48 HOURS Until the End of the World

[donna]

But what if these experiments, or other expensive ones like them, find a way of safely accessing the energy within an atom without blasting everything in the vicinity to smithereens?

Long term (100 years +), some sort of nuclear energy will be needed to power the planet, unless there is some catastrophic event (bird flu?) that wipes out 1/2 the world's population, and experiments like this will result in its safe application.

Oh, and in case you are wondering if there is a relationship between energy and feeding the masses - energy and matter are interchangeable, so get more energy, and you can make more food!

And, BlueKiwi, it's sonic screwdriver.

cube

Yep - okay busted - my small brain can not cope, this is getting too intellectual for me!

Cheers,

Donna

[Rolf]

Dean I know your story and I respect your religious views but you seem to have gone to great lengths now to put down scientific research so if we for a second put our own bias aside:

Please clarify why is it that old scriptures, based on legends emerged from the mists of time and mostly written down from word-of-mouth sources should be trusted more than well-documented peer-reviewed facts which can be objectively verified again and again?

How do you make your investment decisions - do you value a property by trusting the vendor who says it's worth a million OR by doing some sound research i.e. getting some valuations done, knowing the area well?

[captaincrab]

What is really of interest is that they may prove the Higgs Boson. The "god" particle they think enables the creation of mass.
The fundys all over the world are less than happy that if they do prove it, then "intelligent design" is out the window-again.

As an aside I had someone try and convince me that natural selection is not proved because Evolution is "called" a theory. I was staggered.

http://www.phy.uct.ac.za/courses/phy400w/particle/higgs.htm

[Rolf]

Yes I'm waiting for the Higgs Boson too, that would be a major scientific result. Also if they can create micro black holes then that would be an exciting bonus.

And yes the academic meaning of the word 'theory' is often misunderstood. A theory is really a verified and proven hypothesis, so a scientific fact in other words.

[Davo36]

Big bang chronology and biblical chronology are woefully at variance.

That was the only sensible thing you said.

One of them is wrong.

I know which one I'd put my money on.

Having said that, no point getting into a debate about the existence/non existence of God. You believe what you want to and so will I.

David

[Steve Netwriter]

Spending money this way is exactly how our civilisation progresses into a more advanced state where hopefully one day we don't have to worry about energy shortages and pollution.
If it had not been for a lot of initially ridiculed ideas and a lot of 'wasteful' research which the average Joe just doesn't comprehend we would still sit in a cave and not have electricity, cars, refridgerators, televisions, internet or forums to discuss property for that matter...

Well said, I agree

There is one interesting possibility though.
Suppose the laws of physics are such that every civilisation reaches this stage, and can have no way of predicting an unknown fatal trap.
They all reach this level of technology, and then exterminate themselves.

That would explain why we have had no alien contact.

Please don't take that too seriously


I suggest this website for anyone interested in living a life free from mystical and supernatural elements:

http://www.the-brights.net/

http://www.the-brights.net/forums/

What is a bright?

• A bright is a person who has a naturalistic worldview
• A bright's worldview is free of supernatural and mystical elements
• The ethics and actions of a bright are based on a naturalistic worldview

Steve

[67910241]

There is one interesting possibility though.
Suppose the laws of physics are such that every civilisation reaches this stage, and can have no way of predicting an unknown fatal trap.
They all reach this level of technology, and then exterminate themselves.


Steve

Another good one Steve.

However, you're assuming that a) there's just a single technology tree a learning civilisation can follow and b) there's just one obscure fatal trap to fall into.

Biblical days and years = are they Earth days, Lunar days, Jupiter days, Centauri (Proximan?) and also whose years... also, must G*d follow someone elses clock and deadlines? If so, then who created the clock that G*d must obey? If he's the clockmaker, why not give himself generous deadlines or excuse himself from time tracking and self-rostering duties altogether?

[67910241]

heh

Yes I'm waiting for the Higgs Boson too, that would be a major scientific result. Also if they can create micro black holes then that would be an exciting bonus.

Literally "exciting enough to die for"?

[Steve Netwriter]

Are we dead yet ?

I don't want to miss it

[Glen]

And, BlueKiwi, it's sonic screwdriver.

cube

Yeah BK, that's what you need to fix the Flux Capacitor!.....like...Duh!

[tpr2]

lol....

Thanks for the chuckle guys... there are not too many places we can discuss God, the big bang theory, psionic screwdrivers vs sonic screwdrivers, quantum physics, particle generators and property investment all in one tidy compact telephone booth

[cube]

property investment

Where?

Who let that in?

Where's a moderator when you need one?

[Glen]

Who let that in?

It was either God,....or Michael J Fox.

[tpr2]

stop it I'm trying to get some work done

[Xav]

Of course some have attempted to solve this difficulty with yet another slippery compromise. They allege that the “creative acts” of Genesis 1 are not necessarily “in chronological order” (Willis 1979, 92).

If you have them in chronological order then the sun is created twice - Gen 1:3-5 and Gen 1:16-18. You also have verses talking about plants (11-12) before verses about the creation of the sun (14-1. That is a lot of science to disbelieve. Ever tried to grow a plant in the dark?

That is just from 5 min on Google, but either interpretation seems to have its difficulties.


It will be very interesting to see what they discover with the LHC. We have been here before though, so don't get too excited just yet.