Could Earth be a cosmic sanctuary for observation? The Zoo Hypothesis suggests so.
In 1950, Italian-American physicist Enrico Fermi famously asked, “Where is everybody?” The question has since become the basis of the Fermi Paradox, addressing the conflict between the high probability of extraterrestrial life and the complete lack of evidence for its existence. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain this, including the Zoo Hypothesis, first introduced in 1973 by Harvard astrophysicist John A. Ball. This theory posits that advanced alien civilizations may know of Earth and its inhabitants but choose to avoid contact, allowing humanity to develop naturally without interference.
The 3 Body Problem Explored: Cosmic Sociology, Longtermism & Existential Risk — round table discussion with three great minds: Robin Hanson, Anders Sandberg and Joscha Bach — moderated by Adam Ford (SciFuture) and James Hughes (IEET).
Some of the items discussed: - How can narratives that keep people engaged avoid falling short of being realistic? - In what ways is AI superintelligence kept of stage to allow a narrative that is familiar and easier to make sense of? - Differences in moral perspectives — moral realism, existentialism and anti-realism. - Will values of advanced civilisations converge to a small number of possibilities, or will they vary greatly? - How much will competition be the dominant dynamic in the future, compared to co-ordination? - In a competitive dynamic, will defense or offense be the most dominant strategy?
The two new studies place the sources of ordinary chondrite types into specific asteroid families – and most likely specific asteroids. This work requires painstaking back-tracking of meteoroid trajectories, observations of individual asteroids, and detailed modelling of the orbital evolution of parent bodies.
The study led by Miroslav Brož reports that ordinary chondrites originate from collisions between asteroids larger than 30 kilometres in diameter that occurred less than 30 million years ago.
The Koronis and Massalia asteroid families provide appropriate body sizes and are in a position that leads to material falling to Earth, based on detailed computer modelling. Of these families, asteroids Koronis and Karin are likely the dominant sources of H chondrites. Massalia (L) and Flora (LL) families are by far the main sources of L-and LL-like meteorites.
The great George Church takes us through the revolutionary journey of DNA sequencing from his early groundbreaking work to the latest advancements. He discusses the evolution of sequencing methods, including molecular multiplexing, and their implications for understanding and combating aging.
We talk about the rise of biotech startups, potential future directions in genome sequencing, the role of precise gene therapies, the ongoing integration of nanotechnology and biology, the potential of biological engineering in accelerating evolution, transhumanism, the Human Genome Project, and the importance of intellectual property in biotechnology.
The episode concludes with reflections on future technologies, the importance of academia in fostering innovation, and the need for scalable developments in biotech.
00:00 Introduction to Longevity and DNA Sequencing. 01:43 George Church’s Early Work in Genomic Sequencing. 02:38 Innovations in DNA Sequencing. 03:15 The Evolution of Sequencing Methods. 07:41 Longevity and Aging Reversal. 12:12 Biotech Startups and Commercial Endeavors. 17:38 Future Directions in Genome Sequencing. 28:10 Humanity’s Role and Transhumanism. 37:23 Exploring the Connectome and Neural Networks. 38:29 The Mystery of Life: From Atoms to Living Systems. 39:35 Accelerating Evolution and Biological Engineering. 41:37 Merging Nanotechnology and Biology. 45:00 The Future of Biotech and Young Innovators. 47:16 The Human Genome Project: Successes and Shortcomings. 01:01:10 Intellectual Property in Biotechnology. 01:06:30 Future Technologies and Final Thoughts.
Many seek a path to enlightenment through study and meditation, but what does science tell us about transcendence? And could entire civilizations seek to leave this reality behind?
Credits: Transcendence. Episode 465; September 19, 2024 Written, Produced \& Narrated by: Isaac Arthur. Editors: Dillon Ollander. John M Smart. Graphics: Jeremy Jozwik. Ken York. Sergio Botero. Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images. Music Courtesy of Epidemic Sound http://epidemicsound.com/creator
The year’s biggest supermoon, the Hunter’s Moon, will rise in the sky next week. Astronomers have been thrilled to see three back-to-back supermoons this year, but October’s supermoon is going to be extra special.
It will be the only moon to come this close to Earth in 2024, making it appear extremely large. The supermoon will occur on October 17, reaching its fullest point merely hours after coming to its closest point. It will be 220,055 miles from Earth on this day.
The sky this month is filled with cosmic wonders. You can see two comets this month, with one of them already taking people’s breath away. The second comet will visit towards the end of October.
But according to Gary Marcus, a cognitive scientist and prominent AI researcher, the worst is yet to come. In his assessment, OpenAI could soon take an even more dystopian pivot, à la George Orwell’s novel “1984,” by getting into the business of spying on you.
The Taurid asteroids, also known as the Taurid swarm, are a group is asteroids hypothesized to be leftovers chunks from the comet Encke, which orbits the Sun every 3.3 years. But what risk could the Taurid swarm have regarding potential impacts with Earth? This is what a recent study presented at the 56th annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS) hopes to address as a team of researchers from the United States and Canada investigated the potential threat of the Taurid swarm impacting the Earth. This study holds the potential to help researchers better understand how to identify threats of asteroid impacts on Earth and the steps that can be taken to mitigate them.
This study builds off previous research pertaining to the Taurid swarm, which estimated the size of the bodies as being kilometer-sized, and while this swarm is responsible for the Taurid meteor shower, asteroids that large could cause significant damage on the Earth if one impacts on our planet’s surface. This new study conducted a first-time analysis of the risk these asteroids pose for impacting the Earth, and with promising results.
“We took advantage of a rare opportunity when this swarm of asteroids passed closer to Earth, allowing us to more efficiently search for objects that could pose a threat to our planet,” said Dr. Quanzhi Ye, who is an assistant research scientist in the Department of Astronomy at the University of Maryland and lead author of the study. “Our findings suggest that the risk of being hit by a large asteroid in the Taurid swarm is much lower than we believed, which is great news for planetary defense.”
