X-Message-Number: 30762
From: David Stodolsky <>
Subject: Re: The Singularity
Date: Sun, 25 May 2008 12:55:14 +0200
References: <>

On 24 May 2008, at 17:51, John K Clark wrote:

> David Stodolsky <> Wrote:
>
>> Oldest star 13.2 billion years
>
> Some stars in the galaxy are almost certainly older than the galaxy;  
> and
> stars that old were composed entirely of Hydrogen, Helium, and  
> perhaps a
> very very slight trace of Lithium; such stars had zero Carbon, Oxygen,
> Nitrogen, or any other element. Try making life, much less a brain,  
> from
> nothing but that crap!

 From that same article:

> Based upon this emerging science, the Galactic thin disk is  
> estimated to have been formed between 6.5 and 10.1 billion years ago.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star#Formation_and_evolution

> Most stars are between 1 billion and 10 billion years old. Some  
> stars may even be close to 13.7 billion years old the observed age  
> of the universe.


Thus, carbon and other elements were available as early as 12.7  
billion years ago and life could have been formed prior to the  
consolidation of the Galaxy. However, these minor variations in age  
are irrelevant to the question.

Assuming an intelligent civilization could propagate thru the Galaxy  
at 1/10 the speed of light, it would only take about 700,000 years.  
Thus, this could have happened many times in the life of the Galaxy.
>
>
>
> And I'd really like an explanation as to why with all those
> civilizations billions of years more advanced than us the universe has
> not been engineered, not even the galaxy. It's very odd.


Yes, that is the Great Silence problem, also know as the Fermi  
Paradox. There is no shortage of explanations. I read a book recently  
that offered 50 solutions. However, the front runner seems still to be  
that proposed by the Russian Konstantin Eduardovitch Tsiolkovsky, who  
created the theoretical basis for spaceflight. His solution to the  
paradox in 1933 was that advanced intelligences consider mankind not  
yet ready for a visit. This is now known as the Zoo Hypothesis.


dss


David Stodolsky    Skype: davidstodolsky

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