Death by Giant Meteor - Neil DeGrasse Tyson

[php_daemon]

@ro0bear

I undestand that nukes are important in helping to avoid war, but do you really think a single country needs many thousands of nukes?

Excuse my ignorance, but really thousands!? I thought they had like 1 or 2, precisely because one is more than enough. But thousands, are they planning to conquer a nearby galaxy?

[system]

@php_daemon

Excuse my ignorance, but really thousands!? I thought they had like 1 or 2, precisely because one is more than enough. But thousands, are they planning to conquer a nearby galaxy?

America is suposed to have between 4000-5500 nukes.

List of states with nuclear weapons

I think its a total waste of resources! And I bet im not the only one!

ro0bear

[r937]

no politics plz

i haz a buckit

my “delete post” button, let me show u it

[ewomack]

Rusty Schweickart, the former astronaut, also spoke on this issue for “The Long Now Foundation.”

You can download the talk here –> Long Now Foundation Seminars (scroll down to 02004).

[Shaun]

Time Magazine’s Ten Questions for Neil DeGrasse Tyson (clip)

[FONT=“Georgia”]Enjoy!

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[Datura]

As always, I enjoyed listening and watching. Thanks Shaun

[Gobbo_Mon]

@Shaun_OfTheDead

[FONT=“Georgia”]By the way, Datura.

I’ve been meaning to pick this bone with you…

Don’t confuse humility with meekness. Meekness isn’t a virtue. But humility can be important!

Unless someone is humble, there’s no way they can allow themselves to learn anything from others.

I’m sure you must have come across people like that already. Persons who never seem to advance to the higher levels of whatever skill they practice because they’re so convinced they’re right, they completely shut out the valid advice and criticisms of others.

Of course it’s also true that you can’t listen to every criticism or else you’d be going around in circles doing the same things over and over, and also never get confidence in your ability.

But there has to be a balance somewhere, so I think a certain amount of humility is important.

Not to be confused with meekness, which is just a sheer lack of backbone.

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I like the way you explain that. In my mind humility is definitely a virtue. Without it we have a whole world of people who won’t listen to anyone but themselves which of course makes chaos. And of course Humility isn’t meekness or weakness. Some of the strongest people I know are actually very humble and tolerant towards other people. It seems the more arrogant a person is the harder they fall.

[Datura]

@Gobbo_Mon

I like the way you explain that. In my mind humility is definitely a virtue. Without it we have a whole world of people who won’t listen to anyone but themselves which of course makes chaos. And of course Humility isn’t meekness or weakness. Some of the strongest people I know are actually very humble and tolerant towards other people. It seems the more arrogant a person is the harder they fall.

Hahaha – you are mixing up definitions here. Arrogance is not the opposite of humbleness. Tolerance has nothing to do with humbleness. Humbleness is the opposite of self assurance.

Self assurance leads to tolerance. Arrogance is an overblown assessment of yourself.

So, humbleness is in my eyes a very bad thing to have, because you undervalue your own achievements and try to make the people around you (other oriented) feel better by diminishing your own worth.

[Shaun]

@Gobbo_Mon

I like the way you explain that.

[FONT=“Georgia”]Funny you should say that because I went back on my definition when I learnt that humility is, in fact, defined as “meekness”.

And meekness isn’t a virtue, and can never be. No matter how hard “they” try to convince us it is.

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[Shaun]

Off Topic:

[COLOR=“Red”]Population Growth[/COLOR] moved to its own thread.

[system]

@Shaun_OfTheDead

[FONT=Georgia]Funny you should say that because I went back on my definition when I learnt that humility is, in fact, defined as “meekness”.

And meekness isn’t a virtue, and can never be. No matter how hard “they” try to convince us it is.

[/FONT]

Humility is a virtue. Something that practically no one respects or understands these days. Meekness is not the same as humility.

For example:

You could have a humble person that is the opposite of meek. ie: Bold.

You could have a humble person who is also meek.

Humility is a virtue in either case.

[Datura]

@MrLeN

Humility is a virtue in either case.

Not in my book…

[system]

@Datura

Hahaha – you are mixing up definitions here. Arrogance is not the opposite of humbleness. Tolerance has nothing to do with humbleness. Humbleness is the opposite of self assurance.

Self assurance leads to tolerance. Arrogance is an overblown assessment of yourself.

So, humbleness is in my eyes a very bad thing to have, because you undervalue your own achievements and try to make the people around you (other oriented) feel better by diminishing your own worth.

Self assurance is akin to pride, which is not a virtue.

Pride is the opposite of humility, which is a virtue.

Self assurance/pride leads to ignorance and arrogance.

Further, humbleness has nothing to do with undervaluing achievements – or anything of the sort.

Humbleness allows wisdom. Humbleness allows one to step back and consider that they might be wrong about something. Humbleness is patience, and perseverance. Humbleness is simply, to not put one’s self above others, or to look down on others.

[Datura]

@MrLeN

Self assurance is akin to pride, which is not a virtue.

Pride is the opposite of humility, which is a virtue.

Self assurance/pride leads to ignorance and arrogance.

Further, humbleness has nothing to do with undervaluing achievements – or anything of the sort.

Humbleness allows wisdom. Humbleness allows one to step back and consider that they might be wrong about something. Humbleness is patience, and perseverance. Humbleness is simply, to not put one’s self above others, or to look down on others.

All I can say is that I do not share your values.

[system]

@Datura

All I can say is that I do not share your values.

Very few people in this world do. That’s why it’s hard for people like me to get along with others. I have to live in a constant state of having to “put up” with their poor character.

[EvcRo]

I’m tired of so many catastrophic predictions

[Shaun]

Neil deGrasse Tyson: The Pluto Files

[FONT=“Georgia”]Here’s something I didn’t know. That whole “Pluto isn’t a planet” debate started with him too… though not in those words and not with that intention.

Anyways, check this video out…[/FONT]

[SIZE=“1”]http://fora.tv/2009/02/04/Neil_deGrasse_Tyson_The_Pluto_Files[/SIZE]

[FONT=“Georgia”]Whether or not you’re interested in Pluto, this is an engaging video to watch; it touches on a whole bunch of other issues, especially in the questions and answers section toward the end.

The oxymoron of “Revisionist Science” that Laura Danly mentions is quite interesting… because science IS revisionist… it’s meant to be. She’s also someone I like a lot after seeing her on History Channel a few times.

Enjoy !

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[Datura]

Yes, as always wonderful to watch Thanks Shaun

[Shaun]

UPDATE:

BBC News: Russia ‘plans to stop asteroid’

@BBC Website

The head of Russia’s federal space agency has said it will work to divert an asteroid which will make several passes near the Earth from 2029.

Anatoly Perminov told the Voice of Russia radio service that the agency’s science council would hold a closed meeting to discuss the issue.

Any eventual plan is likely to be an international collaboration, he said.

The US space agency said in October that there is a one-in-250,000 chance of Apophis hitting Earth in 2036.

_

[r937]

2036? pfffft

i ain’t gonna be here, so who cares, eh