Thread

1. Almondsetat · 1790809198 · focus · HN ↗

   The incredible and futuristic technologies the US managed to deploy decades before the competition reminds me of the story of how the NRO gifted NASA a couple of their old decommissioned satellites in 2012 and they turned out to be basically upgraded Hubble telescopes pointed at earth. The US from the 90s to the 2000s had multiple Hubble-level telescopes just for spying while NASA was fighting for scraps to study the entire cosmos.

   1. shevy-java · 1790809556 · focus · HN ↗

      I am not entirely convinced. Was not Hubble damaged and got an upgrade lateron? I mean it could be possible that NASA is starved, but the repair involved other countries too, and I don't think the USA could keep mega-super-duper technology hidden from others in the long run. And NASA often wants more money - just take the whole search for life on planets. This is so pointless - life exists already here. What is the addiction to want to find life outside of the planet? Other than, of course, getting more money, which is understandable, but it doesn't answer the question. (Not that I am against better technology; the rationale just does not convince me at all here.)

      1. Procrastes · 1790818606 · focus · HN ↗

         > What is the addiction to want to find life outside of the planet?

         Another perspective on this. We currently study life with a planetary sample size of 1. Just a single additional example, especially one with a completely different origin, would almost certainly change many of our most basic assumptions about what life is and how it works.

         1. x______________ · 1790820149 · focus · HN ↗

            > Just a single additional example, especially one with a completely different origin, would almost certainly change many of our most basic assumptions about what life is and how it works.

            It would also lead to a significant power shift in the religious world where individuals have proclaimed their version god as absolute for thousands of years.

            An event like this would end up kicking us out of this era, and into another joint-species belief system... Only time will tell if it'll restart the cycle over again or if something new comes from it.

            1. kulahan · 1790827588 · focus · HN ↗

               Are any still-worshipped gods actually still just "really powerful dudes"? I doubt this would have any effect on religions outside of, like, ancient Greece and Egypt... but I'm not up to date on all the non-Abrahamic ones I guess.

               1. eks391 · 1790897264 · focus · HN ↗

                  I can't think of any religion as a whole that would be impacted by the discovery of life on other planets, but on a sect or individual level I could definitely see friction with certain, specific belief systems that sect or person firmly held.

                  It would be interesting if a survey existed that linked religious affiliation with belief of extraterrestrial life though. I tried to find one but was unsuccessful finding satisfactory research

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