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>Also strange to say 'Alien' every time they say 'planet'. What else could it be - a planet right here on Earth? To be fair, it could simply mean an exoplanet,
by jere 14y ago
>Also strange to say 'Alien' every time they say 'planet'. What else could it be - a planet right here on Earth?
To be fair, it could simply mean an exoplanet, a planet outside of our solar system. I suppose "alien planet" is more intuitive than "exoplanet."
We've grown quite accustomed to the planets in our backyard, so I think the word alien is quite evocative here. I was born about 2 decades after the first moon landing, but the first confirmed exoplanets weren't discovered until my lifetime. That's pretty fricking amazing to me.
- cryptoz 14y agoYes! I agree. Here's a graph of the number of exoplanets discovered by year: http://exoplanet.eu/diagrams/?t=h&f=&x=discovered&xmin=&xmax=&y=raw&ymin=&ymax= http://exoplanet.eu/diagrams/?t=h&f=&x=discovered... I consider it the most exciting graph I have ever seen.
- jere 14y ago:) Somewhat related, it's frustrating when I read about the history of computer science and am blown away that many of the best algorithms/languages we have today were developed 40-60 years ago. It's always nice to be reminded that there are unsolved problems and unlocked mysteries.
- derekp7 14y agoAnd yet we have continuously greater numbers of software patents filed every year. So obviously innovation is happening -- right? After all, Bubble sort was good, but Bubble sort on a web enabled device with rounded corners is defiantly the cat's meow.