I'm not saying this to start an argument... but there are enough "Christians" actively trying to "discourage" homosexuality that two people of the same sex cannot have a legal union in the eyes of the law in most places in America. This in a nation where there is a separation of church and state mandated by our…

I believe that people are responsible for their own lives. I am straight, but I have friends who are homosexual. If you're a Christian who isn't blinded by faith, then you know that a lot of fellow Christians are choosing hate and anger over rationality. Its gotten so bad in recent years - I cannot tolerate walking…

Time and space are equally mutable. Actually, you probably can't separate time and space into finite qualities, as they are one and the same. The only reason we perceive time the way we do is a quirk of biochemistry. There's nothing to say that there isn't more to our perceptions (or less) than what we detect…

Companies do have their "agendas" in our current world. And governments are loosing much of their power to dictate terms to the biggest of these corporations. I think we'll have augmentations within the next generation. 15 to 20 years. And I'd wager that there will be many kinds of augmentation, and that there…

While I applaud Space-X, the thing to remember here is that the commercial capability of creating a spacecraft like the Falcon/Dragon combination has existed since the 1960's. What hasn't existed is the financial incentive for building, testing and flying such a vehicle. There are some severe obstacles to the…

I think that it will come down to pioneers taking their own risks outside of government influence. And I'm sure that's going to be kept from happening for as long as possible. The first colonies, the first habitats... all these firsts will eventually have the first disaster, the first death, the first... Well...…

Did anyone consider that the elegance of the machine was that it was a form of art itself? There is art in engineering and mathematics. Just because there are strict, unyielding rules to follow does not mean that there is only one solution to a problem. In many ways, by constraining the limits of what one can…

Something to remember out of all this discussion. We are, in essense, biochemical machines. Our method of operation, our intelligence, our capacities for learning and growing, the ability to use tools and technology to enhance our base capabilities... all these things point to a self-evolving, self-replicating…

Actually, I have the opposite view. I believe that the start up cost won't be nearly as high as that once the space resource race actually starts. And some pirates are funded by shady but extremely wealthy individuals who make their money causing misery and pain for other extremely wealthy individuals. And you'll…

The issue here appears to be that there are no clear paths to claims in space. Translation - only direct negotiation or force of arms can decide the outcome of a conflict between two or more parties in contest of a resource. Since humans are more into the "Want, Take, Have" part of the equation, the odds are that…

I don't think its easy to feel sorry for Harvard in this - they have resources that any 10 other standard universities couldn't hope to match. What it does make people realize is that if the cost of peer-reviewed journals are becoming so high that even Harvard's library system is beginning to tug at its…

Here's a good one: How about a combination of a lottery to select individuals, but have the lottery based on a pool of qualified applicants taken from general census data.

To reiterate what people have said below: Vulcans have extreme emotions. Their emotions are violent and hostile in general. Their society was depicted as being far, far worse than humans. Case in point: they nuked themselves over their hostilities and factions. Out of the nuclear aftermath came Surak who proposed…

More and more I find that most Americans just don't want government sponsored anything. NASA is one of those "Government" things, therefore they feel it should be gone. ROI in NASA has ALWAYS been very, very high. However, one cannot directly invest in NASA since it is a business. Luckily for us, NASA doesn't…

Something tells me that if the planet is *close* enough to the habitable zone where the gravity sheer makes up for the lack of solar energy, then the planet can be perfectly habitable. Geologically active as hell, likely, but probably just as warm and cozy as an earth. Place said planet as a comfortable companion to…

This would have been awesome. AND if they could have built this thing exactly as it was in the movie... good lord, the engineering alone for a structure that massive to be able to stand erect in earths gravity...

I must be the only person in this world who really believes that you should treat others as you yourself would wish to be treated. Its about input and output. We are all machines. Humans are biochemical machines, AI's require a silicon processor, various components, electricity and other systems to function.

The question is, why assume the worst? Why not create the laws and rules that would govern sentient intelligences that would apply to everyone. Human, machine, cetacean, ETI, etc. Define a bill of rights, a code of behavior, and ensure that the governing body that manages it applies all the rules equally and…

The most likely candidate for an anchor point is a large artificial satellite (or orbital station) very, very slightly outside geosynchronous orbit with the opposing end of the ribbon/cable anchored to a point on the ocean floor on the equator. The reason for that is simple - the tether needs to be taut, and by…

Well... L2 would be an interesting spot for an outpost. But I think we'd be better putting a planetside base first. The reason is that the base can be buried in the lunar soil AND can provide the same study capacity with far more radiation protection.