4 ms·

How do we know nobody is colonizing every system we can see? How would you detect if earth was colonized?

krapp 2mo ago
Entropy and thermodynamics exist. It would be impossible to colonize every system we see without the tremendous heat energy expenditure needed to do so being obvious, and obviously not natural. The background temperature of space is so regular and predictable that any deviation is noticeable. Barring some magical woo-woo technology that someone will probably insist must exist because we foolish humans are simply too stupid to understand anything, this isn't something you can just cheat. There ain't no stealth in space[0]. https://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/spacewardetect.php#nostealth https://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/spacewardetect...
- idiotsecant 2mo ago
  Ok great, but you didn't answer the central question. How would you detect earth civilization from interstellar distances?
cyberax 2mo ago
If you're colonizing systems so stealthily that it's not visible, then why bother doing that at all? Even a single solar system has more than enough resources.
- shagie 2mo ago
  David Webber - Safehold series. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safehold https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safehold The first book is Off Armageddon Reef - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off_Armageddon_Reef https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off_Armageddon_Reef In the 24th century, 8 million people flee to distant Safehold after barely escaping from the destruction of civilization by a genocidal alien foe, the Gbaba. Because the enemy tracked signs of advanced technology to hunt down other emergency colonies, the plan is to enforce a pre-industrial society until the danger passes. Administrator Eric Langhorne, a megalomaniac and neo-Luddite, instead has the colonists' memories erased and replaced with the belief they are the first humans, "Adams" and "Eves," the creations of God upon Safehold with "Archangel Langhorne" anointed as prophet and leader of the Church of God Awaiting. The first chapter can be read at the publisher's site: https://www.baen.com/Chapters/0765315009/0765315009.htm https://www.baen.com/Chapters/0765315009/0765315009.htm

krapp 2mo ago

Entropy and thermodynamics exist. It would be impossible to colonize every system we see without the tremendous heat energy expenditure needed to do so being obvious, and obviously not natural. The background temperature of space is so regular and predictable that any deviation is noticeable. Barring some magical woo-woo technology that someone will probably insist must exist because we foolish humans are simply too stupid to understand anything, this isn't something you can just cheat. There ain't no stealth in space[0]. https://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/spacewardetect.php#nostealth https://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/spacewardetect...

idiotsecant 2mo ago
Ok great, but you didn't answer the central question. How would you detect earth civilization from interstellar distances?

cyberax 2mo ago

If you're colonizing systems so stealthily that it's not visible, then why bother doing that at all? Even a single solar system has more than enough resources.

shagie 2mo ago
David Webber - Safehold series. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safehold https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safehold The first book is Off Armageddon Reef - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off_Armageddon_Reef https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off_Armageddon_Reef In the 24th century, 8 million people flee to distant Safehold after barely escaping from the destruction of civilization by a genocidal alien foe, the Gbaba. Because the enemy tracked signs of advanced technology to hunt down other emergency colonies, the plan is to enforce a pre-industrial society until the danger passes. Administrator Eric Langhorne, a megalomaniac and neo-Luddite, instead has the colonists' memories erased and replaced with the belief they are the first humans, "Adams" and "Eves," the creations of God upon Safehold with "Archangel Langhorne" anointed as prophet and leader of the Church of God Awaiting. The first chapter can be read at the publisher's site: https://www.baen.com/Chapters/0765315009/0765315009.htm https://www.baen.com/Chapters/0765315009/0765315009.htm