4 ms·

If either is possible it nearly proves that we must be very early for intelligence in the universe. A universe with intelligent life and FTL turns into a party

by api 4y ago

If either is possible it nearly proves that we must be very early for intelligence in the universe. A universe with intelligent life and FTL turns into a party pretty quick as soon as someone invents it. If we even proved it was possible at table top scale I’d be about 99% convinced we are first in at a bare minimum our galaxy. I would also argue that we should scale it up and get a presence out there fast in case someone less nice than us is also inventing one right now. (And we aren’t all that nice.)

kloch 4y ago
> we must be very early for intelligence in the universe. Not under the Zoo hypothesis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoo_hypothesis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoo_hypothesis
- yellowapple 4y ago
  So basically Earth is the Milky Way's version of the Sentinel Islands. Makes me wonder if UFO sightings are from misguided extraterrestrial missionaries trying to teach us about their Lord and Savior Behemecoatyl.
analog31 4y ago
My thinking is that if time travel / warp drive is possible, then words like "early" and "first" have no meaning. After all, if humans invented it, I would 100% expect someone to be abusing me with it right now. People would steal from the past to pay for the future.
captainmuon 4y ago
You can always play with the factors. Maybe FTL is possible, but requires a sizable fraction of the planet's resources. Or you can eventually reach another planet, but terraforming it and building the technology for creating more FTL ships will take millions of years. Basically: FTL is fast but pointless, because getting to FTL takes longer than getting to your destination. Maybe space is a bit more emptier than you think, and FTL is a bit slower. Or maybe it is busy, but we haven't waited long enough. I mean think of a native American in the 1400s. If transoceanic travel is possible, why haven't we seen visitors from other continents yet? Finally, it is still entirely possible that "they" are already there, and there is a cover up. I don't believe it (Occam's razor), but if FTL turns out to be theoretically possible, than I think I will have to update my beliefs :-)
- yellowapple 4y ago
  > I mean think of a native American in the 1400s. If transoceanic travel is possible, why haven't we seen visitors from other continents yet? laughs in some 700CE-vintage Polynesian language while munching on a sweet potato
vbezhenar 4y ago
It's highly unlikely that we're first or even early. So any reasoning that leads to this conclusion is highly likely to be wrong somewhere.
- api 4y ago
  How do we know? We have no samples from which to calculate a distribution.

by api 4y ago

kloch 4y ago

> we must be very early for intelligence in the universe. Not under the Zoo hypothesis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoo_hypothesis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoo_hypothesis

yellowapple 4y ago
So basically Earth is the Milky Way's version of the Sentinel Islands. Makes me wonder if UFO sightings are from misguided extraterrestrial missionaries trying to teach us about their Lord and Savior Behemecoatyl.

analog31 4y ago

My thinking is that if time travel / warp drive is possible, then words like "early" and "first" have no meaning. After all, if humans invented it, I would 100% expect someone to be abusing me with it right now. People would steal from the past to pay for the future.

captainmuon 4y ago

You can always play with the factors. Maybe FTL is possible, but requires a sizable fraction of the planet's resources. Or you can eventually reach another planet, but terraforming it and building the technology for creating more FTL ships will take millions of years. Basically: FTL is fast but pointless, because getting to FTL takes longer than getting to your destination. Maybe space is a bit more emptier than you think, and FTL is a bit slower. Or maybe it is busy, but we haven't waited long enough. I mean think of a native American in the 1400s. If transoceanic travel is possible, why haven't we seen visitors from other continents yet? Finally, it is still entirely possible that "they" are already there, and there is a cover up. I don't believe it (Occam's razor), but if FTL turns out to be theoretically possible, than I think I will have to update my beliefs :-)

yellowapple 4y ago
> I mean think of a native American in the 1400s. If transoceanic travel is possible, why haven't we seen visitors from other continents yet? laughs in some 700CE-vintage Polynesian language while munching on a sweet potato

vbezhenar 4y ago

It's highly unlikely that we're first or even early. So any reasoning that leads to this conclusion is highly likely to be wrong somewhere.

api 4y ago
How do we know? We have no samples from which to calculate a distribution.