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If martians had built anything cool there we would have known by now. It's just not very likely there's much interesting up there unless you're interested in th
by smoldesu 3y ago
If martians had built anything cool there we would have known by now. It's just not very likely there's much interesting up there unless you're interested in the little things.
- throwup238 3y agoUnless it’s been buried and eroded by millions of years of dust storms
- rococode 3y agoGood ol' Silurian hypothesis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silurian_hypothesis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silurian_hypothesis
- throwup238 3y agoSilurian hypothesis is specific to Earth’s geologic record which we’ve sampled all over the world millions of times. It’s less ridiculous to posit the same happening on Mars where we’ve only sent awkward robotic explorers. We haven’t explored any of the lava tubes or done ground penetrating radar studies or cut thousands of core samples all over the planet so we really have no idea what’s buried there like we do on Earth.
- EdwardDiego 3y agoAncient Martians - was the giant face visible from orbit we made with cleverly aimed meteorite impacts not enough for you? Oh sure, it's just a rock you say. Well duh, we had to make it with _something_. /s
- yreg 3y agoWho the hell on this forum isn't interested in the little things when the little things refer to alien life?!
- cryptoz 3y agoIt's a lot of people here - HN does occasionally love a space story, but typically Mars stories are met with insults, sarcasm and vitriol for those who are interested in it. Edit: The effect is so strong, I have occasionally wondered if it is a concerted effort to get more people to start Mars startups, like nerd sniping. "Hurr you can't go to Mars like ever!!" -> "....just watch me". lol.
- yreg 3y agoThe parent didn't dismiss just this story. They seem to have pre-emptively dismissed the actual discovery of life on Mars if it were to ever happen, because it would be just the little things anyway…
- mattlondon 3y agoIf there is any life - even just "little" single-cell microbial type life - that is a huge huge huge change for human society. We'd have actual proof that we are not the only life in the universe (even if just on Mars it may be microbial-like). Actual proof that we are not special or unique. I view it as like when a small baby/toddler realises that other people exist and that they are not the sole focus of the world's attention - a major development milestone.
- thordenmark 3y agoIt will then have to be proved it isn't life from Earth that got there somehow, to really be that huge change for society.
- Narishma 3y agoOr the other way around.
- echelon 3y agoThat barely scratches the surface of how much society and life on earth will change. Religion, life's meaning, our place in the universe -- everyone will face an immediate reckoning here and have to reconcile their previous notions. But even more impactful is that we'll start to be able to make much better approximations of Fermi's Paradox. It might suggest that the universe is teeming with life. Then questions about how it evolves and reaches sentience will move to the forefront. We'll have much better ideas. We might start to get a little anxious about what's lurking out there, and we will probably start spending massively on space telescopes. Society will start looking up.
- antihipocrat 3y agoA lot of people believe that life isn't unique to earth in the universe and I personally wouldn't face a reckoning by this being confirmed.. I would however face a reckoning if it were somehow proven that earth was unique.