Mysteries of the Multiverse « The HabitableZone

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The US defense budget. bowser May 20, 2012 9:25 pm (Flame)

The Whitening of the Planet. RobVG May 20, 2012 8:23 am (Off-Topic)

Eternally shifting sands of Obama's biography TB May 20, 2012 9:04 am (Flame)

The downside of knowing... FrankC May 20, 2012 5:16 pm (Science Fiction)

Space X's Falcon 9 set to rendezvous with the ISS RobVG May 18, 2012 9:03 am (Space/Science)

You're fishing with dynamite, TB. ER May 20, 2012 6:06 am (CurrentEvents)

Banks like cookies TB May 19, 2012 1:44 pm (GeekSpeak)

Never trust a still photo TB May 20, 2012 8:25 am (Flame)

Annular solar eclipse TB May 20, 2012 9:21 am (Space/Science)

Meanwhile, in the real world... ER May 19, 2012 7:05 am (CurrentEvents)

Was Obama born in Kenya? TB May 18, 2012 9:44 am (Flame)

To Petition the Emperor ER May 19, 2012 6:00 pm (CurrentEvents)

The Butterfly Effect by ER July 7, 2011 6:46 am

I agree with your observation that the nature of a disturbance makes all the difference. Obviously, dropping a five-ton boulder into ... by TB 2011-07-07 09:12:43
- Yes, I've always felt the "butterfly" scenario really didn't hold up. The universe (or at least, any small piece ... by ER 2011-07-07 09:38:25
  - You might find this hard to believe from me, but the disturbance levels are largely subjective. Asteroid strikes on ... by TB 2011-07-07 09:50:57
    - You're right, your Tau Ceti example addresses the issue of "resolution" I brought up earlier. If your pond is ... by ER 2011-07-07 10:05:03
      - The larger the picture, the easier it is to nail down behaviors. The basic movements of the solar system ... by TB 2011-07-07 10:17:48
        
        We are all different in some ways, and we are all similar in others. In fact, you can say that ... by ER 2011-07-07 10:35:26

Return of the Hum II by ER July 6, 2011 8:12 pm

The Rainbow Coalition by ER July 6, 2011 8:13 am

Helium was discovered in spectral lines before it was ever discovered on Earth, which was a first for an element. ... by TB 2011-07-06 09:40:27
- "Nebulium" a mysterious element whose spectral lines were discovered in the spectra of nebulae was once thought to be a ... by ER 2011-07-06 10:22:15
Q: What's nu? A: c over lambda. When a quantum state is changed, a photon is either absorbed or emitted, one of ... by ER 2011-07-06 09:13:01

The Zen Existentialist Cookbook by ER July 5, 2011 8:14 am

Just a thought: There seems to be a mechanism on this board for creating "sub-boards" of sorts. I ... by TB 2011-07-05 08:27:05
- Actually, I'm all tapped out, at least for now, although I will happily continue discussion or answer questions/comments. As I ... by ER 2011-07-05 09:10:08

The Reality Sandwich by ER July 5, 2011 5:11 am

Well, some of what you call "levels of reality" are more like levels of perception. Reality seems to hold ... by TB 2011-07-05 09:39:32
- You're absolutely right. But what really matters to us, even if we are professional scientists, is not the ... by ER 2011-07-05 10:00:41
  - I don't think I've ever brought physics into a political argument. I do make people uncomfortable when I haul ... by TB 2011-07-05 10:46:46
    - No Tom. You think reality justifies your preconceptions, that's why you keep on bringing it up. Not the ... by ER 2011-07-05 12:16:19
      - "Preconception" is another word I don't think you're using properly. It does not mean "ideas you disagree with." ... by TB 2011-07-05 14:52:40
        
        preconception: "An opinion or conception formed in advance of adequate knowledge or experience, especially a prejudice or bias." I hate dictionary definitions, ... by ER 2011-07-05 15:39:17
        
        Actually, my use of the word "epistemology" had nothing to do with your excellent essays. You didn't invent the ... by TB 2011-07-05 17:04:41
        
        Wow, TB...now *that* post provides excellent examples of reframing as Robert defined it. That's a keeper! You accuse ER of ... by mcfly 2011-07-06 04:57:06
        
        I'm reframing? You want to check out ER's 6:07:21 comment down below and get back to me on the ... by TB 2011-07-06 09:35:04
        
        Can't really use ER's post as an example of reframing, since he doesn't do it. by mcfly 2011-07-07 10:17:03
        
        Removed. Never mind. by TB 2011-07-07 10:26:00
        
        EDITED Just because I'm wrong doesn't mean you're right, and vice versa. Sometimes we can both be wrong, both right, ... by ER 2011-07-05 19:15:53
        
        I just wish we had the option to pick "no ideology." Or that we had a society where power ... by TB 2011-07-05 20:18:08
        
        If it were all that simple, then you would have no opposition, and everyone would agree with you. Unless of course, ... by ER 2011-07-05 20:35:43
        
        Heh. When did facts ever override wishful thinking? People look back at things like Nazi Germany and smugly think, "how ... by TB 2011-07-05 21:08:55
        
        Tom, what is happening in the US today is frighteningly reminiscent of what happened in Nazi Germany in the 30s. ... by ER 2011-07-06 06:07:21
        
        Who thinks that, TB? Just because you view the world in simple terms does not mean we all do. by mcfly 2011-07-06 05:00:53
- You should read more physics. I highly recommend Brian Greene, who doesn't shy away from sharing some of the math. ... by mcfly 2011-07-05 09:56:24
  - I'm 12 quarter hours (3 courses) short of a degree in physics. At least, by the requirements of my 1964 ... by ER 2011-07-05 10:23:39
    - And it shows! My "more physics" comment was aimed in another direction. by mcfly 2011-07-05 10:47:14
      - I'm sorry if I appeared to snap at you. I must have thought I was responding to Tom. Neither do ... by ER 2011-07-05 12:10:31
        
        Not to worry. I'm very much enjoying your series here and hope you find time to continue. Your passion for the ... by mcfly 2011-07-05 16:43:01

The Kirkwood Derby by ER July 4, 2011 1:12 pm

Wavicles in the Probability Fog by ER July 4, 2011 11:43 am

Thanks ER. These are great. As far as I'm concerned, everything that's happening in modern physics is jaw-droppingly amazing, but here's ... by mcfly 2011-07-04 19:04:22

A Monologue on the World System by ER July 4, 2011 6:20 am

Very good post! There are laws of nature, they're just a lot more complicated than we thought. Like a contract ... by TB 2011-07-04 07:34:02
- Yes and no. What you say is true, but there's more to it than that. Not only are ... by ER 2011-07-04 08:03:47

The Doors of Perception by ER July 3, 2011 10:43 am

What do we know, how do we know it, and how do we know what we know. by ER July 2, 2011 1:44 pm

Don't slide reason off too far. You can drive a car or ride a bike without thinking about it, ... by TB 2011-07-03 14:34:32
- Exactly my point. I've been known to operate a car safely in heavy freeway traffic while engaged in conversation ... by ER 2011-07-03 15:05:23
  - Even the "automatic" sailing comes from generations of human practice, of figuring out what works and what doesn't and passing ... by TB 2011-07-03 15:39:15
    - I didn't have "generations" to learn how to sail. I had one very exciting and scary afternoon, by myself. It ... by ER 2011-07-03 16:37:30
      - Dammit, I just wiped six or seven paragraphs with one tap on my evil "escape" key. Yipes. You're braver than ... by TB 2011-07-03 16:54:40
        
        AAAAARGH! "Epistemology is not that complicated..." That's got to be the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard you say. Of course ... by ER 2011-07-03 17:34:52
        
        I'm fully aware of how complicated philosophers have made epistemology, or tried to. It's kind of like all the ... by TB 2011-07-03 19:29:11
        
        Well, it is reassuring to know that you are absolutely incapable of such an error. Your knowledge of physics is perfectly ... by ER 2011-07-03 19:47:15
        
        I said nothing whatsoever that could possibly have led to that first sentence. You do understand that most of ... by TB 2011-07-03 19:51:39
        
        That is not to imply, of course, that the discoveries since then were useless. We have nuclear power plants ... by TB 2011-07-03 20:01:41
        
        Just remember, Tom, Newton got it totally wrong, but he still works just fine for most things. Everything, in ... by ER 2011-07-03 20:24:50
        
        They'll figure out the deeper parts of physics eventually, or to be more precise, they will approach closer to the ... by TB 2011-07-03 20:32:50
        
        It is deja vu all over again! The threads are veering off to the right just like the original Zone!!!!!! by Jody 2011-07-03 20:34:45
        
        Eventually the whole thread will just go bye bye... by Jody 2011-07-03 20:36:27
        
        If we compress it enough, maybe we'll get fusion! by TB 2011-07-04 07:34:53

Canadian has devoted life to proving existence of alien life by mcfly July 1, 2011 9:49 am

This guy, like all frauds, has something in common with his fellow frauds. It's not just that he knows ... by ER 2011-07-02 13:52:55
- Yeah, I caught that too. It's disappointing, and a real blow to their credibility, when people who spend so much ... by mcfly 2011-07-02 19:13:12
*Sigh* This guy makes thing soooooo much harder for the rest of us conspiracy theorists. And not in ... by VelociraptorBlade 2011-07-01 22:56:52

Alien life in meteorites by Jody June 22, 2011 12:26 pm

No high hopes here. They'll probably toss the idea around for a few weeks, until the media loses interest. ... by VelociraptorBlade 2011-06-29 11:39:37
- I've been following this story in another forum, where it has generated a lot of interest, but no respect. ... by ER 2011-07-02 13:40:36

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