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dinsdag 30 november 2010
Boltzmann Brains: Nested Universe - Singularity Blog, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Cosmology, Science and Technology
Boltzmann Brains: Nested Universe - Singularity Blog, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Cosmology, Science and Technology: "In a metaverse that is larger than ours, random fluctuations of the size to create a universe such as our own will happen. Due to the size and number of particles in such a universe, these fluctuations will be exceedingly rare. The anthropic principal - the fact universes will only be observed when they are hospitable to observers - makes the amount of time between such fluctuations meaningless. These fluctuations could be happening every quadrillion years, or once every googolplex number of years. Fluctuations of a much smaller magnitude that simply create one fully formed brain for a brief amount of time should be happening with enormously higher frequency than universe-creating fluctuations. Such brains would be the smallest possible creations that would give rise to a sentient observer and are called Boltzmann Brains. The fact that such brains do not appear to exist is called the Boltzmann Brain Paradox."
maandag 29 november 2010
The Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia
The Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia
In the past several days a number of news articles have touted the passage of a tidy astronomical milestone—the discovery of the 500th known planet outside the solar system. In the past 15 years, the count of those extrasolar worlds, or exoplanets, has climbed through single digits into the dozens and then into the hundreds. The pace of discovery is now so rapid that the catalogue of identified planets leaped from 400 to 500 entries in just over a year.
But the astronomer who tends to the exoplanet community's go-to catalogue tempered excitement surrounding the 500th-planet milestone in interviews and in an e-mail to fellow researchers, advising caution in assigning too much precision to the tally. Jean Schneider, an astronomer at the Paris Observatory, has since 1995 maintained The Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia, a modest-looking Web site that charts a wealth of data on known exoplanets as well as those that are unconfirmed or controversial.
How One Astronomer Became the Unofficial Exoplanet Record Keeper 
astronomer Jean Schneider, maintainer of the online Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia
But the astronomer who tends to the exoplanet community's go-to catalogue tempered excitement surrounding the 500th-planet milestone in interviews and in an e-mail to fellow researchers, advising caution in assigning too much precision to the tally. Jean Schneider, an astronomer at the Paris Observatory, has since 1995 maintained The Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia, a modest-looking Web site that charts a wealth of data on known exoplanets as well as those that are unconfirmed or controversial.
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Storm sign! | Bad Astronomy
Storm sign! | Bad Astronomy: "
This is why I don’t live in Montana:
I don’t want to live in a place where transdimensional spaceworms can appear in the sky and blast superheated steam straight down onto innocent earthlings.
Supercell photo be Sean Heavey for National Geographic; click to convectenate. Tip o’ the kevlar umbrella to Astropixie.
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This is why I don’t live in Montana:
I don’t want to live in a place where transdimensional spaceworms can appear in the sky and blast superheated steam straight down onto innocent earthlings.
Supercell photo be Sean Heavey for National Geographic; click to convectenate. Tip o’ the kevlar umbrella to Astropixie.
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Geert Wilders fascist? De eeuwige terugkeer van het fascisme
Geert Wilders fascist? De eeuwige terugkeer van het fascisme: "In november 2010 kwam het boek 'De eeuwige terugkeer van het fascisme' van cultuurfilosoof Rob Riemen uit. Hij betoogt daarin dat de PVV van Geert Wil…"
ratak-monodosico: EXISTENTIALISM You never know when an...
ratak-monodosico:
EXISTENTIALISM
You never know when an...: "
ratak-monodosico:
You never know when an existential moment is going to strike you. Then you realize that you alone are responsible for choosing that life inside a cubical filled with hatred, despair and an overwhelming desire to toss your boss on an 8 foot thumb tack…
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EXISTENTIALISM
You never know when an...: "
ratak-monodosico:
EXISTENTIALISM
You never know when an existential moment is going to strike you. Then you realize that you alone are responsible for choosing that life inside a cubical filled with hatred, despair and an overwhelming desire to toss your boss on an 8 foot thumb tack…
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