its not the surface gravity that effects whether or not a civ can go to space, but the escape velocity.. which is more or less independent of radius.

Mass 2x3 times that of the earth? you do realize that would make spacefaring civilizations almost impossible on those planets. No space elevator, rockets are nearly impossible, and the life support requirements for those organisms in space.. no bueno.

more pseudoscience. *sighs*

if you define the samples as planets, then thats true, you can't do statistics with a sample of one. But if instead your samples are the range of conditions life is known to exist in, then you have an extremely large dataset to work with.

based on recent discoveries we can conclude that 1. there are a shit ton of planets, most of them inhospitable. 2. Life inhabits a wide range of conditions, even on earth. Of course these two findings lead to the inescapable conclusion that life must be abundant in the universe whether we detect it or not. But…

honestly, I'm not even interested in a definition of a habitable zone/discoveries of planets that don't allow for intelligent/sentient life as we know it to thrive. my 2 cents.

I think this study just explained how much carbon was released through washing your hands and did not say "if you stop washing your hands in warm water you'll save the entire planet." I also agree with you in that I believe the best way to approach changing our economic basis to lower our impact on the environment…

As a programmer, most of my time coding is spent thinking of how things didn't work.

Why do you tea baggers always have to hate on things that are good for everyone in the long term?

yes it really does. http://www.salon.com/2013/12/18/7_w…

You ever wonder why they call it climate change nowadays instead of global warming? its because the general heating of the earth isn't the only effect our greenhouse emissions are having. Desertification, drastic changes in precipitation magnitude, frequency, and distribution, spread of tropical diseases northward,…

This of course! Helped me a bit after my breakup. Too bad I don't know anyone that likes watching it :S

1. Modify cephalopod brains so that they don't form doughnut shapes around the esophagus.

that super high escape velocity would make it nearly impossible for any sentient life to become space fairing. I suggest we limit our excitement to very close analogues of earth in terms of mass. ± 10%

I know for me, having grown up in a nearly all male household, I'm not sure how to relate to strong female leads. Hell I'm not even sure I know what a strong female lead is. Based on my interactions with my female friends, I can say that from my perspective they tend to identify with their sexuality/appearance more…

definitely wormhole-xtreme from SG-1. At that point you can tell the writers were bored or really struggling to come up with anything good.

you should probably take a class in evolutionary biology.

Shhh.. As long as you keep quiet I'll keep the emeralds coming.

good point. Didn't consider that.

As long as it's not a mag 6-7+, these earthquakes are unlikely to cause any damage, especially to the environment.