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What is the answer to the Fermi Paradox?

Started by jimmy olsen, November 04, 2013, 08:33:38 PM

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What is the answer to the Fermi Paradox?

Evolution of Life is extremely rare
3 (10.3%)
Evolution of Intelligent Life is extremely rare
8 (27.6%)
Intelligent Life destroys itself soon after it becomes able to do so
6 (20.7%)
An Ancient space faring civilization destroys new advanced species
2 (6.9%)
Interstellar travel and communication are both impossible
6 (20.7%)
Other - Please Explain
4 (13.8%)

Total Members Voted: 28

Razgovory

One of the interesting things is that Pterosaurs had a fairly large brain in ratio to it's body compared to birds.  I suspect that's because birds more efficient structure then pterosaurs did and pterosaurs had to increase the sheer mass of the brain just so they could fly.
I've given it serious thought. I must scorn the ways of my family, and seek a Japanese woman to yield me my progeny. He shall live in the lands of the east, and be well tutored in his sacred trust to weave the best traditions of Japan and the Sacred South together, until such time as he (or, indeed his house, which will periodically require infusion of both Southern and Japanese bloodlines of note) can deliver to the South it's independence, either in this world or in space.  -Lettow April of 2011

Raz is right. -MadImmortalMan March of 2017

Queequeg

These were foxes, not komodo dragons or monitor lizards. Relatively clever, capable of complex social behaviors and aggressive. They wouldn't wait around for prey and ambush them. The word reptile has no helpful meaning here.
Quote from: PDH on April 25, 2009, 05:58:55 PM
"Dysthymia?  Did they get some student from the University of Chicago with a hard-on for ancient Bactrian cities to name this?  I feel cheated."

Queequeg

Quote from: Razgovory on November 06, 2013, 07:17:53 PM
One of the interesting things is that Pterosaurs had a fairly large brain in ratio to it's body compared to birds.  I suspect that's because birds more efficient structure then pterosaurs did and pterosaurs had to increase the sheer mass of the brain just so they could fly.

......and we're back to where we started.
Quote from: PDH on April 25, 2009, 05:58:55 PM
"Dysthymia?  Did they get some student from the University of Chicago with a hard-on for ancient Bactrian cities to name this?  I feel cheated."

Razgovory

I've given it serious thought. I must scorn the ways of my family, and seek a Japanese woman to yield me my progeny. He shall live in the lands of the east, and be well tutored in his sacred trust to weave the best traditions of Japan and the Sacred South together, until such time as he (or, indeed his house, which will periodically require infusion of both Southern and Japanese bloodlines of note) can deliver to the South it's independence, either in this world or in space.  -Lettow April of 2011

Raz is right. -MadImmortalMan March of 2017

Queequeg

#109
This started with me telling Timmy that his teleological view of increasing neurological complexity was complicated by birds triumphing over pterosaurs, though tbh just because pterosaur wings made massively complex, huge flocculi possible doesn't mean they were as smart as a New Caledonian crow or Alex the Parrot.
Quote from: PDH on April 25, 2009, 05:58:55 PM
"Dysthymia?  Did they get some student from the University of Chicago with a hard-on for ancient Bactrian cities to name this?  I feel cheated."

Queequeg

Also IDK if them surviving KPG extinction event was cause of "superior" build. Could have been Pterosaur eggs were less able to deal with pollution. They were amazing animals and we don't understand them that well.
Quote from: PDH on April 25, 2009, 05:58:55 PM
"Dysthymia?  Did they get some student from the University of Chicago with a hard-on for ancient Bactrian cities to name this?  I feel cheated."

Razgovory

Weren't they already in decline before the KT?
I've given it serious thought. I must scorn the ways of my family, and seek a Japanese woman to yield me my progeny. He shall live in the lands of the east, and be well tutored in his sacred trust to weave the best traditions of Japan and the Sacred South together, until such time as he (or, indeed his house, which will periodically require infusion of both Southern and Japanese bloodlines of note) can deliver to the South it's independence, either in this world or in space.  -Lettow April of 2011

Raz is right. -MadImmortalMan March of 2017

Queequeg

Most evidence these days paints a mixed picture, and even then there was a lot of weird climactic stuff going on, and the mammals were stealing eggs like crazy. Also, I don't believe birds are superior at all things cause in 100,000,000 years of birds there's nothing like the massive pterosaurs.
Quote from: PDH on April 25, 2009, 05:58:55 PM
"Dysthymia?  Did they get some student from the University of Chicago with a hard-on for ancient Bactrian cities to name this?  I feel cheated."

Queequeg

Quote from: PDH on April 25, 2009, 05:58:55 PM
"Dysthymia?  Did they get some student from the University of Chicago with a hard-on for ancient Bactrian cities to name this?  I feel cheated."

jimmy olsen

Quote from: Queequeg on November 06, 2013, 10:10:01 PM
Most evidence these days paints a mixed picture, and even then there was a lot of weird climactic stuff going on, and the mammals were stealing eggs like crazy. Also, I don't believe birds are superior at all things cause in 100,000,000 years of birds there's nothing like the massive pterosaurs.
There's no evidence of that.
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Queequeg

 :rolleyes:

Okay.  Egg-thieving by various animals substantially complicated the reproductive strategies of just about every large archosaur, especially when due to ecological factors their eggs weren't forming correctly anyway meaning every egg one of our ancestors caught meant one fewer egg that didn't even have the chance to fuck up during development. 
Quote from: PDH on April 25, 2009, 05:58:55 PM
"Dysthymia?  Did they get some student from the University of Chicago with a hard-on for ancient Bactrian cities to name this?  I feel cheated."

Viking

Quote from: Queequeg on November 06, 2013, 06:00:39 PM
A gorgonopsid is a good example. It just doesn't look like a dinosaur. At all. There's maybe some vague resemblance to later pre-Dinosaur Triassic Crocodilomorph predators but one look at it's teeth and you know you're dealing with something different. By comparison the first pterosaurs and dinosaurs probably looked like shrews and bats. Obvious relationship.

Just so this is clear,spellus, you are right. They are not dinosaurs and I do correct people to because, I too, am a pedant. It's just that the ignorant masses classify all large non-hairy non-scaly animals of more than 65 million years ago as dinosaurs... except, apparently, the crocodiles.
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First Corollary - "You cannot have too many soldiers, only too few supplies."
Second Maxim - "Be willing to exchange a bad idea for a good one."
Second Corollary - "You can only be wrong or agree with me."

A terrorist which starts a slaughter quoting Locke, Burke and Mill has completely missed the point.
The fact remains that the only person or group to applaud the Norway massacre are random Islamists.

The Brain

This fucking frog debate makes me sick inside.
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Siege

This have to be one of the most successful highjacks I've seen in a while.
Who gets the credit for highjacking this thread with dinosaurs?



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Eddie Teach

Hijacking a thread about evolution with dinosaurs? The nerve!
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