Gian

Yes I am suggesting that Dawky's encouragement to disrespect other's opinions at the 2002 Ted talk has contributed to intolerance. I mean what other effect could it have? "Stop Being damned Respectful" means stop being damned respectful GIAN🙂XXX MOONTANMAN It's silly to critique religion if using a stupid methodology, same way It's stupid to try to critique science by using a skipping rope. It's not critique that's wrong, critique is never wrong. It's the methodology the Dawk uses that's wrong. GIAN🙂XXX

CharonY Of course it's silly, and it's precisely that methodology that Dawky uses to "critique" religion, so he's being equally silly. Cheerz GIAN🙂XXX PS My words were that racism and intolerance seem to have got worse over the last 15y. I did not say I thought they had only appeared in my lifetime. It was all there anyway MOONTANMAN Honey it's not disrespect to disagree GIAN🙂XXX

MOONTANMAN Well because in 2002 he was encouraging people to be disrespectful, and 21y later he's weeping about cancel culture. And the "logic" of his ridiculous book The God Delusion is about as logical as me saying that Dawky and all other scientists are stupid because they believe the Earth is flat. The Flat Earth Society have made scientific experiments which they claim prove the Earth is flat. Therefore as Dawky et al are all scientists, they must of logical necessity believe the Earth is flat. That's how ridiculous he's being in his anti-religious methodology. He's just one of those atheists who needs God in order to have something not to believe in. That's why when I asked a priest friend of my mum and dad about Dawky, he replied "I don't think we're particularly worried by Professor Dawkins." Cheerz GIAN🙂XXX PS I respect you and everyone else here💘💋 PPS Most people I know are atheists Antisemitism is 1800y old. Racism was invented in the 19th century. Both seem to have got worse in my lifetime GIAN🙂XXX

I think it's more a case of what you "feel" should not be dismissed out-of hand. I suspect alot of scientific discovery starts with someone just having a feeling, or hunch about something. But Dawky and people like him were extremely unwise in the so-called "atheist spring" post 9/11 to encourage people to be disrespectful, which is another word for bigoted. What Dawky's too dumb to realise is that if he encourages bigotry in one department eg religion, it never stops there. Given that over the last 15y or so there seems to have been a noticeable increase in racism and in particular antisemitism, Dawky should cut out the rabble rousing. Cheerz GIAN🙂XXX

Discuss Dawky's comments. And I put this in Physics & Astronomy because not being a scientist I respect astrophysicists. I suppose an "Evolutionary Biologist" only describes what's already there. I guess an astrophysicist needs to be able to think laterally, outside the box. That's why Dawky can't get religion and makes such a fool of himself. Cheerz GIAN🙂XXX

Can people here define free speech please, and with a philosophical rationale justify how people should react to opinions they strongly disagree with? I hope no one here agrees with sacking people for their opinions Cheerz GIAN🙂XXX

"Let's stop being so damned respectful! Revealed faith is not harmless nonsense, it can be lethally dangerous nonsense. Dangerous because it gives people unshakeable confidence in their own righteousness... Lets stop being damned respectful!" RICHARD DAWKINS 2002 "I think it's very sad especially in universities... where you should be free to speak your mind and to listen to something even if it's something you don't like, and it's very tragic that universities seem to have bought into the idea that if you hear something you don't like you should shut them up and refuse to let them speak" RICHARD DAWKINS bleating to Piers Morgan about cancel culture 2023

JC MACSWELL So after 10¹⁴ years, that's it. No more life? GIAN🙂

I read that by about the year AD10¹⁴ the last stars will be dead, so no more light in the universe, and the universe will leave the stelliferous era and enter the dark degenerate era. The universe will have evaporated away altogether by AD10¹⁰⁰ If species are still around in the year 10¹⁴, I assume life will no longer be possible with no more light. If so, will it in theory be possible for spectacularly advanced species to repair, prolong or create new stars and thus prolong the stelliferous era? Not indefinitely of course, but for alot longer? Cheerz DECLAN🙂XXX

MOONTANMAN Thanks! GIAN🙂XXX

MOONTANMAN Well I'm just thinking that if the explorers have to start from scratch the equipment they've brought with them may malfunction, or there's other difficulties they don't know about. But I guess it's axiomatic that they'd have to take enough oxygen with them for the return trip in case they can't harvest any on Titan. I guess the most difficult and expensive thing about space travel remains getting out of the Earth's gravity well, and the greater the mass the more expensive it all works out. I just wonder if sending equipment separately and unmanned would reduce costs. Plus for the explorers to know the tech was already up and running, already generating power and growing foodstuffs would be reassuring. But it may be better to undertake the whole project all at once. GIAN🙂XXX

Moontanman I guess it may be advantageous to send unmanned spacecraft with all this equipment accompanied by robots and ai which could get it all set up and functioning before the human explorers arrive? GIAN🙂

You'd have to take either nuclear or some other source of potential energy with you (batteries?) plus some oxygen and petrol to get started I guess GIAN🙂XXX

Well obviously fusion would be best, but meanwhile they could set up electrolysis machines to separate the oxygen and hydrogen and thus - combined with nitrogen - make air. Then set up methane generators in a big barn. Plus, I assume that at those temperatures foodstuffs would be preserved almost indefinitely. If the scientists had packed a stack of hamburgers and bread rolls in the Huygens Probe, I bet when explorers finally get to Titan in eg 50y time and find the Probe, the first thing they could do is have a Big Mac as the stuff is still fresh

MOONTANMAN Dr Lorenz says the light levels are like a deeply overcast day here on Earth. But yes there is obviously insufficient light to grow crops. He also says there's never any break in the clouds. But I thought that with shed loads of methane readily available as fuel, plus water ice, explorers could generate breathable air and electricity to create heat and UV lights to grow stuff in big greenhouses. Wikipedia says "Titan is primarily composed of ice and rocky material, which is likely differentiated into a rocky core surrounded by various layers of ice, including a crust of ice and a subsurface layer of ammonia-rich liquid water." Sounds like there's everything human beings need Cheerz GIAN🙂XXX