Millions of unseen species fill the Earth
POSTED BY: Niki2
UPDATED: Thursday, August 25, 2011 18:09
VIEWED: 2191
PAGE 2 of 3
Brian Cox reminds me a good bit of Carl Sagan. They both present the wonders of the cosmos, on all scales. From the vastness of countless galaxies, to the incredible diversity of life, right here on our own world, and our own back yards.
Carl mixed in a bit more history, which kinda put some things into perspective, but Brian is immensely enjoyable and informative as well.
Many folks mistakenly think of just the dinosaurs, when the issue of extinction comes up. Most are unaware that there's been multiple major extinction events on Earth, as many as 7, I believe. Even more bewildering to some, is that the dinosaur extinction wasn't even the worst one this planet's seen. The look on their faces as they try to comprehend just what that means ... it's fun to watch. 
" I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend. "
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Quote:
Originally posted by AnthonyT:
"as well as high in the atmosphere."
Hello,
I seem to recall (and please correct me if I am mistaken. It has been a while.) that the original Andromeda Strain concerned a satellite/rocket designed to scoop life forms from the upper-atmosphere, where life might be as alien as if it came from another planet.
The collection device crashed in a small town, and its 'alien' microbes were released to wreak havoc on the Earth, with a research team desperately trying to find a cure before things spread too far.
Correct, but I won't spoil the ending for them who's not read it.
Gah Crichton can be boring at times though, that one's a bit dry even for me.
-Frem
I do not serve the Blind God.
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Hello,
Did he write 'The Terminal Man?'
If so, I enjoyed it. It was a quick read and interesting, too.
--Anthony
_______________________________________________
“If you are not free to choose wrongly and irresponsibly, you are not free at all”
Jacob Hornberger
“Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err. It passes my comprehension how human beings, be they ever so experienced and able, can delight in depriving other human beings of that precious right.”
Mahatma Gandhi
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Yup, Cox credits Sagan for really getting him into science with "Cosmos". His new series, "Wonders of the Universe", is pretty amazing stuff, too.
But the Wonders of the Solar System wowed me the most. And more and more I become certain that what we'll find when we start looking closely is, wherever life CAN exist, in any of its myriad forms, it WILL exist. My bet is that life isn't rare - it's practically everywhere!
"Cosmos" remains among my very favorite TV shows ever aired. It re-aired recently, so I took the opportunity to burn it to DVD so I don't have to haul out the old VCR to enjoy it now! I can only imagine the kind of show Sagan and Cox could produce together!
By the way, a British friend on facebook posted an article that claims that interest in science and physics among UK school kids has increased some 40%, and test scores are up as well, and they're crediting quite a bit of this new interest to Brian Cox! I'm not sure I fully believe it, but it would sure be cool if true. As physicists go, he's a rockstar. Oh, and that same bird went to see him lecture, of course. :D
"Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservatives." - John Stuart Mill
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Anthony,
Not at all, it's an interesting topic. I just had to snark Niki for taking a line I had posted and then using it to start a thread, something she's done before, and then she came down on me for responding to what was obvious bait for me to respond to.
Interesting topic, carry on. I'm a fan of tiny species. For the most part I don't think humanity is much of a threat to them, not the way we are to larger species, but tiny species are also fascinating.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Fremdfirma:Quote:
Originally posted by AnthonyT:
"as well as high in the atmosphere."
Hello,
I seem to recall (and please correct me if I am mistaken. It has been a while.) that the original Andromeda Strain concerned a satellite/rocket designed to scoop life forms from the upper-atmosphere, where life might be as alien as if it came from another planet.
The collection device crashed in a small town, and its 'alien' microbes were released to wreak havoc on the Earth, with a research team desperately trying to find a cure before things spread too far.
Correct, but I won't spoil the ending for them who's not read it.
Gah Crichton can be boring at times though, that one's a bit dry even for me.
-Frem
I do not serve the Blind God.
DO. NOT. WATCH. THE. RECENT. REMAKE.
It was simply unbearable. Andre Braugher is a hell of an actor, but even he couldn't rescue this stinking turd. Horrible effects, truly abysmal acting - it aired on AMC, I believe, but it may as well have been a Syfy production, as horrible as it was! I couldn't even get through it. I think they did it as a miniseries, and I was hyped for it, because it's a great premise and I thought they'd do it right. Boy, was I wrong about that!
But yes, he did write "The Terminal Man", if memory serves. And "Westworld", which I'd love to see remade.
"Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservatives." - John Stuart Mill
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Quote:
Originally posted by DREAMTROVE:
Anthony,
Not at all, it's an interesting topic. I just had to snark Niki for taking a line I had posted and then using it to start a thread, something she's done before, and then she came down on me for responding to what was obvious bait for me to respond to.
Interesting topic, carry on. I'm a fan of tiny species. For the most part I don't think humanity is much of a threat to them, not the way we are to larger species, but tiny species are also fascinating.
Tiny species will give us far more insight into what we're likely to find moving out from the Earth into the wider solar system, I think. It's the tiny species that will really give you a glimpse into things that are, by almost any definition, "alien" to our way of thinking about life as we know it. Tiny microorganisms that live in glacial ice - icebound their entire life, yet still living, moving, breathing, etc. - and which excrete a substance very like ethylene glycol, or antifreeze, which allows them to move through the ice that they live in. Spores which my never touch ground, but have a complete life cycle in the air. These things teach us to not be too surprised by ANYTHING we might find elsewhere.
"Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservatives." - John Stuart Mill
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Quote:
Originally posted by Kwicko:
DO. NOT. WATCH. THE. RECENT. REMAKE.
As if I would...
I got no patience for the polished turds dropping out of hollywood these days, and in fact I recently saw a longish list of films released in the past six months and didn't see not one I had any interest in even giving a chance...
Except maybe, just maybe, The Hedgehog - but unless you know what it's based on going in, which most folk don't, I've no idea how they intended to sell viewing it to anyone.
Cause it's based on a damn good book.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elegance_of_the_Hedgehog
Of course, moot point since the release was so limited there's not a showing within a hundred miles of me.
-Frem
I do not serve the Blind God.
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Quote:
You ARE? I don't see it at all; I think we're all expressing our opinions; I certainly had no intent to "attack" you; may I respectfully suggest that you might be taking things a bit personally when it's not intended that way?
I'm noting a perennial tone of personal attack here
I DEFINITELY agree about salmon, and many, many other species. We've destroyed an awful lot that is precious and beautiful, not to mention part of the system we belong to, too! I've often thought sadly of coming generations, to whom many of the species I get so much pleasure admiring are only available in books. What a sad world that will/would be!
ETA: Oh, I just found your other post.Quote:
You definitely ARE taking things personally...I put up posts sometimes about things others have mentioned in other threads, especially when something comes up that relates to it. I stumbled across the article and my remark about "ALL" was because that's what many people say, not just you. And it most definitely was NOT any kind of "bait"; I wasn't even thinking of you, for goodness sake! And where you got "came down on me" I can't figure out at all; I re-read my posts and that one eludes me.
I just had to snark Niki for taking a line I had posted and then using it to start a thread, something she's done before, and then she came down on me for responding to what was obvious bait for me to respond to.
Respectfully, I wish you'd stop seeing stuff I post as personal attacks on you, and I REALLY wish you'd stop attributing thoughts and motives to me which have nothing to do with me at all. One of my biggest bugaboos, as I mentioned before, is people speaking for me and telling others what I'm thinking, so please, if you think I'm attacking you or something, could you take just a second to ASK if I am? I promise to reply honestly. You can of course write whatever you want, and I DO mean this respectfully; if we could solve issues between us without seeing them as attacks, that might improve our communication, or at the very least, lessen the hostility some. Or not.
Hippie Operative Nikovich Nikita Nicovna Talibani,
Contracted Agent of Veritas Oilspillus, code name “Nike”,
signing off 
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Mincing! Welcome back, big fella; oh, HOW I have missed your wonderful ability to put things in perspective with gentle humor. I hope you stick around, yours is a voice I really, really enjoy!
Hippie Operative Nikovich Nikita Nicovna Talibani,
Contracted Agent of Veritas Oilspillus, code name “Nike”,
signing off
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