The creative power (god) has taken shape the way we are shaped. The most imperative venture is to preserve this gift of life elsewhere should something go wrong—keeping us in play should cataclysm strike.
Whatever the case, space travel is a way to save god—to insure that life, awareness, and perception in the universe live on forever.
“The theologians have myths, the scientists have theories—and both ends in mystery and ignorance”, Ray Bradbury
Either way space travel is an insurance policy of continuity—to insure that human life continues unbroken. To save god in its current image is our only legacy. Can we pull it off in time to beat the day of doom?
TheCommonAtheist 
Do we want to pull it off?
If there are advanced civilizations out there, will they let us leave this planetary system. Who the hell would want cancerous humanity travelling across space?
And if there are no advanced civilizations out there we will need to invent Faster Than Light space travel.
I personally think at our greatest possibility we may explore the solar system, but we will never reach the stars, not even Alpha Centauri. Why not? We will never achieve FTL speeds, not even close. We may launch genetatoon ships, but we will never hear from them again. By the time they could make a round trip 1000s of years will have passed on Earth. This is not feasible.
There is only one way we can reach the stars, barring alien help. And I will not tell you what it is, yet.
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The speed of thought is faster than the speed of light. Imagination is our greatest asset.
I don’t agree with your human virus theology. Is that Christian or environmentalism? It’s hard to tell them apart these days. Both start with a faulty premise of trying to shame people into being ethical simply results in old fashioned virtue signaling with no positive outcome.
This is where science, environmentalism, and religion are failing.
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Shame? The human cncer is our love of war, weapons, and ourself-destructive lifestyle. This is fact! We are an aggressive people. How many wars have we already fought in outer space through our story-telling entertainment media? And this aggression will go out into space if we ever get there. Shame? I was not trying to shame anyone. This Is human truth, and I see no reason to spread our aggressions among the stars.
If there is life elsewhere, and we meet it, there will be disaster.
But you chose to focus on the least important thing I said about space travel. Were you cherry-picking, or did you not think anything eĺse I offered was interesting or noteworthy, Jim?
It just so happens I have spent years thinking about space travel from a layman’s point of view, and I just don’t see it happening!
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You cannot invoke people to be truly virtuous by deprecation. Fact! People are not viruses although we are made of them. That might easily be a compliment.
The difference between you and me is the way we view the world—this is not serious. How could it be? Either it is an accidental event, created by an omnipotent god, or an illusion. Either way everything is pre approved. In fact, without all the anxieties of life it would be complete boredom of no worth, no consequence, nothing but overachieving Pollyannas with no crisis to create any meaningful existence at all.
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Yes, but … If the “Pollyanna” life were the one we humans were born into, “boredom” (in and of itself) would not exist. Thus, how can we make a comparison?
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That’s a great question. What would you do with your time if all your needs were taken care of by a harmonious society?
That is exactly what we should be doing now.
Without introducing an existential crisis we would be all still be farmers. It’s much more interesting and dramatic when we throw in a few wrenches.
In Christian mythology Adam is sent out of that scene because nothing was going on. Endless dream of perfect achievement even bored god. 🥹
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Of course it’s “much more interesting and dramatic when we throw in a few wrenches.” Because that’s us … that’s the way “we” live … the only way we know to live. And because of this, we essentially can’t make comparisons.
However, having lived with the wrenches … and thus able to make a comparison … I think I would have preferred a life without them.
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You are ready to be a vanaprastha.
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Our paths have divurged considrably of late, Jim. What do Pollyannas have to do with space travel?
The world is neither created by an omnipotent god, nor is it an illusion per se. It could be accidental, but that was so long ago it hardly matters. The world is here (for now) and we are here (for now), so let’s deal with it like is is some form of reality.
IF there is more to it we will face that when the time comes.
For now I am trying to understand what direction you are heading, but I am not able to see what you are seeing.
Conversation is becoming very dfficult…
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The problem may be you have stopped evolving?
I have enjoyed your interaction and have not filtered your platform here. Is not that good in itself.? I have rarely agreed with you but it is interesting to have your views, along with everyone else’s.
“ let’s deal with it like is is some form of reality”. Maybe that’s were we differ—you still think it’s real and even physics questions that premise.
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Jim … if we are living in a computer simulation, are we therefore computers running other computers?
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Let’s imagine for a moment one thing is true. Let’s say…reincarnation is real. What exactly is being reintroduced to the next unit? It isn’t the life, or the soul of that person, or anything of the sort. You do not come back as someone else’s life—but you could have a portion of their data. Everything only exists as data.
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Not an answer. Let me try again. If we are living in a computer simulation, are we (as supposedly “supercomputers”) creating and designing and running “lesser” computers?
Example: I’m actually a supercomputer and I’m relaying this message to you on a “lesser computer” because “it” doesn’t have the advanced capabilities that I do.
To consider that we’re all living in a computer simulation begins to get a bit, well, heady … does it not?
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It is real in the “here and now.” How else could we be conversing? Are we imagining each other’s words? i could never imagine the things you say. And I doubt you could imagine what I say.
Have I stopped evolving? I certainly hope not, but definitely we are not evolving in the same direction. I am uninfluenced by what the scientists and physicists have to offer. I agree our bodies are not as “solid” as they may seem, but they are our bodies, and we cannot physically go anywhere without them. How much more real than that can we get? The day I can walk through a wall without physically changing either my body or the wall I might start to, but until then I have to take it as I see the world.
We have been internet friends for many years now. Other people have come and gone, but we two are still here. If you’d rather I go, just say the word. But I will not stop being me, and I don’t expect you to stop being you. Lately we gave not agreed on much. It is hard.
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Please read carefully! This is part of your problem, not mine. I can totally see where you are coming from—you can’t even imagine mine.
The scientist are actually proving much of what you say to be fact, yet you still disagree. That is the frustration part for me. I have actually written scientific posts for you, that completely agree with your interpretation yet in them you find a reason to disagree. Perhaps it is just your nature and that’s fine.
Each of us posses about 400 heritable personality traits, and we have no control over which ones emerge as we mature. You are a mosaic of traits inherited from your family line. Our lines do not intersect and I understand we may never see eye to eye, but I respect that.
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I guess we just read differently, Jim. But no problem. We have different anles of sight, I think we can agree.
Like I am standing on one corner watching an event, wnile you are standing on a different corner watching the same event. Our focuses are different, so we key on different things things and describe two seemingly diffrent events though we are watching one event.
Witnesses to a crime or accident seldom agree on everything, and even often disagree about what they see.
Is this a valid theory?
Hopefully things can get back to where we were. Though I do not understand fully what happened, I apologize for my part in creating this rift.
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I feel no rift. It’s a discussion. Something has happened when two kind people part ways because of a belief. There is no problem here
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https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/confirmed-we-live-in-a-simulation/
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Fine article Nan.
“ The simplest explanation for the existence of consciousness is that it is an experience being created, by our bodies, but not for us. We are qualia-generating machines. Like characters in Grand Theft Auto, we exist to create integrated audiovisual outputs” The university is viewing itself. Everything we see is inside our heads, and we’re seeing what we’re inside of.
When the Hindu has his experience of cosmic consciousness, they state that he/she is completely stationary and the imaginations are moving like pictures all swirling around them. And there is no boundaries between their skin and the outside world. This is how my border collie sees the world. She never realizes we are the ones moving. Sign posts, bridges, landmarks, they are all coming at her when she rides in the truck.
Without acclimating to the idea that we are moving, other animals don’t see it that way.
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I like the “wasted complexities” question- it smacks of God!
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Maybe god, little g.
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Little g wouldn’t be that extravagant, would he?
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Depends. If we all looked alike it wouldn’t be hard to imagine, and that feature is .0001% of the genome
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Others, such as physicist and science communicator Sabine Hossenfelder, have argued that the question is not scientific anyway. Since the simulation hypothesis does not arrive at a falsifiable prediction, we can’t really test or disprove it, and hence it’s not worth seriously investigating.
Until something better comes along, this is the position I am going with. My world is neither the world of science nor the world of religion. I can theorize all I want, but why bother? Nothing changes the world as we see it and act in it. Trump is still a jackass, and I am still an ornery cuss who cannot unexperience what I expereienced.
“There is more to life than meets the eye, Horatio,” or however that goes. Truer words were never written.
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The article states that computer coding leaves behind artifact. This artifact has also been discovered in the simulation. The article is as compelling g as Sabine’s, who I follow regularly on twitter.
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And I do not read scince on that level at all. It holds no interest for me. Life as it is is my primary focus. Deconstructing life is not a focus whereas understanding living beings is a focus. While our physical bodies may indeed be more space than solid material, this does not help me to understand how “we” live. Now I feel like I am arguing again, or trying to defend my point of view. This is not my purpose.
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I read last week that the photon is not travelling at light speed (as everyone thinks), rather infinity speed. Never thought about it before, but on paper it’s quite simple: 299 792 458 m/s ÷ 0 = ∞
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Like the speed of thought. Imagination
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I have no idea if you do actually get infinity when dividing by zero, but it sounded pretty cool 🙂
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Some infinity’s are smaller than others—like the infinite list of prime numbers vs composite numbers.
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Unlikely- we’re too fond of creating distraction.
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Maybe true, or are we just easily distracted by a small percentage of clever malevolence?
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I.e. mainstream media?
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Of course none of them are reliable. Ideologues that are so completely entrenched that they cannot see the good in anything outside their own team.
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What btw is clever malevolence to you?
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Creating a crisis then providing the solution. Playing on a key foible of human psychology. Christianity is a good example of that.
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Ah.
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What greater crisis is there, than existential? But that is not inherent, it has to be taught. Children do not fear death until the adults get a hold on them.
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Where are you going with this? Just another post to stimulate and prod folk to think outside the box?
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Most of my posts are directed at the majority of readers here—believers. Are you in the image of god? What if you’re a believer that also believes in science and evolution—and climate disaster, meteors, the younger-dreyas, doomsdays, or any other scenario that is likely to happen before the return of Jesus?
I do tend to think we are the current image of the creative force in the universe. That part, when you combine all the traditions and science, is not only possible but likely. Monotheism keeps people at odds with their potential.
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I’m surprised at what you claim to be your audience. I hadn’t noticed that (except perhaps Arnold).
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If you look through all my subscriptions the majority are Christian blogs. There is a small number of comments in relation to views
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I have been experiencing this conundrum since first reading science fiction, specifically The Prophet of Dune, published November 1964 — The Gunpowder God by H. Beam Piper.
https://www.fadedpage.com/showbook.php?pid=20210309
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Also THE PROPHET OF DUNE by Frank Herbert, published March 1965
https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blackgate.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2014%2F10%2FAnalog-March-1966.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=dc16864da156ed2a60b4e593f5b1432124c92b1f3360b1fecfff68b8fdcf3395&ipo=images
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I read the dune trilogy yeas ago in my teens. Herbert lived just down the road from us which was pretty cool. I never got the feeling of a cult following then, but that took a little time to brew
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Here is an author of world renown, whom I follow via his blog, published in Italy.
It is exceedingly synchronistic that I received a notification of his latest work just this evening.
https://billziegler1947.com/?s=davide+mana.
Particularly since most of my readers who go to WordPress Reader for recommendations have not even known that I’ve nearly been writing from a cloister here. Fortunately, they are now able to read my stuff regularly. Word of mouth is the best way, of course. But now my readership might just go semi-viral. Wer weiss? keine Ahnung, eigentlich.
https://www.fadedpage.com/showbook.php?pid=20210309
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Wow
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