Live data from Hacker News

An extrasolar world covered in water?

nouvelles.umontreal.ca

31–40 of 150 posts

Re: An extrasolar world covered in water?

#31
post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have enjoyed reading "The Songs of Distant Earth" by Arthur C. Clarke which talks about seed ships and the culture rise from that. It's an interesting read.

The seeds of humanity won't be humanity at all, but the AI.

I’m imagining a spaceship landing at a deserted planet millions of years in the future and then just sitting there, generating pictures of cities in the sky and Mona Lisa on a surfboard.

Re: An extrasolar world covered in water?

#32
post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fortunately my blender doesn't need an incentive to grind fruit, only a hundred and twenty volts.

Ah, but what makes you confident humans (or any other animal) isn't likewise acting deterministically with just a veiled illusion of free-will and incentive?

Your question sounds like a troll, but it's actually a fascinating one. Reminds me so much of reading Descartes and essentially asking, "How do I know I'm not asleep and dreaming?"

Re: An extrasolar world covered in water?

#34
post #3

Based on those observations, the exoplanet appears to be about 70% larger than Earth with just five times its mass. That means it’s less dense than Earth Seems like a rather large leap to go from that to "it's a water world", at least in these days where we get a "this new exoplanet may be covered in water!" headline every few months.

1.7^3= 4.913. So even if 1.7x large just means radius, if it has 5x the mass that would still make it MORE dense than earth right?

Re: An extrasolar world covered in water?

#36
post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah, but what makes you confident humans (or any other animal) isn't likewise acting deterministically with just a veiled illusion of free-will and incentive?

Your question sounds like a troll, but it's actually a fascinating one. Reminds me so much of reading Descartes and essentially asking, "How do I know I'm not asleep and dreaming?"

Sorry if it came across that way, it definitely wasn't the intent! I think Sam Harris has some pretty fascinating and accessible discussions on the topic. There's also some interesting neuroscience work that seems to conflict with the common notions of free-will.

Re: An extrasolar world covered in water?

#37
post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fortunately my blender doesn't need an incentive to grind fruit, only a hundred and twenty volts.

Ah, but what makes you confident humans (or any other animal) isn't likewise acting deterministically with just a veiled illusion of free-will and incentive?

Liking fruit is far from being an automaton.

Re: An extrasolar world covered in water?

#38
post #2

It's around 100 light years away from Earth for anyone interested.

Since it's heavier than Earth, what about the rocket equation? Colonizing it may mean the inhabitants could never leave it.

We're not getting to a planet 100 light years away with chemical rockets so presumably the future inhabitants will be able to use high efficiency rockets to leave it.

Re: An extrasolar world covered in water?

#39
post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah, but what makes you confident humans (or any other animal) isn't likewise acting deterministically with just a veiled illusion of free-will and incentive?

Liking fruit is far from being an automaton.

Can you elaborate? It's not immediately clear to me what you meant. Can not both simple and complex decisions be the artifact of a deterministic process?

Re: An extrasolar world covered in water?

#40
post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Programming machines to make the trip and then seeding with human life seems to be the best answer to distance.

I have enjoyed reading "The Songs of Distant Earth" by Arthur C. Clarke which talks about seed ships and the culture rise from that. It's an interesting read.

Another book along those lines I enjoyed reading was "Children of Time" by Adrian Tchaikovsky.
Post reply on HN