How far can technology and science progress?

How does science work? And what's all this about quantum mechanics?

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MagsJ
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Re: How far can technology and science progress?

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Philosophy Explorer wrote:
MagsJ wrote:UBI? not come across that before.
Universal Basic Income.

PhilX
A slightly better, if disagreeable, option to Greta's two alternatives below.
Greta wrote:
MagsJ wrote:I am amazed that you'd be amazed when scientists and astronomers are amazed at the unexpected :) You'll find that they are amazed when they find what they expect too. The kind of childlike nerdy fascination that leads to excessive "Wow!" responses is pretty well a prerequisite for being a successful scientist. If you aren't super excited about your field there'll be another hundred geeky enthusiasts desperate for your job :)
They're amazed when they find something expected, and amazed when they find something they did not expect to find.. reminds me of that fake NASA cheer they always do whenever they launch something.
You ask a good question at the end. Early indications are that increasing numbers of people simply will not earn money and the controlling corporations will let them die or go feral. There are already many in the commentariat today who promote the natural selection approach to governance, who see the death of the "unfit" to be a necessary evil. Unless they are embryos or old people on life support machines, of course, in which case those same advocates will invariably wax lyrical about the sanctity of life.

As Kurt Vonnegut would say, so it goes.
I would say that this is happening now... perhaps the surplus to requirement will be shipped off to a newly colonised Mars in under a decade to populate and work there.
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Greta
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Re: How far can technology and science progress?

Post by Greta »

MagsJ wrote:
Greta wrote:Early indications are that increasing numbers of people simply will not earn money and the controlling corporations will let them die or go feral. There are already many in the commentariat today who promote the natural selection approach to governance, who see the death of the "unfit" to be a necessary evil. Unless they are embryos or old people on life support machines, of course, in which case those same advocates will invariably wax lyrical about the sanctity of life.

As Kurt Vonnegut would say, so it goes.
I would say that this is happening now... perhaps the surplus to requirement will be shipped off to a newly colonised Mars in under a decade to populate and work there.
History repeats! I'm Australian :)

At that time the powers-that-be were so ruthless that children were sent to work in coal mines. Now children are increasingly working in sweat shops. If history is to repeat, it's soon time for the union movement's rebirth, which first happened when institutional authoritarianism became tyranny.
Philosophy Explorer
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Re: How far can technology and science progress?

Post by Philosophy Explorer »

MagsJ wrote:
Philosophy Explorer wrote:
MagsJ wrote:UBI? not come across that before.
Universal Basic Income.

PhilX
A slightly better, if disagreeable, option to Greta's two alternatives below.
Greta wrote:
MagsJ wrote:I am amazed that you'd be amazed when scientists and astronomers are amazed at the unexpected :) You'll find that they are amazed when they find what they expect too. The kind of childlike nerdy fascination that leads to excessive "Wow!" responses is pretty well a prerequisite for being a successful scientist. If you aren't super excited about your field there'll be another hundred geeky enthusiasts desperate for your job :)
They're amazed when they find something expected, and amazed when they find something they did not expect to find.. reminds me of that fake NASA cheer they always do whenever they launch something.
You ask a good question at the end. Early indications are that increasing numbers of people simply will not earn money and the controlling corporations will let them die or go feral. There are already many in the commentariat today who promote the natural selection approach to governance, who see the death of the "unfit" to be a necessary evil. Unless they are embryos or old people on life support machines, of course, in which case those same advocates will invariably wax lyrical about the sanctity of life.

As Kurt Vonnegut would say, so it goes.
I would say that this is happening now... perhaps the surplus to requirement will be shipped off to a newly colonised Mars in under a decade to populate and work there.
I'm not expecting Mars to be colonized by humans. Even with astronauts, who are in top physical shape, there are reports about them going blind and other types of problems. Robots are a different story which I see as being feasible.

PhilX
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Greta
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Re: How far can technology and science progress?

Post by Greta »

Philosophy Explorer wrote:I'm not expecting Mars to be colonized by humans. Even with astronauts, who are in top physical shape, there are reports about them going blind and other types of problems. Robots are a different story which I see as being feasible.
That's why they'd send the expandable ones. The convicts sent to Australia often didn't enjoy long life spans either. Today, in many parts of the world, if you don't have an insulated bubble to hide in (ie. air conditioned room) you won't last long.

Yes, robots definitely, with Mars already the only known planet inhabited entirely by robots. It's a long way off but I can imagine underground habitats for educated humans in desperate situations with nothing to lose. The proposals are already settle in Mars's and the Moon's lava tubes and engage in mining of those bodies. By then, progress will be made in compensating for strange gravity and shielding against radiation, although I'd expect that dwelling in sealed habitats in Mars would be more of an existence than really living, akin to being a permanent submariner.
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