Silly question

[Travis]

"You know why I built this thing?  It wasn't to . . . usher in a new era of peace.
"I don't want to go to the stars!  I don't even like to fly!  I take trains!
"I just wanted to retire somewhere nice.  Some tropical island . . . full of . . . naked women.
"You want to know what I see?  Dollar signs!  Money!  That's Zephram Cochrane!  That's his vision . . .

"Someone once said: Don't try to be a great man, just be a man.  Let history make its own judgements."

"That's rhetorical nonsense . . . Who said that?"

"You did.  Twenty years from now . . ."

--dialogue between Zephram Cochrane and Commander William Riker.  Star Trek: First Contact.




Yeah, I'm a diehard trekkie . . .

[Professor Brensec]

There are many 'diehards' here, Ender.  ;D

Although Zephram did change his attitude towards the end of the movie. So it all came to pass.

The thing with time travel is - Now that he knew he was going to say 'that' - why then did he say it, when he did?
It would have been obvious and 'cliche' to him by then (20 years after hearing it). But then that's only one small paradox's of the whole 'time travel' thing.  ;)

P.S. There are a number of websites devoted to the 'Light sail' or 'Solar Sail' thing. There are apparently plans to try and get funding to build one in the UK.
It apparently would be reasonably cheap (they say around $10,000, if done by a bunch of students and enthusiasts). Also very simple in concept too.

They've even factored in a small fee from NASA to hitch a 'Piggy back' ride on another more important , commercial mission, and just have them deploy it for them.

Interesting!  ;D

[Travis]

Actually, what you're saying makes sense.  I was talking about a manned one, that could carry someone out of the solar system and get them somewhere in a reasonable amount of time.  But a small one, with no payload and just some kind of recording device would work.  They just have to be ready for disappointment.  I would fully expect their first few attempts to fail misserably, before they get anything accomplished.

Ah, but to travel the cosmos, where light be your only companion and not but the stars to guide you . . .

[Rifleman]

Sorry guys,  I don't know any Riker........I know Zephram from " Metamorphosis "........








For real trekkies who still don't know yet, this is one of the best links I have found to remind me of the episodes which I have let slip from my  miind.........
http://www.ericweisstein.com/fun/startrek/

[Polynomial]

This thread has gone weird.

Time
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Quantam Physics
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Time again
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Star Trek? ? ?

[Wing Nut]

Now all we need is for someone to bring up food...  

Ooops!

[Professor Brensec]

This thread has gone weird.

Time
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Quantam Physics
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Time again
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Star Trek? ? ?

They have a life of ther own, mate.

That's half the attraction. You never know where you're going to end up............

[Polynomial]

Yea and I don't have the foggiest about Star Trek!

[Professor Brensec]

Yea and I don't have the foggiest about Star Trek!

How about Stargate? Are you into that. It's a good series.
Actually, for the Trekkies, I was surprised to read that an 8th series has been scheduled for next year. That makes it the longest running Sci-fi series, except the X-files (which has really gotten a bit lame since Mulder left).  ;D

[Polynomial]

[quote]

How about Stargate? Are you into that. It's a good series.
Actually, for the Trekkies, I was surprised to read that an 8th series has been scheduled for next year. That makes it the longest running Sci-fi series, except the X-files (which has really gotten a bit lame since Mulder left).

[Fozzer]

[quote]Qantam is really one of the easiest branches of physics, once you get ur head around half the concepts.

[Professor Brensec]

I don't know what all the fuss is about between Science and The Church, Foz.

I'm a relatively intelligent chappy, with a healthy interest and good basic understanding of a number of branches of science, and I'm a good Catholic (by my standards anyway).
I believe there is room for both.

Even for those who take the 'Old Testamnet' literally, there is still room for both.

For instance, the continuing (and probably main debate) among the two 'schools of thought' regarding Adam and Eve and Evolution.
Why can't it be that the 'first man and woman' WITH A SOUL or sentience, as we can call it, were part of an 'evolutionary' process that fits in with the 'yet unproven' thoeries of Darwin.
It doesn't necessarily stand that they had to be the FIRST Humans or Homo sapiens, just the First two with 'sentience'. (It would also solve the question of 'incest' that plagues the Old testament account).

One 'sentient' male and one 'unsentient' female, produce one (or more) 'sentient chilld.

That way everyone is happy and God is in His heaven.

[Travis]

One 'sentient' male and one 'unsentient' female, produce one (or more) 'sentient chilld.

Being a bit sexist here, aren't ya?  Why couldn't it be a sentient woman?

Further support to my 'way of thinking' is that there is 'incontravertible proof' and 'historical record' that the 'Great Flood' (vizaviz Noah), did actually occur.

You are correct, sir!  The "Great Flood" did occur, but it most likely wasn't as the bible describes it.

Ancient Egyptian records show a valley in the Cradle of Civilization around 5000 BC.  The entire valley was flooded by a natural dam breaking and letting in the sea it had been holding back for many millions of years.  Apparently, it flooded the largest human population ever, which is what we now know as Atlantis.  This area was not as advanced as we suppose.  Simple wooden structures, but it was larger than anything humans had created at the time.  Hence the legacy of the advanced civilization known as "Atlantis".  I got all this information from a book titled "Pastwatch or The Redemption of Christopher Columbus" by Orson Scott Card, author of the "Ender's Game" series.  (Yeah, my name comes from this . . .)

All of this is conjecture, but makes very much sense if you read the book.

The Earth is at a 23.5 degree tilt, it's theorised that this tilting occurred around 5000 years ago. Possibly the result of the Earth being struck by an asteroid or similar object.
The resulting activities would be weeks of 'precipitation' and a tendency for the Oceans to be 'uprooted' and flow over the Continents (African, American and Australian) into the Oceanic basin on the other side.

This is actually quite accurate.  The specific asteroid was most likely the one that created the crater on the Yucatan Peninsula.

Sounds alot like what's described in the Old Testament.

I think you are right about this, for sure.  The job of priests in the early part of history was to explain to the common man the unexplainable.  The priests knew many of the things our scientists in the 20th century have "discovered" but they also knew there was no way to make the common serf understand these cosmic events.  So they created religions that attributed these amazing phenomena to occult figures.

Okay, if anyone disagrees, lay on!!

[Professor Brensec]

Yep, all the Ark stuff is true. It has been proven to exist (in two halves) on Mt Ararat.
Most of the info I mention on the flood etc is from a scientifically based Doco I saw ages ago called "In Search of Noahs Ark".

I don't think that the idea of a 'Supreme Being' was invented to explain what were at the time 'inexplicable events'. I think the 'inexplicable events' were (and are) the work of the Universe as God created it. We just get a little closer to understanding it (although minute parts of it compared to what there is to understand) the 'older' humankind gets.
Much of this new knowledge that would have been attributed to the 'supernatural' has only come in the last 100 years or so.

As for the Adam and Eve bit, well that's just a simple explaination by me as to the origin of man as we know ourselves, where both the Evolutionists and the hardline Religious can actually both be right with the other being wrong.
I happen to think (as do many 'faithful') that the Old Testament is at least, to a degree, Symbolic in nature. Also as Ender says, it's easier to convince the multitudes that it's magic rather than sound physics or chemistry in the year dot.
Besides, regardless of whether it was truely 'supernatural' happenings or explainable scientifically based events, both are the work of God.
He just chooses to do things the way he does.

How can you look at the stars, and then at the same time an atom, and not feel there is a 'Supreme Being' at work somewhere.

[Paz]

  Wow!
 This has turned into a very cool thread, some very interesting points being discussed.
 I don't even care what time it is at the South pole anymore, that's so yesterday.