Velocity_Boy

Uh, by the department chairs and other supervisorial admin. How can you not know this?

I would submit that there is every possibility that there are naturally-occurring elements in the Universe we know nothing about. And certainly elements which have been synthesized by Intelligent Alien civilizations that we cannot fathom. To think otherwise is hubris of cosmic (no pun intended) proportions, given the tiny, mind-numbingly small sliver of the Galaxy--let alone the Universe!--that we have observed or sampled. Please. We now know that we DON'T KNOW what some 95% of the Universe is comprised of! LOL> This, given the discoveries of Dark Energy and Dark Matter. We have zero clue what any of that stuff is. Those names, in fact, are simply place-holders. Given this fact, and the fact we have not yet figured how abiogenesis even happened, I am amazed how a person familiar with Cosmology and chemistry can think the science of the folks here on the 3rd Rock have already compiled an complete and exhaustive list of the stuff of the total Cosmos.

One topic that is related to your specified area of study is germ infection, that is, bacterial and viral transmission from one peoples to another, and how it played a huge, highly significant role in the history of warfare, invasion, and domination throughout the world. Inmany wars, in fact, most, more people were killed from disease than from actual combat. When Europeans invaded the so-called New World, the germs they brought with them were their greatest weapon. (or worst, depending on how one looks at it). The Spanish Flu which began during the final year or WWI killed almost 20 million people! This of course is far more than the US has lost in all the wars it fought combined. There have been some pretty popular books written on this topic, and one of the most famous is Jared Diamond's "Guns, Germs, and Steel." (I cannot recall if he won a Nobel Prize for it, but I'm sure it was nominated.) Although I steadfastly disagree with his primary hypothesis in the book--which is unrelated to this sub-topic we are discussing about germs) it is an excellent source for your paper, should you choose this topic. And, so well-known and controversial is this issue of "unintentional germ warfare" that simply Googling it would furnish all the info and stats you would need for a cursory examination of the topic that your assignment requires.

Whoa. Surely you're not claiming that it is impossible for an element to exist somewhere in the universe that we already do not have listed on the Periodic Table? That's an absurd notion. Please tell me I've read that wrong. Also, there is no way any civilizations that contact us is less advanced than us. My OP above explains why. Or, can you refute anything I said in that post? (#7) I'd be very interested in reading your attempt at that. Thanks.

I love psych, and in fact minored in it as an undergrad. Thanks for the heads up on this book, it looks to be interesting and I'll see if my campus library can get a copy I can check out. I hope it's not to basic, btw. Not as basic, as, and I mean no offense, your example about serial killers eating cereal. That was middle school level logic that there is a huge difference between something being a causal or a corrolary factor. Thanks, Goat!

Old news, amigo. This technology may be new to the private sector but the military has had it for a long time. Ask any veteran, such as yours truly. Back in basic training in 2004 we recruits were given our vaccinations via this method before heading off to Afghanistan in OEF. And I can attest that it was really no less painful than the old needle. At least not the way these Army nurses did it to us! Thing is, too, if you moved during the injection it tipped your skin, unlike with a needle, since the needle moves with the skin.

Empty? Did you not read the link I provided? Those sources are real. Secular writers have mentioned Jesus. He existed. This is not a difficult concept. Research it yourself. The elephant in the room is whether or not he was of a divine nature. I too am an atheist, but am not going to deny something that had been documented and never refuted, such as the fact that the man we know as Yeshua of Nazareth lived in and conducted a brief ministry around 30-32 AD in Roman occupied Palestine. No reputable biblical scholars nowadays refute that. You would do well not to either. In my opinion folks doing that on a religious forum ae simply, at heart, though loath to admit, are simply seeking to get a rise out of the Christians here. Just my opinion. http://www.beliefnet.com/faiths/christianity/galleries/4-compelling-historical-documents-that-prove-jesus-existed.aspx

Wow. Your story is difficult to believe, for me, on a couple of levels. One, that a college educator didn't know better than to jump into a private convo between students with an unbidden claim of creationism and of God. It has been my experience during five years of college that the vast majority of instructors are reticent to offer opinions on this issue....Even when asked to do so. And even in a philosophy or other sort of humanities class. I cannot imagine a STEM teacher doing this. And to make a claim that God speaks to him? May I enquire as to your college? I had a proffessor in a Comp Religions class who would only grudgingly offer his own opinions on God. And that is after being asked several times. Most instructors are under strict orders to avoid offering opinions on matters like God and politics. Or other hot button issues. And the majority of your classmates were creationist? In an EE class? LOL...Was this a Bible college?

I simply replied to Strange's request. Obviously she had not perused the previous info you mention. I am not gonna thumb back forty pages before responding. Thanks all the same.

Well, yeah, sure. Given the fact that the sheer number of planets in the universe offer the possibility of millions of planets with intelligent life, said civilizations are bound to be all over the spectrum insofar as their respective intelligence is concerned. So done if them may be less advanced than we. However, these civilizations would not have been able to visit us. Nor will they piss s threat. Which were the main issues being discussed here.

To be honest, your thelogical view is far more fundmantalist than is mine. You began with a statement I agree with: that,is thee IS a God, a Supreme Entity that formed and controls the Universe, he (it?) does not "care" a fig about one's sexual preferences. That said, I do not believe that Jesus of Nazareth was divine, and certainly not a god. I do not believe in a literal Heaven or Hell, but rather, that our own human minds can fahsion an emoptional version of either of those. I think that if there IS any sort of God, it is a Deist, non-personal and certainly non-biblical God. More of a "Creative Force." This force has, again, not a remote speck of similiarity to the Yahweh of the Torah of the OT. I agree that relgion is rife with greed and corruption. Guys like Benny Hinn are horrible representatives of their peronsal religions. Hinn of course is a total fraud. (quick qestion: why has he never offered to take his divine healing to an ER in a hospital? LOL) I also agree that terrible frauds like Hinn and others really should not denigrate the idea of a God. But they do. Of a personal, caring, prayer-listening God I ascribe a chance for existence at being less than 10%. Maybe even less than 5%. For my aforementioned Deist Force God....I will maybe grant a one-in five chance. And that's on a good day when I'm feeling spiritual. LOL

I am assuming that yoj of course are requesting secular evidence for the existence of Jesus? Since you most likely do not believe the New Testament of the Bible is a credible source? Fine. ALthough secular writings for Jesus are admittedly scanty, there of course are several. In my opinion, there is little doubt that a man named Yehsua--whom we hace come to know as Jesus of Nazareth--existed and conducted a brief ministry in the Roman-occupied Palestine area around the times of 28-32 AD. Of course, anything more is pure speculation, and claims of his divinity are dubious at best. I have come across NO secular claims of his divinity. Here are, however, some mentions of confirmed secular sources which alluded to Jesus being a true historical figure. Hope this helps..................... http://www.bethinking.org/jesus/ancient-evidence-for-jesus-from-non-christian-sources

That is not a theory, as it has never had any of its ideas tested and verified. Rather, it barely qualifies as a hypothesis. And one which has thus far yielded any observable supporting physical evidence.

Your question is an intriguing one and has fostered many diverse opinions among Cosmologists. One well-known advocate of NOT furthering attempts at SETI or any other sort of effort to contact ET intelligent civilizations is of course Stephen Hawking. He uses the example of how, throughout world history, we have seen that, in cases where a tecnologically superior peoples comes a-callin' (LOL) on another, more primitive and indigenous peoples, that, well, things do not usually go so well for the latter. Columbus and his butchery and cruelty of the indigenous peoples he encountered is only--and sadly--ONE example of this dynamic. So...speculates Hawking, IF we were visited by another civilization, the odds are great--given the youngish 4.6 BYO age of our planet v the 14 BYO age of the Universe--that this ET civ. would be vastly superior to us. Maybe even to MORE of a degree than the Spaniards were to those natives. Maybe even to the degree of, say, you and your pet cat. If this were indeed the case, we would simply have to hope they were not hostile. If they were, they could pretty much take anything of ourse they wanted. Such speculation is, IMHO, not at all unwarranted. After all, given the fact that A--we know there is no intelligent life in our own Solar System, and thusly, B--that an ET visitor would have to travel from at LEAST 4.3 light years away--since that's the distance to Proxima Centauri--this means that they have far far superior propulsion techniques than do we. The pretty much have mastered speed-of-light-travel. They're doing something like folding the STC or utilizing wormholes. This of course os tantamount to magic for us, at this juncture. I for one do not believe we have been visited as of yet. But I DO believe the Universe is teeming with INtelligent Life. I DO think most of it is more advanced than are we. But I feel that the distances have precluded them from visiting us, or, we are simply of no interest to them.

I originally was going to major in chemistry, since, when I was younger I was a lot like you and was fascinated with mixing chemicals and making stuff go boom! Or at least in creating some cool visuals, like the CD in the microwave. Granted....The latter is not chemistry per se, I admit. That said, I think you'll like this site. I have done three out of the ten experiments mentioned here............ http://www.neatorama.com/2009/11/04/top-10-mad-science-worthy-chemistry-experiments/

The equation is referring to the process of "torque" which is the amount of twisting force (t) applied to an object along its longitudinal axis. It is just a different direction of force (f). NO different than how force is used on mass (m) to cause acceleration.

The biological components and reasons for a salty diet possibly increasing necessary nighttime urination are pretty simple, actually. Sodium increases the amount of fluids (water) that your cells absorb and retain. That is, the amount of water they store. So an increase of stored fluids in turn leads to an increase in the amount which must be eliminated.

An expert in syntax and composition would argue that there IS a correct methodology for using the comma. And that it should be a standard. Just as the period or the colon or the hyphens are. The fact that many people don't understand the correct usage of something does not mean there is not a correct way. A caveat here.....I am speaking of standards and rules for non fiction writing. As in text books, written media, science articles, et al. And not in novels or fictional stories. In that genre, writers can of course do what they want. Look at one of my favorites, as an example. Cormac McCarthy. He breaks several accepted rules of punctuation and syntax on just about every page! LOL. Yet, he is great. A Pulitzer prize winner. Yet nobody in their right mind would tell him he is writing all wrong.

By your definition of Abiogenesis then could not an apologist for astrology say the same thing? That just because current science has no proof that it's valid does not matter?That it's still a discipline? Not a theory? And so it's not invalidated? And is science decided to look deeper into astrology then it too would be a particular category of scientific investigation? I believe the notion of Abiogenesis here on earth with no extra stellar seeding is as credible and as scientifically proven as is astrology.

As a devout word and punctuation nerd, I can readily and confidently attest that the Oxford version is correct. You must differentiate the last set of entities in the example by using the comma. Else ways, JFK and Stalin appear as if they are unified in a set, together. This is one of the most common errors today in comma usage. It's Eats shoots and leaves all over again. Another error we have see increase drastically over the past few years, especially in novels, is the way writers use commas when there should be a period of at least a semi colon. That is to say, they are writing run-on sentences. It's no coincidence that the very best writers don't do this.

Fave sport to do.....Indoor, is foosball or ping pong. Outdoor is running or rock climbing or swimming. To watch.....NHL, NFL, and MLB. And NBA during the playoffs. And I never miss the World Cup for soccer. Sorry I can't narrow down more, I'm pretty much a sports junkie.

Hmm..Not really a gravity simulator so much as it is a simple model depicting how the universal force of gravity would appear if it were visible. When you say simulator I think of something that you can use to experience a feeling of experience of a certain condition. Like, say, an anti gravity simulator, as in the vomit comet. Or a flight simulator. Or am I being too picky here? My undergrad astronomy teacher used your method, btw, almost exactly. It was pretty cool.

Uh...Hey genius, I think you lost the high road when you just attacked and insulted me in the post above. Is your obtuseness deliberate? I hope so.

Oh, I have the ability to imagine all sorts of scenarios for Abiogenesis, thank you. Just as the atheist biologists who still have no theory on it. It's all speculation. As I said before. Nice try on accusing me of committing a logical fallacy of argument from incredulity, though. But it doesn't work, does it? Only works when you have a viable theory. You do not. You have not even a hypothesis for Abiogenesis. And....Sigh..I explained all this before to you in my OP. Which he nothing in it you can refute, btw. Another, btw for ya....I am not a creationist. I just am honest about what my science dies not yet know. Unlike some here, who are kneejerk argumentative attackers on anything slightly approaching a notion of ID. Sound familiar? LOL Not quite. My personal notion of Panspermia entails deliberate and not accidental seeding of organic microbes on Earth. Sure, this still means the seeders had to begin life somehow somewhere and sometime, but I admitted that there are still questions. But my idea solves our OP question of Abiogenesis here on the third rock.