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Time flies in Google Earth’s biggest update in years

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Re: Time flies in Google Earth’s biggest update in years

#121

Post by beachy »

Grimm1 wrote: post #100
keithwhor wrote: post #61

What's really striking to me about timelapse videos of the Earth is how, at a grand enough scale, the growth of human settlements on Earth really looks no different than the growth of bacterial and fungal colonies on Petri dishes. We think of ourself as special, as having conquered environments, technology and more - and when zoomed out you could explain everything we've built and accomplished as the achievements of…

You can say the same thing about ant colonies. I think it's probably just what anything that groups and branches around resource deposits looks like. If I recall slime molds are optimal planners regarding surrounding resources so it just sounds like a natural optimality to me. I'd be more interested in what you think it "should" look like for an "advanced" species besides optimal? Looking at it is disparagingly is we…

> I'd be more interested in what you think it "should" look like for an "advanced" species besides optimal?

An advanced species would recognize the uniqueness and importance of the natural world, and would fence off huge sections of it to protect it for future generations.

Re: Time flies in Google Earth’s biggest update in years

#122

Post by OrbitRock »

Grimm1 wrote: post #100
keithwhor wrote: post #61

What's really striking to me about timelapse videos of the Earth is how, at a grand enough scale, the growth of human settlements on Earth really looks no different than the growth of bacterial and fungal colonies on Petri dishes. We think of ourself as special, as having conquered environments, technology and more - and when zoomed out you could explain everything we've built and accomplished as the achievements of…

You can say the same thing about ant colonies. I think it's probably just what anything that groups and branches around resource deposits looks like. If I recall slime molds are optimal planners regarding surrounding resources so it just sounds like a natural optimality to me. I'd be more interested in what you think it "should" look like for an "advanced" species besides optimal? Looking at it is disparagingly is we…

Yup, to me it’s fascinating.

We’re another level of the fractal of life, replicating patterns seen in bacterial biofilms, slime molds, circulatory systems, nervous systems, leaves, all manner of multicellular architectures.

It’s certainly a bad thing that we are growing in a sort of zero-sum manner against many original ecosystems though.

We need to learn to restrain our own growth (a tough one that we’re in the process of trying to beat into all of our heads it seems), and also we need to learn how to maximize the potential for biodiversity to exist within the structure of human occupied areas as well. (A good book on this last subject is “Win-win Ecology”).

Re: Time flies in Google Earth’s biggest update in years

#123

Post by ModernMech »

keithwhor wrote: post #61

What's really striking to me about timelapse videos of the Earth is how, at a grand enough scale, the growth of human settlements on Earth really looks no different than the growth of bacterial and fungal colonies on Petri dishes. We think of ourself as special, as having conquered environments, technology and more - and when zoomed out you could explain everything we've built and accomplished as the achievements of…

Makes me think about this recent thread:

"If Materialism Is True, the United States Is Probably Conscious" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9905847

The bacteria within us certainly don't know anything about our consciousness. Yet somehow the sum total of their activity results in a conscious being. If we as humans look and act like bacteria when we zoom out, do we suffer the same myopia of our bacteria friends, unable to recognize the consciousness our collective activity creates? It's fun to think about.

Re: Time flies in Google Earth’s biggest update in years

#124

Post by ehsankia »

Grimm1 wrote: post #100
keithwhor wrote: post #61

What's really striking to me about timelapse videos of the Earth is how, at a grand enough scale, the growth of human settlements on Earth really looks no different than the growth of bacterial and fungal colonies on Petri dishes. We think of ourself as special, as having conquered environments, technology and more - and when zoomed out you could explain everything we've built and accomplished as the achievements of…

You can say the same thing about ant colonies. I think it's probably just what anything that groups and branches around resource deposits looks like. If I recall slime molds are optimal planners regarding surrounding resources so it just sounds like a natural optimality to me. I'd be more interested in what you think it "should" look like for an "advanced" species besides optimal? Looking at it is disparagingly is we…

Speaking of ant and slime simulation, this recent video Coding Adventures video was pretty mind blowing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-iSQQgOd1A

(Especially part 2 starting around 10m in).

Re: Time flies in Google Earth’s biggest update in years

#125

Post by RankingMember »

hackflip wrote: post #114
lotsofpulp wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think “we” do, but we don’t quite care as much about future generations as we like to think we do. Especially not when others today are disproportionately benefiting.

If you tell me to deprive myself of some conveniences because some people in another part of the world in another decade/century will suffer as a consequence of my actions... I agree with the selfless option in theory, but in practice I will usually choose the selfish option.

I think humans have a hard time with sustaining independent action. If you knew that everyone around you was going to be deprived of some convenience, say a restriction on driving to every other day (like they do in some countries based on the last digit of your license plate), I think it'd be easier to accept and adhere to for a long duration. I think this is both because you know the burden is shared, but also because the impact of a large adherence will tend to be more measurable.

If, on the other hand, you independently decide to stop driving your car because you know the world is getting smothered with carbon dioxide, but see people daily driving modified diesel pickups belching smoke into the sky, you're going to feel a bit like you're pissing in the wind even trying.

Re: Time flies in Google Earth’s biggest update in years

#126

Post by lm28469 »

alex_anglin wrote: post #89
lm28469 wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One could argue a cancer spreading faster is bad news

I would respectfully suggest that referring to people as 'a cancer' says more about the person than whatever point they're trying to make.

Humanity as a whole, not individual beings. Our boundless quest for growth is clearly getting out of hand on many levels. What else exponentially grows until the death of its eco system ?

Re: Time flies in Google Earth’s biggest update in years

#127

Post by OrbitRock »

beachy wrote: post #121
Grimm1 wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can say the same thing about ant colonies. I think it's probably just what anything that groups and branches around resource deposits looks like. If I recall slime molds are optimal planners regarding surrounding resources so it just sounds like a natural optimality to me. I'd be more interested in what you think it "should" look like for an "advanced" species besides optimal? Looking at it is disparagingly is we…

> I'd be more interested in what you think it "should" look like for an "advanced" species besides optimal? An advanced species would recognize the uniqueness and importance of the natural world, and would fence off huge sections of it to protect it for future generations.

There’s a conservation goal that’s going around.

30 by 30.

Or, 30% of the planet’s surface as protected areas by 2030.

The Biden administration adopted it, but it’d be cool to see it as a global goal as well.

Re: Time flies in Google Earth’s biggest update in years

#128

Post by mmaunder »

keithwhor wrote: post #61

What's really striking to me about timelapse videos of the Earth is how, at a grand enough scale, the growth of human settlements on Earth really looks no different than the growth of bacterial and fungal colonies on Petri dishes. We think of ourself as special, as having conquered environments, technology and more - and when zoomed out you could explain everything we've built and accomplished as the achievements of…

And,technically speaking, cities are an infestation of humans.

Re: Time flies in Google Earth’s biggest update in years

#129

Post by ehsankia »

jayd16 wrote: post #75
Impossible wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google has bailed on VR apps (for the most part, Owlchemy is still there), so I imagine not. It'd be cool if Google Earth VR was opensource like Tiltbrush. Like Tiltbrush it was one of the foundational early VR apps that people demoed, it's fun to imagine a world where Google continued to put money into VR, but I'm actually not sure how that fits into their business outside of just another platform for Android.

>Google has bailed on VR apps Yeah, whats up with that? Unless its all under wraps, Google is letting what lead they had whither away. Its silly to think they had working inside out tracking (Tango) in 2014.

"Bailed" is a bit over the top. I would characterize it more as being at a stand still.

Earth VR and Tilt Brush are still around, and as mentioned about, Tilt Brush is even open sourced. They just haven't had as much interest making new stuff. VR didn't pick up the way most hoped it would, and at this point there isn't really much to do until we get another wave of innovation that pushes the boundary forward.

Also Tango was more AR than VR. I don't think they ever had any lead in VR. Cardboard was neat but just that.

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