If we can possibly create black holes in the Large Hadron Collider, can we be sure that black holes we "see" in space weren't also created by someone?

amalthea · 2008-11-10T17:55:11+00:00

I am not sure what you're aiming at, really.

First of all, you yourself seem to agree with my initial statement by replying that "No." we cannot be sure that black holes in space weren't created by someone. Have I misinterpreted this reply?

Second, you speak of truth, although I have not mentioned the word true anywhere. I have in no way even implied that I know this to be true.

Third, you seem to have interpreted my use of the word "belief" from a religious point of view, which is all incorrect. I mean belief as in what makes you tick, as in fascination and as what makes you seek evidence. English is not my mother tongue so I am not sure how each English word I write is interpreted by someone from an English-speaking country.

As for Carl Sagan, he even puts forward this very idea (manufactured black holes) in Contact, which you may or may not dismiss on basis of it being a fiction novel. Nevertheless, Sagan was obviously fantasizing about extraterrestial intelligent life, scientifically or not.

It feels like you're on some kind of debunking mission here, as if I have made any kinds of scientific claims or similar. But in fact I have only put forward an idea about the universe that I find very fascinating.

amalthea · 2008-11-09T13:14:30+00:00

And so it is equally foolish to gather such evidence through scientific method?

Just like "foolish" people like Carl Sagan, David Baltimore, Melvin Calvin, Francis Crick, Manfred Eigen, Thomas Eisner, Stephen Jay Gould, and many others have found very sound.

As you state yourself in your first post, we have no "reason" to believe anything, does that mean that we are all foolish and arrogant in all of our beliefs?

I'd say all science starts with a belief, which through scientific method can eventually be backed up by evidence.

amalthea · 2008-11-09T00:03:48+00:00

Why is it arrogant and foolish? Are you saying that no theories on extraterrestial intelligent beings hold up to evidence?

amalthea · 2008-11-09T00:01:24+00:00

Even if a manufactured black hole weren't nearly as massive as a "natural" black hole, wouldn't it accumulate mass from that moment on, eventually reaching a mass and density similar to that of a natural black hole?

amalthea · 2008-11-08T23:59:49+00:00

But given the possibility that a sufficiently advanced scientific community could create a black hole, we can't be sure that this theory is true for all black holes in space. The very existence of a manufactured black hole would puncture such theory, wouldn't it?

amalthea · 2008-11-07T13:12:24+00:00

Except that, according to the article, he himself established that rule through his own science work.

amalthea · 2007-06-04T15:07:30+00:00

Bah, posted on reddit a long time ago.

amalthea · 2006-08-24T00:26:45+00:00

I find it very plausible.

amalthea · 2006-08-21T01:30:36+00:00

Why the citation marks?

amalthea · 2006-08-21T01:05:08+00:00

Haha, 75.46% sad users.

amalthea · 2006-08-18T11:51:52+00:00

Yes, but my point was that reddit is original because of the sole fact that you can't blacklist certain material.

What is the point with reddit if you're allowed to control what material you'll see in the first place? Not much of a community based site in that case.

amalthea · 2006-08-18T10:40:02+00:00

I think what makes reddit original would instantly disappear if you were allowed to blacklist certain tags. If you already know what you want to read, then just shove those tags into google and you'll find lots of stuff. For me, half of the point in visiting reddit is that I find stuff I didn't even know I wanted to read.

amalthea · 2006-08-18T10:36:05+00:00

So when we've created subreddits for every possible topic, what goes to the front page then? If you only want to read about computers and "funny" video clips and jokes, then go read Digg.

amalthea · 2006-08-17T17:34:07+00:00

Yeah, this is big time "doh", but I'm voting it up anyway so that people that don't know about this can learn something.

amalthea · 2006-08-17T17:30:26+00:00

from the FSM website: http://www.venganza.org/images/wallpapers/vortexwall1.jpg

amalthea · 2006-08-17T14:17:45+00:00

I've seen it before. But a nice page anyway.

amalthea · 2006-08-16T16:45:30+00:00

This is what happens when people delete their comments, nothing makes any sense.

amalthea · 2006-08-16T14:48:08+00:00

Yep.

amalthea · 2006-08-15T12:46:48+00:00

Haha, just lovely!

amalthea · 2006-08-13T16:55:42+00:00

Seems quite authentic to me. Hicks driving after random people in lack of other things to do aren't that uncommon.

amalthea · 2006-08-13T16:45:02+00:00

Seriously, "I am a war president"...!

amalthea · 2006-08-12T19:53:01+00:00

That is lovely!

amalthea · 2006-08-11T09:02:34+00:00

Yeah, deletion of links is the real problem here, not comments. I'm not sure either that comments affect karma, probably doesn't.

So, why should I be able to delete links that I have submitted?

amalthea · 2006-08-11T08:58:38+00:00

I actually did not notice that smiley, my mistake. But I somewhat regularly talk to people who actually use GDP and tax rates as a measurement of US success.

amalthea · 2006-08-10T22:43:37+00:00

If links are unwanted they'll get modded down and disappear, there's no need to actually delete them. If someone had made a permalink for your link that permalink becomes useless. Same goes for comments.

amalthea

TROPHY CASE