4 ms·
This is like being in a plane at cruising altitude, looking down at the ocean, and declaring there's zero signs of life, so the ocean must be dead.
by gregmac 6y ago
This is like being in a plane at cruising altitude, looking down at the ocean, and declaring there's zero signs of life, so the ocean must be dead.
- pixl97 6y agoWhales would be visible, along with all the life chemicals, so the analogy isnt that great.
- jstanley 6y agoI've flown in planes a handful of times, looked down at the ocean on plenty of opportunities, and never observed any whales. I'd say the analogy is perfectly great.
- Ma8ee 6y agoIf the water was as transparent as space, whales and large schools of fish would certainly be apparent.
- saagarjha 6y agoSpace isn't quite transparent, and a closer analogy would be to ask if you can spot bacteria and other microorganisms because something sentient the size of a whale "scaled up to space" would be unrecognizable as such to us.
- Ma8ee 6y ago> Space isn't quite transparent On Earth scale it is for all practical purposes.
- doctor_eval 6y agoSpace whales!
- gwern 6y agoA rather apt analogy, because you can see countless signs of non-equilibrium behavior, chemicals, heat, and other things (you really have never seen any, say, birds while flying?) that tells you you are not on a planet devoid of life.