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Is the Interstellar Object 3I/Atlas Alien Technology?
- fouronnes3 1y ago> clandestine reverse Solar Oberth Manoeuvre is now my favourite xkcd 2326 example.
- unwind 1y agoLinky linky for the lazy: https://xkcd.com/2326/ https://xkcd.com/2326/.
- zdw 1y agoIn many asian languages idioms of 4 characters (Chinese: Chengyu, Japanese: Yojijukugo) are used for concepts, and when many of these are packed tightly together the intent is frequently to either flaunt language ability or sound very smart. They can also be moderately impenetrable to early language learners.
- staplung 1y ago> clandestine reverse Solar Oberth Manoeuvre Nah, I'm not really into Pokemon. https://xkcd.com/178/ https://xkcd.com/178/
- an0malous 1y agoIs Avi Loeb preparing to sell you another book?
- preisschild 1y ago> November/early December of 2025 I guess I'll try to keep my calendar free for interstellar contact
- JackAcid 1y ago[dead]
- darqis 1y agois that humor?
- gus_massa 1y agoNo, it's a well known astronomer with a solid trajectory that since a few years for some reasons is seen "evidence" of aliens everywhere.
- compiler_queen 1y agoOf course it is, why wouldn't it be something mundane like always. I'll bet they've got some ulterior motives and that Elvis is with them.
- bob1029 1y ago> The relevance of this is that had the object indeed been discovered earlier, then there would have been some possibility that humanity could have mounted an intercept mission, a recourse that was out-of-the-question by the time 3I/ATLAS was actually detected The only kind of intercept mission that would make sense to me from a game theory perspective is a totally blind, large scale thermonuclear weapon strike. The first thing that it wakes up to shouldn't be a harmless probe that can only phone home the bad news.
- nine_k 1y agoIt's not all the dark forest; sometimes it's the shine of a a warm welcome!
- tzs 1y agoHere's an interesting PBS Space Time video [1], "Dark Forest: Should We NOT Contact Aliens?", that goes over some of the game theory that a civilization might want to consider when deciding how visible to allow themselves to be to others. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXYf47euE3U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXYf47euE3U
- jl6 1y agoIt’s probably an alien escape pod that ejected from their civilization when their clickbait plague reached even their scientific journal articles.
- jsbisviewtiful 1y agoThe Cold War, conspiracy theories, tabloids and the dismantling of public education really did a number on a lot of people. Statistically speaking, intelligent life is out there. Mathematically speaking, the odds of us or them ever making contact is near 0.
- theearling 1y agoLet's hope so, the U.S. and the world as a whole could either use a savior or factory reset
- momento 1y agoWhat an exhausting defeatist mindset.
- theearling 1y agolol, just having fun man, I hope it's not just some rock
- halfmatthalfcat 1y agoI enjoy some levity in these trying times
- Teever 1y agoI've been skeptical of anything Avi Loeb writes after watching this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY985qzn7oI&t=1440s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY985qzn7oI&t=1440s