Colin Robinson
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2021-Jan-01, 08:10 PM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

Have you seen this essay by Peter Vickers of Durham University — Alien life is out there, but our theories are probably steering us away from it? ...

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2021-Jan-01, 07:42 AM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

That line of argument is presumably why the idea of life on Mars gets so much attention. But we don't know whether the sort of Earthlike...

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2021-Jan-01, 07:21 AM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

I'd agree that Enceladus and Europa are intriguing worlds. They are two more reasons why Mars should not be thought of as the only place in the Solar...

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1057 replies | 76357 view(s)
2021-Jan-01, 03:00 AM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

Do you think Venus is less likely for life than Mars? Why? Glad you mentioned sunlight and abiogenesis. It's true that the ice moons...

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2021-Jan-01, 01:48 AM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

When you say "than some other choices", which do you have in mind? I'd agree that current life on Mars is more likely than life on Mercury...

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1057 replies | 76357 view(s)
2021-Jan-01, 12:40 AM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

I agree that current life on Mars can't be entirely ruled out. David Grinspoon's argument is that Mars isn't the most likely place in the Solar...

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1057 replies | 76357 view(s)
2020-Dec-31, 07:47 PM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

I'd agree that past microbial life on Mars is quite plausible, and is an intriguing possibility. But it is very difficult (whether on Mars or Earth)...

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1057 replies | 76357 view(s)
2020-Dec-28, 02:14 AM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

Except that behaviour comparable to war has been observed not only in chimps, but also in wolves and ants. The common factor is that all these...

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1057 replies | 76357 view(s)
2020-Dec-28, 02:09 AM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

Yes. That's one of the reasons I find the "Dark Forest" scenario implausible.

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2020-Dec-24, 07:50 PM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

So you think that a population explosion of living things filling the galaxy is nonsense, but a population explosion of robot probes filling the...

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1057 replies | 76357 view(s)
2020-Dec-24, 06:23 AM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

In the case of a starship, it would be a closed ecology designed to last for a specific time. Not the same thing as a system that would continue to...

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1057 replies | 76357 view(s)
2020-Dec-24, 06:04 AM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

It's true that neither has be demonstrated to be feasible. The reason I think an indefinitely stable artificial habitat may be less feasible than...

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1057 replies | 76357 view(s)
2020-Dec-24, 05:41 AM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

A lot of topics we discuss in this thread have been demonstrated to be feasible. Just now we were discussing how organisms with brains first emerged...

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1057 replies | 76357 view(s)
2020-Dec-24, 05:34 AM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

What if the stability of natural eco-systems is due to their diversity? Millions of species interacting... Can a smarter-than-average ape create an...

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2020-Dec-24, 05:17 AM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

It's one thing to say that, but it's another thing to demonstrate its feasibility in practice. That hasn't happened. Has it?

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1057 replies | 76357 view(s)
2020-Dec-24, 04:59 AM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

Why do you think that's almost certain? Do you think artificial ecologies would have a life-expectancy, a use-by date? Or would they be immortal?

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2020-Dec-24, 04:25 AM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

Yes, brains are only found in the metazoans, the multi-celled animals. Then again, it's hard to see what use a brain would be to something without...

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2020-Dec-24, 04:01 AM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

That line of speculation is sometimes called the "Silurian hypothesis", which Wikipedia has a page about.

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2020-Dec-23, 11:33 PM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

I don't think there's a very simple explanation. The way evolution works is actually a pretty complex question... But dinosaurs developed a range...

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2020-Dec-23, 10:19 PM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

How does that relate to your earlier comment Do you think the species that wanted to do that would be blocked by hard physical limits?

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2020-Dec-23, 10:04 PM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

Robin Hanson's argument is that living (evolving) species have a general tendency to expand where they can... You can have organisms...

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2020-Dec-23, 09:52 PM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

Does what we call "natural selection" only take place under "natural" conditions? Hanson's argument is that the logic of evolution will continue...

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1057 replies | 76357 view(s)
2020-Dec-23, 08:17 PM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

Yes, supernova explosions made be the factor, or one of the factors, which make galaxies difficult or impossible to tame...

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1057 replies | 76357 view(s)
2020-Dec-23, 08:09 PM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

Considering that all living things do drink, in the sense of taking in water, it is reasonable to ask why they haven't drunk the oceans and rivers...

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1057 replies | 76357 view(s)
2020-Dec-23, 03:49 AM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

They may have died, yes. It may be that colonies have a lower life expectancy than home-grown ecosystems. Then it wouldn't be strange that Earth has...

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2020-Dec-23, 02:07 AM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

Robin Hansen's argument is that living (evolving) species have a general tendency to expand where they can...

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1057 replies | 76357 view(s)
2020-Dec-23, 12:50 AM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

Perhaps it's worth referring to Robin Hansen's 1998 essay where the term "Great Filter" comes from... It's quite well reasoned, which is why...

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1057 replies | 76357 view(s)
2020-Dec-20, 08:56 AM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread Phosphine, a strong biosignature, has been detected in the atmosphere of Venus in Life in Space

You want me to list every individual compound which could be "bio-active"? Why aren't generalised compound categories enough to back up the...

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99 replies | 4151 view(s)
2020-Dec-20, 05:48 AM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread Phosphine, a strong biosignature, has been detected in the atmosphere of Venus in Life in Space

I won't attempt to list all of them, but here are three categories for a start: 1. Compounds containing oxidised sulfur Carbon chains linked to...

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99 replies | 4151 view(s)
2020-Dec-20, 03:48 AM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread Phosphine, a strong biosignature, has been detected in the atmosphere of Venus in Life in Space

H₂SO₄ is destructive to some organic compounds, but by no means to all of them. As the eminent chemist Ronald J. Gillespie observed back in 1959:...

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99 replies | 4151 view(s)

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