17-Jan-2012, 10:18 AM
Quote:Well, the phrase "Big Bang" was coined by Fred Hoyle, an opponent to the big bang theory to make fun of it and the name just stuck, but in general, scientists use names that best describe something to avoid confusion. As for having no flair for the dramatic... ever watched Carl Sagan's "Cosmos"?
I was quoting a Calvin & Hobbes strip.
Quote:It seems likely that life would exist beyond our planet, which is but a piece of dust in a sea of stars, given how readily complex molecules form, the unimaginable size of the universe, and so on.
Does it really happen that "readily," though? And as far as we know, carbon-based life can't exist anywhere else in our solar system...right? Earth has a very specific balance of elements that permitted life to evolve. A minor difference in its orbit, and for life to exist here it would have to take a significantly different form. (Correct me if I'm way off on any of this; I make no claims at having any real sort of scientific knowledge).
Alternately, couldn't it be possible that life used to exist, but the conditions that permitted it to exist long ago became unstable and disappeared?
Quote:In Jr. High School, I would take a gummi bear, squeeze its ears into points so it looked like Yoda, and then I would say to it "Eat you, I will!". And of course then I would it eat.