It's getting crowded around here...

[texasdave]

Astronomers have calculated that 6 percent of the galaxy's 75 billion or so red dwarfs — stars smaller and dimmer than the Earth's own sun — probably host habitable, roughly Earth-size planets. That works out to at least 4.5 billion such "alien Earths," the closest of which might be found a mere dozen light-years away, researchers said.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...ncid=webmail44

[GAC]

I hate it when astronomers start calculating.

[camisadelgolf]

"a mere dozen light-years away"

Is that all? When gas prices come down, I can't wait to go check it out.

[Caveat Emperor]

Originally Posted by camisadelgolf

"a mere dozen light-years away"

Is that all? When gas prices come down, I can't wait to go check it out.

Just don't let this guy do the driving:

[Caveat Emperor]

And really, the fire for space exploration has all but died in our society. We've had the technology to go to Mars for nearly 20 years without really increasing NASA's budget at all, there's just no will to do it and too many competing interests within the space program.

[camisadelgolf]

Originally Posted by Caveat Emperor

And really, the fire for space exploration has all but died in our society. We've had the technology to go to Mars for nearly 20 years without really increasing NASA's budget at all, there's just no will to do it and too many competing interests within the space program.

[kaldaniels]

Originally Posted by camisadelgolf

http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/...cts%202002.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty

I totally get that too much is spent on war. But with approximately 1 Billion people hungry, how does 200 dollars per person in poverty totally end poverty? That just doesn't sound right. I mean of course 170 Billion would help, but to wipe out poverty....?

[camisadelgolf]

Originally Posted by kaldaniels

http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/...cts%202002.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty

I totally get that too much is spent on war. But with approximately 1 Billion people hungry, how does 200 dollars per person in poverty totally end poverty? That just doesn't sound right. I mean of course 170 Billion would help, but to wipe out poverty....?

Fair enough. I didn't fact check it (even though I was skeptical), but I figured the point was the same: we should stop spending such a ridiculous amount of money on war.

[kaldaniels]

Originally Posted by camisadelgolf

Fair enough. I didn't fact check it (even though I was skeptical), but I figured the point was the same: we should stop spending such a ridiculous amount of money on war.

I came across this the other day on facebook and told myself I gotta start doing a little independent research on all these random claims that are passed around.



And again, I totally understand childbirth is painful...but lets not just make stuff up.

http://factsfromfiction.blogspot.com...-units-of.html

[camisadelgolf]

61% of statistics on the internet are incorrect.

[WMR]

I've seen some mathematicians state that it's a virtual certainty that humanity will exterminate itself within a couple centuries at the most.

[Caveat Emperor]

Originally Posted by WMR

I've seen some mathematicians state that it's a virtual certainty that humanity will exterminate itself within a couple centuries at the most.

There's a school of thought out there that suggests that the reason we don't hear signals from other civilizations or other life in the universe is because intelligent thought can only last a finite amount of time before it annihilates itself.

Also makes it pretty imperative that we get ourselves to another planet and set up something self-sustaining there, with the idea that the race will live on even if we do something incredibly stupid to ourselves on Earth.

[GAC]

Originally Posted by camisadelgolf

61% of statistics on the internet are incorrect.

Did you get that off the internet?

[camisadelgolf]

Originally Posted by GAC

Did you get that off the internet?

No, but anyone else who saw it did.