem based on science, not in some sci-fi novel. P.S.: The simple explanation in this case is of course some physical process we can't understand. Not an alien civilization making planet sized machines to power their spaceships. This ain't star wars.
- anigbrowl 10y agoDon't project your misunderstandings onto me. I argued for the merit of speculation as a scientific endeavor, not for assuming Star Wars is true.