Are there dangers in the future?
Consider that our universe is 15 billion years old, and we evolved into a technology civilization only in the last two hundred years or so.
What are the possibilities that countless alien civilizations have been developing for millions of years or more. In their eyes, we would not be interesting at all.
They might look at us as we look at some single cell life form – completely uninteresting and boring, not worth giving a thought.
In our crude minds, we cannot even imagine the sophistication they may have achieved.
They might monitor all activity on our planet with advanced systems undetectable by us.
However, there could be civilizations out there in our age category, and we might someday run into them after we begin scattering our populations to the stars in earnest – probably in the next century.
Will we face dangers as we go forward into the future? Of course we will. It is a “crap shot” whether we even make it, but I for one believe that we will survive.
During this century we will learn to master our planet; then some time in the next few centuries, we will meet the federation; and if we survive beyond that; something as wild as “universe-hopping” could become possible at a far-future time.
However, here is the best part: forward-thinkers believe that many alive today will survive to experience all of this “magical future”!
Comments please.
the comment of "we evolved into a technology civilization only in the last two hundred years or so" is not entirely true.
it has taken the process of evolution over 4000 million years (oldest record of simple cells) to get to the present stage of technology/thought advanced enough to contemplate the creation of the universe.
even in our solar system where life should be found, for example on titan, we still have no direct evidence of life existing outside the earth.
now i am not saying life has no chance of evolving outside the earth, but we should be able to find it close to home, since life is very skilled at exploiting many environments such as 3km under ground, under polar ice, near deep sea vents etc
Stephen Baxter wrote a great book called "Evolution" which lays out arguments relating to life outside earth. i recommend this in your quest.
maybe life is difficult to create.
it has taken the process of evolution over 4000 million years (oldest record of simple cells) to get to the present stage of technology/thought advanced enough to contemplate the creation of the universe.
even in our solar system where life should be found, for example on titan, we still have no direct evidence of life existing outside the earth.
now i am not saying life has no chance of evolving outside the earth, but we should be able to find it close to home, since life is very skilled at exploiting many environments such as 3km under ground, under polar ice, near deep sea vents etc
Stephen Baxter wrote a great book called "Evolution" which lays out arguments relating to life outside earth. i recommend this in your quest.
maybe life is difficult to create.
Of course, you are right about technology. Taming the fire could be construed as technology; however, in this instance, I was thinking of the industrial revolution and more modern activities.
As to other life forms similar to ours that may exist in the universe, you are correct again as there has never been any hard evidence of anyone being ‘out there’. The reason that most physicists offer to support visions of ETs, is the mathematical probabilities that the elements causing life to evolve on this planet exist in so many other places.
Baxter’s Evolution looks interesting; I might pick it up. Thanks for the referral.
As to other life forms similar to ours that may exist in the universe, you are correct again as there has never been any hard evidence of anyone being ‘out there’. The reason that most physicists offer to support visions of ETs, is the mathematical probabilities that the elements causing life to evolve on this planet exist in so many other places.
Baxter’s Evolution looks interesting; I might pick it up. Thanks for the referral.
re: Stephen Baxter - i got some book titles mixed up.
even though evolution is a book worth reading , i think it was one of his other books called deep space that would be more related to your initial question...
oh heck read both
even though evolution is a book worth reading , i think it was one of his other books called deep space that would be more related to your initial question...
oh heck read both
I think you might mean Deep Future (see link http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/nonfiction/deepfuture-sb.htm ).
It looks a little interesting. Thanks.
I write a weekly futuristic science and technology column for several western U.S. newspapers and later this month I plan to create a piece called ‘Earth 3000’ which will try to depict what life will be like ten centuries from now.
The problem I find when looking too far into the future is finding enough factual data to back up the scenarios. Any suggestions?
It looks a little interesting. Thanks.
I write a weekly futuristic science and technology column for several western U.S. newspapers and later this month I plan to create a piece called ‘Earth 3000’ which will try to depict what life will be like ten centuries from now.
The problem I find when looking too far into the future is finding enough factual data to back up the scenarios. Any suggestions?
year 3000, its difficult to predict because its not that far away.
eg there would be not much to say about the sun (if you were talking 500 million years into the future then you would have something to write about), but if you were to talk about desktop computing in the year 3000, well technology doubles every 18 months so this rapid change is difficult to predict.
there might be several shifts in our understanding of the universe though. for example next year gravity probe b releases its data, so you may be able to draw a line out from its findings (assuming einsetin is correct) to predict what does it mean when we know for sure that gravity can be explaine by spacetime warping. by the year 3000 im sure we would have detected gravity waves.
keep me posted im very interested in your project
the interesting thing that Baxter says is that the further into the future you try to predict the easier it is.
eg there would be not much to say about the sun (if you were talking 500 million years into the future then you would have something to write about), but if you were to talk about desktop computing in the year 3000, well technology doubles every 18 months so this rapid change is difficult to predict.
there might be several shifts in our understanding of the universe though. for example next year gravity probe b releases its data, so you may be able to draw a line out from its findings (assuming einsetin is correct) to predict what does it mean when we know for sure that gravity can be explaine by spacetime warping. by the year 3000 im sure we would have detected gravity waves.
keep me posted im very interested in your project
the interesting thing that Baxter says is that the further into the future you try to predict the easier it is.
Thanks, will keep you up to date on progress.
Aliens capable of interstellar travel would be too advanced to care about our existence in its present stage.