SomethingToPonder

Im not sure about reflecting light, however today it was rather sunny outside and I was sitting at the window going over some papers, and after looking at the paper for a few minutes I looked up and I was partially blinded for a minute due to the light reflections, I did a small experiment to see how long I would have to look at the paper to cause this, and it was not long around 30 seconds was enough. I would say yes.

Accidental ocurrences certainly play a big part, and also there are certain things that are invented and then end up being the pre-cursor to further inventions that we never would have imagined. That's another example.

Interesting, I would like to believe that there is long lost civilizations out there somewhere that one day we may discover. But who knows. But as far as aliens thinking the same we do, I dont think it would be the case. I doubt they would be humanoid, and if they were, they would still think differently in my opinion. Do any animals think the same way we do? Even the intelligent ones? I dont think so. However we are at a much more advanced stage of evolution. Maybe every race or species would start considering space travel if they got to a certain stage of evolution. It only seems logical, once they develop self consciousness and a decent memory and a certain level of intelligence they look at the stars for instance and imagine travelling.

Questioning without a doubt, It's a fact that we asked questions thousands of years ago we still dont have the answer to. If we didnt ask questions then there would be no answers. What came first the chicken or the egg? Same sort of thing I think. The question came first.

In my opinion some things may be. For instance physical things. The monks in the shaolin temple have been implementing a sort of "mind over matter" for years. Now dont get me wrong, the physically impossible cannot be achieved, It is more a case of how far can we stretch possible. For instance you nor I could break a concrete block with out head, yet they could and I personally believe that alongside years of conditioning a mental attitude of If I imagine it, it is possible go hand in hand. I also know of no math that can explain these feats which would 99% of the time be deemed impossible. Look up the 72 shaolin secret martial arts. As for "I can imagine flying, So I can do it." I dont believe in it because it simply does not work.

Well i hate to tell you this but here we are? The universe has to have happened, as im typing this to you now.

Hi mate, No problem at all. Talking about free will, I was reading about a fungus the other week, It effects ants only at the moment however we all know it could develop, To humans, Unlikely, but it could without a doubt. It takes over their central nervous system and their brain, And controls them completely. Here's how it works. First of all an nt gets stuck on a spore when it walks accross it, due to some sticky feature. It then ruptures a hole in the ants underside using some sort of pressure. thus injecting it with the fungal bacteria. Then after a week or so it has complete control over the ant, It forces it to stray from the colony, Something ants never do, And climb a tree, Then onto a leaf. it then roots the ant in its spot on the leaf and does not allow it to move and somehow sticks it there. Then while the ant is alive, A "stem" grows out from its head where it then "blossoms" and sends fungal spores into the air where it repeats its cycle. Strange ehh, the ant has no free will, almost like a zombie. The new game for playstation, The last of us, was based partly on this fungus. The developers were in talk with the scientists who discovered the fungus to get ideas for the game. Thanks for your links mate il be sure to check it out.

It could impact earth, however it really is a one in a million type thing, I would not count on it impacting earth, however what a lovely sight it will be from earth. If anyone has the nasa app on their smartphone, im sure you will see the flares that appear regularly and the other things you can set reminders for. Im sure they will have one for this. i doubt it will collide with earth and im sure it wil be a spectacular sight.

yes i think it would be fascism if we decided to start killing people just because of their opinion, However once you know someone is "the next hitler" because of things they have done and it has been proven with solid evidence, then it's a completely different argument whether to kill them. One that most likely would be made by special forces generals etc. I have no doubt that assassination attempts would probably be made.

yes it really is, I have to admit it took me quite some time to fully grasp it all, I was thinking about it in bed for about 2 nights and kept going over loads of different hypothesis. If our brains are still technically us then would it not be fair to say that we are still making the decisions? our whole understanding of things is changing and it really is fascinating to see how far we'r getting,100 years from now we will probably look back and say things like "remember when we thought we were advanced and we didn't even know how a brain worked." Do you have any links to any of the research you were referring too, I would love to give it a read. cheers mate STP

Hi all, first time needing help here. The other day, i received an email notification for a reply to a topic that i had created. I had no idea why the response was not showing up, So i just ignored it, maybe i was hoping it would show up later on, or maybe i thought it was a mistake i cant quite remember. Either way i was wrong. I just checked my email there and had another 2 notifications. stating i had 2 new responses to another topic i had posted. (different from the first one) I clicked on the link to take me to the page and there were no new responses i could see, None from the member that supposedly posted them. I have nobody on my block list and have tried clicking on the link as well as visiting the site seperately and trying to view the topic. Now im not sure if il even be able to see responses to this. But il let you know if i get notifications and cant see anything. Has this been happening widespread? Is it just me? Thanks for all your help guys.

That wouldn't happen to be the guy who told einstein that everything that could have been invented already has been would it? If it isn't then there is some seriously doubtful patent workers out there.

Good point, I hadn't even considered that. On the front cover, it describes it as an "underground oasis" if that's any help lol. check out new scientist magazine and have a read of the article, It actually is very interesting and they highlight how much relevance it could be whether or not life is found.

Depends, We'r talking about an ecosystem much older than the one your sitting in right now, I reckon there is every possibility of many different species and a food chain. But i suppose even if they only found a few simple species it would still be pretty cool. I still wouldn't' want to be the diver sent down there to scope it out though!

Im under the impression it is a fairly big space, Cavern like. Not like a sponge or anything. Constantly filled, scientists are currently presuming it is inhabited as it has shown all signs of life and all the required elements for life. Although this has not been proven yet.

It is always possible though, Most likely there will be guaranteed micro-organisms. However 2.6 billion years is a long time, a very long time, and more than enough time for something to evolve down there. The place was found in a 2km deep mine, So i suppose in 2.6 billion years the earth has moved a hell of a lot, that could have been sea level 1 billion years ago, but if they are saying it's untouched i doubt it. But things could have always gotten in there, My point is though, if there was an ecosystem down there, Given enough time, which it certainly had, then there would be no problem evolving something from a micro-organism into something bigger, and it would only make sense that they had adapted to pure darkness probably heightened sense of smell etc. What is to stop something evolving down there? Humans have evolved a hell of a long way in the last 2.6 billion years, hell we weren't even around as far as i know that far back, there could be a whole zoo down there.I doubt it, But i reckon there is something down there. How do we know a dinosaur era animal or whatever is not still surviving, We know that there are certain animals that have survived since that period because of certain characteristics or habitats, Water being the main one. I would bet there is something there. If bacteria and organisms can survive then there is the potential for evolution, especially over billions of years.

No i dont think there is a consensus on consciousness at the moment, I was meaning are any of the links to do with the discussion of consciousness. I have just finished watching the jedd hawkings video and he sounds brilliant, I really like his way of thinking. Yes i agree i reckon that is how the brain works, However we have much much more to learn, I wonder what that man has discovered by now, I'll bet it he has made some significant progress in the field.

Thanks for the links, Im just watching them now. however im not after spiritual reasons at all, Definitely scientific. i just thought it was a really interesting article. Thanks for the links again, Il let you know what i think. Are these to do with consciousness btw ?

Hi all, read an article in New scientist , issue dated 18.05.2013. The article is entitled The deep, Dark lake frozen in time on page 10. Now i cannot be bothered typing it all out by i highly suggest you all read it online somewhere. The main points however i will state. The ;lake is 2.5 kilometers below earth's surface and circulates through fractures of rocks of a Canadian copper mine. Dating techniques indicate it has been isolated from the the rest of the planet for 2.64 billion years making it a time capsule for life on the early days of earth. Sherwood lollar a microbiologist from the univerity of Toronto Says the conditions are perfect for life. "What is unique about about this water is that it has the potential to be an ecosystem. " Says christopher ballentine of the University of Manchester in The UK, Whose lab carried out the dating analyses. "because there is a large volume of fluid, The water can react with rock to generate hydrogen and methane.Suddenly we have all the chemicals to support life" he says. Sherwood lolar says she has a hunch they will find bacteria, but she is almost as excited about the prospect of finding nothing at all. Water that is 1.5 - 2.6 billion years old is a time capsule from the Precambrian - a period when life was dominated by single celled organisms. " if future searches do yield [indigenous ] microorganisms they would provide enormous insight into the evolution of life on our planet " Says tullis Onstott at princeton University. Equally finding lifeless water would give us an unprecedented window on he primordial soup from which life might have evolved. "the problem on earth is that life has dominated for billions of years," says sherwood lollar " This could be a tiny place where we still have a remnant of the kinds of prebiotic conditions that might have existed on early earth" In the long run sherwood Lollar hopes to find a whole series of these enclosed water worlds. Each from a different period in earth's prehistory. Further afield, she and balletnine point out that the rocks from the Canadian mine are similar in chemistry and age to rocks in the subsurface of mars, suggesting fertile conditions could persist inside the red planet for millions of years, Now this was only a few parts of the article i really urge you to try and get a hold of a copy of New scientist or read it online as it is a fascinating read. However i can just see some sort of fish, half dinosaur have organism type thing, Developed to the darkness of being a mile underground , Sort of a cross between a lantern fish and a shark, just swimming about down there, Il tell you something i would not want to be the divers tasked to check this underground lake out. It sounds like something out of a horror movie. A 2 and a half billion years old ecosystem that we didn't even know about! Who knows what could have evolved down there!

Hi all, Sorry have not commented back in a while, I wrote a full rpely out this morning, Must have been around 500 words and for some reason , It has not posted,So i will try and remember what i wrote earlier, However i found some information in a book i picked up from a charity shop, for around 20 pence about this exact topic. The book is called "the unexplained, mysteries of mind space and time." First of all The Baghdad battery Which was of course a very basic battery that was thought to be from around the Parthian period. And secondly about the ancient greek " Clock" that is thought to be around 2000 years old and also shows to an astonishing accuracy the placements of planets as well, and could predict the movements of planets even in today's day and age. First il reply yo your comments and then post some quotes from the book. Yes I agree, But i was sort of angling more towards the notion that we dont make as much of an effort any more as they did,I do recognize that there are many scientists working all the time on many different projects in different fields of research, and i have nothing but respect for them however i dont think anybody "devotes" themselves to their work as often as philosophers and astronomers did in those days. You are right we owe them honor and respect. yes isnt it such a shame the amount of knowledge that was lost in situations such as the 1204 siege of Constantinople.Just imagine how advanced we would have been if people were not so ignorant and did not destroy so much information. I find the facts about that siege very interesting actually and i think i will research it quite thoroughly in my spare time. Just imagine as well how much history is buried under the sand in some deserts and under the sea, That may have been not covered by water a few thousand years ago, so much of the deep sea has never been explored. Alongside ancient ruins in certain country's as it is still very dangerous for scientists and archaeologists to go there, Say the new pyramids found in africa for instance. It may well have been my friend it may well have been. Il start with the battery, Ancient electricity. When archielogist willhelm Konig came across the "baghdad battery" in a museum in iraq in 1937 he immediately saw how it could have------- been used to generate an electric voltage. Experiments made with modern replicas some years later confirmed Konig's belief that it could have indeed served this purpose. To generate a voltage it would have been necessary to pour a suitable liquid into the cylinder. A large variety of fluids could have been use including acetric acid or citric acid(these are the main constituents of vinegar and lemon juice respectively.) ,or copper sulphate solution . This arrangement will generate between 1 and a half and 2 volts between the -copper cylinder and the iron rod, if a series of such cells were to be linked (forming a "battery" in the proper sense of the word) the available voltage could be increased substantially. the most likely use for electricity among the parthians would have been the electroplating of figurine an advanced form of the art of gilding which dated back centuries before them. The battery could have been used to apply a voltage between a metal statuette and an ingot of gold while no there were immersed in an electrolyte. Gold would have been transferred through the liquid to be deposited as a thin film on the figures surface. Static electricity was known to the ancients; they knew for instance, that when amber (in greek, elektron) was rubbed, it would attract light objects such as dust and hairs. So the technique of generating electrical current-which is electric charge in motion -could have been equally haphazard, isolated discovery centuries before its general recognized initial use.neither finding seemed to lead to further technological development or insight into the causes of the phenomenon, however although some enthusiasts have claimed that the parthians and before them the ancient Egyptians- used electric light. There are indeed enough soberly accredited anomalies of technology from the past to keep us well aware that some of our ancestors did develop their tecnology -to astonishingly high levels" Interesting, But personally i dont think the egyptians had electrical light seeing as im sure there would have been some "evidence found. And als that the greeks were probably the best at working things out and problem solving/inventing . Now the Treasure ship as it is titled. (Greek clock) In 1900, sponge divers found th wreck of a treasure ship, Almost 2000 years old off the greek island of Antikythera, between the peloponnesian peninsula and crete. It was laden with bronze and marble statues, and may have been sailing to rome when it went down in about 65BC. in it's cargo was found a mass of wood and bronze, the metal so badly corroded that it could just be made out as as the remains of gearwheels and engraved scales. Only in 1954 did Derek J de solla price of cambridge University finally deduce that the mechanism was kind of astronomical clock, far ahead of anything that was to be seen in europe again for hundreds of years, In fact the mechanism when new, Must have borne a remarkable resemblance to a good modern mechanical clock. The device consisted of at least 20 gearwheels supported by a number of bronze plates, the whole mounted in a wooden box. When a shaft that passed through the side of the box was turned the pointers moved at different speeds over dials, which were protected by doors, Inscriptions in Greek explained how to operate the ,machine and how to read the dials. the device was a working model of the celestial bodies -Sun moon and the planets known to the greeks. Their relative positions in the sky were shown with great accuracy. the time of day was als indicated in the pointers. In price's words "nothing lke this instrument is preserved elsewhere, Nothing comparable to it is known from ANY scientific text or literary allusion. " he goes on to say that " It seems likely that the antikythera tradition was part of a large corpus of knowledge known hat has since been lost to us, But was known to the arabs" Mechanical calendar devices were made by them centuries later, and they are said to have inspired the clock makers of medieval europe. (so the greeks invented them, The arabs copied the greeks , and then the Europeans copied the arabs, yet we have no known text or anything to date how the knowledge was passed on) But what remarkable inventions such a body of knowledge have contained? What forces, benevolent or malevolent, might the ancients commanded that did not stay alive in the memory of their descendants? that of course remains a mystery. " I hope you all read that as it took me bloody ages to write out. Anyway's, I wonder how much there really is out there, Under seas under deserts etc.

Hi all, Now im new to the biology section as it is definitely not my specialty, However i read something in New-scientist today , The issue was dated 18.05.13. And it was to do with consciousness , A special edition. Now there are many many parts to this issue however i Found this part most interesting and thought i would share it with you all and find out your thoughts on the subject. here is a direct quote "Why did you pick that outfit to wear this morning? What made you do your to-do list in that order today? In fact how did you even end up in that job? You may think you know the reasons but they could be a work of fiction. That bizarre conclusion has emerged from studies of people who have had an extreme form of brain surgery- The complete severing of the thick bundle of nerves connecting the two hemispheres of the brain- In an attempt to cure their epilepsy. Such people usually seem fine, but tasks that criss cross-talk between the hemispheres can catch them out. In one test, People had different images shown to each eye,and had to point to a similar image with the hand on the same side as the eye. When one person saw a snow scene with his left eye, he chose picture of a snow shovel with his left hand.But when asked to explain his choice he had a problem.His left left eye' and hand's actions were under the control of his right brain, as each brain hemisphere control's the opposite side of the body. But language is is controlled by the left brain which could not access the snowy image "seen" by the right brain. So the subject invented a reason that had nothing to do with the snow: The shovel was for cleaning out a chicken coup he said, As a chicken was the last thing image seen by his left brain. Such findings have led to the "interpretative brain theory" which says that the brain makes up narratives about our actions to help us make sense of the words, Any of us can be tempted into this sort of confabulation. In one study, people who have never had brain surgery were told to choose a picture from a selection, Then tricked into thinking they had picked another. when asked for their reasoning, their explanations were convincing-and yet had to be entirely imaginary. Who knows how often our consciousness plays these sorts of tricks on us. - Clair wilson. I find this very intriguing, How often are we tricked into thinking we have logical reasoning for something?And when we are, does this mean that much of our choices could be complete fabrication?

Very good point, Surely by that point we will have developed somewhat from the Humans we are today. On top of that Im sure by then we will have technology advanced to a point where we may be able to defend against some cataclysmic occurrences. In reards to a post above, I believe no race will exist by the time any of this happens, There will be so many people with different lines of human ancestry that we will become one big race, it would be almost impossible to have a Pure race at this point in time. anyway even if some kind of alines came to earth now, do you think they would view us as different "breeds" of humans or races, or do you think they would just characterize us a humans who adapted over so many years to their climates?

If you dont follow your ambition then you are not truly yourself,Well you would be on some level, But you would never reach your full potential. You never know what you could achieve, have hope in your thoughts and im sure you will get somewhere you find relative in your life.

Yes in the 50's they had engines capable of making mach1-3 , Around now i reckon they are upto mach6, But it does not seem very plausible that we went from practically nothing when the wright brothers made their first flight, to the 50's when we were hitting mach3 and then in the last 60 years since then we've made very slow progress, It was developing at such an extraordinary rate if you think about it, and then it has suddenly slowed down. I reckon it's all politics and that whatever government has developed such tech is probably keeping it to themselves to avoid other powers "stealing" their ideas.

Fair enough thanks for the input. However do you think it's possible it may or could be a step in the right direction? A starting point maybe in the right field even if we are years and years off making something even worthwhile? Even if it's not antigravity, Which would be quite spectacular, I do find ionic reactions very fascinating. see just while we are on this sort of topic, What's your opinions on Pulse detonation wave engines and/or gravity wave engines? Thanks for contributing everyone.