29 DEC 2016 by ideonexus
Science Fiction Gave Literature New Frontiers
The shift in subject matter from westerns to science fiction was probably already underway when Burroughs began writing. The frontier, which had been such a key feature of American popular fiction, was rapidly disappearing, and writers had begun looking for new frontiers—hence, the increasing number of stories about lost civilizations in unexplored parts of the world. But even the unexplored parts of the world were shrinking rapidly, and as new technologies, such as aircraft and rocketry, b...Folksonomies: history science fiction
Folksonomies: history science fiction
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notesBurroughs "Princess of Mars" even has the protagonist go from the Western frontier to a Martian desert. Wastelands are frontiers as well.
19 MAR 2015 by ideonexus
The Wormcam
It was possible now to look back into time and read off a complete DNA sequence from any moment in an individual’s life. And it was possible to download a copy of that person’s mind and, by putting the two together, regenerated body and downloaded mind, to restore her … We live on Mars, the moons of the outer planets, and we’re heading for the stars. There have even been experiments to download human minds into the quantum foam … We intend to restore all human souls, back to the beg...Folksonomies: futurism
Folksonomies: futurism
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notes26 FEB 2014 by ideonexus
MarsOne Response to Muslim Fatwa
And among His Signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the variations in your languages and your colors: verily in that are Signs for those who know. (Quran 30: 22)
The Muslim world has a rich tradition of exploration. The verse from the Quran above encourages Muslims to go out and see the signs of God’s creation in the ‘heavens and the earth’. The most influential example of this was the Moroccan Muslim traveller, Ibn Battuta, who from 1325 to 1355 travelled 73,000 mile... 1 notes
notes...against voyaging to Mars because it constitutes "suicide."
01 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
The Greater Good of Science
There was a time – and very recently – when the idea of the possibility of
learning the composition of the celestial bodies was considered senseless even by
prominent scientists and thinkers. That time has now passed. The idea of the
possibility of a closer, direct study of the universe will today, I believe, appear still
wilder. To step out onto the soil of asteroids, to lift with your hand a stone on the
moon, to set up moving stations in ethereal space, and establish living rings aroun...
1 As described by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, who predicted space exploration through reactive vehicles and expressed his hope through a better world through his research in 1912.
01 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
Space Exploration Costs the Same as Exploring the World
The Solar System is much vaster than the Earth, but the speeds of our
spacecraft are, of course, much greater than the speeds of the sailing ships of the
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The spacecraft trip from the Earth to the Moon
is faster than was the galleon trip from Spain to the Canary Islands. The voyage
from Earth to Mars will take as long as did the sailing time from England to North
America; the journey from Earth to the moons of Jupiter will require about the
same time as did t...Folksonomies: economics space exploration
Folksonomies: economics space exploration
1 Europe spent as much money proportionally to discover America as it would cost us to venture to Mars.
01 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
Sports on Phobos
Because of their small sizes, Phobos and Deimos have very low gravitational
accelerations. Their gravities do not pull very hard. The pull on Phobos is only
about one one-thousandth of that on Earth. If you can perform a standing high
jump of two or three feet on Earth, you could perform a standing high jump of
half a mile on Phobos. It would not take many such jumps to circumnavigate
Phobos. They would be graceful, slow, arcing leaps, taking many minutes to reach
the high point of the self-p... 1 notes
notesHow the low gravity and tiny size of Mars' moon would affect the game.
24 FEB 2011 by ideonexus
Everyone is an Atheist
The dictionary definition of God is “a supernatural creator and overseer of the universe.” Included in this definition are all deities, goddesses and supernatural beings. Since the beginning of recorded history, which is defined by the invention of writing by the Sumerians around 6,000 years ago, historians have cataloged over 3700 supernatural beings, of which 2870 can be considered deities.
So next time someone tells me they believe in God, I’ll say “Oh which one? Zeus? Hades? Jupi...Folksonomies: atheism
Folksonomies: atheism
1 notes
notesWith thousands of deities out there to not believe in, Atheists just go one deity further.
03 JAN 2011 by ideonexus
Miracles Should be Investigated to Improve Upon Them
Now, it might be true that astrology is right. It might be true that if you go to the dentist on the day that Mars is at right angles to Venus, that it is better than if you go on a different day. It might be true that you can be cured by the miracle of Lourdes. But if it is true it ought to be investigated. Why? To improve it. If it is true then maybe we can find out if the stars do influence life; that we could make the system more powerful by investigating statistically, scientifically jud... 1 notes
notesIf there are miracles, then we should investigate them in order to figure out how to make them better, in order to figure out how to best take advantage of them.
