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Thread: We've been looking for life everywhere in space

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    Forum Member S. Cane's Avatar
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    We've been looking for life everywhere in space


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    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
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    Re: We've been looking for life everywhere in space

    It'd be great, but it's only speculation. If I understand correctly, they see something that is normally produced by life forms. However, they can't be certain at this point that is an organism. Something else in Venus's environment could be causing it.

    I'd love it to be true, though, and maybe they'll find lifeforms there. The press might be over-hyping a bit at this point.
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

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    Forum Member S. Cane's Avatar
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    Re: We've been looking for life everywhere in space

    Quote Originally Posted by ch willie View Post
    It'd be great, but it's only speculation. If I understand correctly, they see something that is normally produced by life forms. However, they can't be certain at this point that is an organism. Something else in Venus's environment could be causing it.

    I'd love it to be true, though, and maybe they'll find lifeforms there. The press might be over-hyping a bit at this point.
    Of course, it's still speculation but the scientists are pretty much inclined to push the researches further, as this substance can't be produced without anaerobian life, as far as we know so Far.

    Interesting, tô say the least. Oh and one more point up for Carl Sagan!

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    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
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    Re: We've been looking for life everywhere in space

    Sagan is one of my heroes. You couldn't get much more rock and roll than the seemingly mild and absolutely brilliant Sagan.
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

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    Forum Member Offshore Angler's Avatar
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    Re: We've been looking for life everywhere in space

    Phosphene occurs naturally on other planets and given the heat and pressure on the Venusian surface it seems entirely plausible that it would exist in the atmosphere there. There's also A LOT of solar radiation impinging upon Venus which can drive chemical processes. Phosphorus itself is an element, so the argument that phosphorus being present is an indicator of life is pretty deeply flawed.

    Looks to me like another case of "let's run to the press before peer review." Not how science is supposed to work, not that science is even a thing anymore.
    "No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim

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    Forum Member S. Cane's Avatar
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    Re: We've been looking for life everywhere in space

    Though you are right about the scientists being a bit too euforic, the statement os phosphine occurring naturally in other planets isn't accurate, It occurs in some of the gas Giants, Vênus being much more close to Earth regarding physics and chemistry.

    "But if phosphine really is floating through the Venusian cloud deck, its presence suggests one of two intriguing possibilities: that alien life-forms are deftly linking together phosphorus and hydrogen atoms, or that some completely unanticipated chemistry is crafting phosphine in the absence of life."
    Last edited by S. Cane; 09-16-2020 at 09:12 AM.

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    Forum Member vinyl's Avatar
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    Re: We've been looking for life everywhere in space

    In spite of the seriousness of this thread, I have to offer the following, because I think we need a little humor to brighten up our lives in the face of covidiocy.



    If we can't laugh at ourselves, who can we laugh at?
    Cheers

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    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
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    Re: We've been looking for life everywhere in space

    Ha ha, vinyl. We need humor every once in a while. Good for us.

    And yes, I can imagine that pic is true. I see things equal to that here in my little West Tn town. I could make a comedy documentary of Walmarts customers here.
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

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    Re: We've been looking for life everywhere in space

    Quote Originally Posted by vinyl View Post
    In spite of the seriousness of this thread, I have to offer the following, because I think we need a little humor to brighten up our lives in the face of covidiocy.



    If we can't laugh at ourselves, who can we laugh at?
    Cheers
    Typical Saturday at the Big Orange Box! Especially the cars parked in the fire lanes!

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    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
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    Re: We've been looking for life everywhere in space

    Quote Originally Posted by dirtdog View Post
    Typical Saturday at the Big Orange Box! Especially the cars parked in the fire lanes!
    The cars had to be there, they were unloading a group of morbidly obese Dr. Pepper-aholics who just got out of Walmart Fat Carts.

    No offense to disabled people. Just fun with the rhyme of wal Mart and fat Cart.
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

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    Forum Member OldStrummer's Avatar
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    Re: We've been looking for life everywhere in space

    They're Made out of Meat

    Terry Bisson, 1991
    "They're made out of meat."
    "Meat?"
    "Meat. They're made out of meat."
    "Meat?"
    "There's no doubt about it. We picked several from different parts of the planet, took them aboard our recon vessels, probed them all the way through. They're completely meat."
    "That's impossible. What about the radio signals? The messages to the stars."
    "They use the radio waves to talk, but the signals don't come from them. The signals come from machines."
    "So who made the machines? That's who we want to contact."
    "They made the machines. That's what I'm trying to tell you. Meat made the machines."
    "That's ridiculous. How can meat make a machine? You're asking me to believe in sentient meat."
    "I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. These creatures are the only sentient race in the sector and they're made out of meat."
    "Maybe they're like the Orfolei. You know, a carbon-based intelligence that goes through a meat stage."
    "Nope. They're born meat and they die meat. We studied them for several of their life spans, which didn't take too long. Do you have any idea the life span of meat?"
    "Spare me. Okay, maybe they're only part meat. You know, like the Weddilei. A meat head with an electron plasma brain inside."
    "Nope. We thought of that, since they do have meat heads like the Weddilei. But I told you, we probed them. They're meat all the way through."
    "No brain?"
    "Oh, there is a brain all right. It's just that the brain is made out of meat!"
    "So... what does the thinking?"
    "You're not understanding, are you? The brain does the thinking. The meat."
    "Thinking meat! You're asking me to believe in thinking meat!"
    "Yes, thinking meat! Conscious meat! Loving meat. Dreaming meat. The meat is the whole deal! Are you getting the picture?"
    "Omigod. You're serious then. They're made out of meat."
    "Finally, Yes. They are indeed made out meat. And they've been trying to get in touch with us for almost a hundred of their years."
    "So what does the meat have in mind."
    "First it wants to talk to us. Then I imagine it wants to explore the universe, contact other sentients, swap ideas and information. The usual."
    "We're supposed to talk to meat?"
    "That's the idea. That's the message they're sending out by radio. 'Hello. Anyone out there? Anyone home?' That sort of thing."
    "They actually do talk, then. They use words, ideas, concepts?"
    "Oh, yes. Except they do it with meat."
    "I thought you just told me they used radio."
    "They do, but what do you think is on the radio? Meat sounds. You know how when you slap or flap meat it makes a noise? They talk by flapping their meat at each other. They can even sing by squirting air through their meat."
    "Omigod. Singing meat. This is altogether too much. So what do you advise?"
    "Officially or unofficially?"
    "Both."
    "Officially, we are required to contact, welcome, and log in any and all sentient races or multibeings in the quadrant, without prejudice, fear, or favor. Unofficially, I advise that we erase the records and forget the whole thing."
    "I was hoping you would say that."
    "It seems harsh, but there is a limit. Do we really want to make contact with meat?"
    "I agree one hundred percent. What's there to say?" `Hello, meat. How's it going?' But will this work? How many planets are we dealing with here?"
    "Just one. They can travel to other planets in special meat containers, but they can't live on them. And being meat, they only travel through C space. Which limits them to the speed of light and makes the possibility of their ever making contact pretty slim. Infinitesimal, in fact."
    "So we just pretend there's no one home in the universe."
    "That's it."
    "Cruel. But you said it yourself, who wants to meet meat? And the ones who have been aboard our vessels, the ones you have probed? You're sure they won't remember?"
    "They'll be considered crackpots if they do. We went into their heads and smoothed out their meat so that we're just a dream to them."
    "A dream to meat! How strangely appropriate, that we should be meat's dream."
    "And we can marked this sector unoccupied."
    "Good. Agreed, officially and unofficially. Case closed. Any others? Anyone interesting on that side of the galaxy?"
    "Yes, a rather shy but sweet hydrogen core cluster intelligence in a class nine star in G445 zone. Was in contact two galactic rotation ago, wants to be friendly again."
    "They always come around."
    "And why not? Imagine how unbearably, how unutterably cold the universe would be if one were all alone."
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    Forum Member DanTheBluesMan's Avatar
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    Re: We've been looking for life everywhere in space

    where is that from?
    "Live and learn and flip the burns"

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    Forum Member OldStrummer's Avatar
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    Re: We've been looking for life everywhere in space

    Written by Terry Bisson in 1991. Published originally in OMNI magazine. It has/had quite a following.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They're_Made_Out_of_Meat
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    Forum Member DanTheBluesMan's Avatar
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    Re: We've been looking for life everywhere in space

    "Singing Meat" sounds like a great album name
    "Live and learn and flip the burns"

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    Forum Member OldStrummer's Avatar
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    Re: We've been looking for life everywhere in space

    Quote Originally Posted by DanTheBluesMan View Post
    "Singing Meat" sounds like a great album name
    Or a buffet item.
    Striving to be ordinary

    Proud to be a TFF Dumbass!

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    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
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    Re: We've been looking for life everywhere in space

    Singing Meat is a promise I use to woo the ladies. It's also the claim that got me five years in Sing Sing and two more years added for having it to perform the aria from La bohème. Opera haters the squad of policemen that descended on me.
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

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    Forum Member Offshore Angler's Avatar
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    Re: We've been looking for life everywhere in space

    Quote Originally Posted by Sérgio View Post
    Though you are right about the scientists being a bit too euforic, the statement os phosphine occurring naturally in other planets isn't accurate, It occurs in some of the gas Giants, Vênus being much more close to Earth regarding physics and chemistry.

    "But if phosphine really is floating through the Venusian cloud deck, its presence suggests one of two intriguing possibilities: that alien life-forms are deftly linking together phosphorus and hydrogen atoms, or that some completely unanticipated chemistry is crafting phosphine in the absence of life."
    Phosphine will occur wherever the elements are present and the energy is correct. The molecules don't care. Life is is not a requirement for any chemical reaction. Look at it this way, C6H12O6 and H2O are everywhere everywhere and don't require photosynthesis.

    Look at today's situation. We're dealing with a virus. Viruses aren't alive. They are simply self-replicating structures. Given the proper raw materials and conditions anything can happen.

    We could say life is required to dehydrogenate propane too, but there are other ways to do it.
    Last edited by Offshore Angler; 09-19-2020 at 05:50 AM.
    "No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim

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