Posted on Jan 1, 2019
Our New Year’s Day edition. Check out today’s eclectic coverage of programs broadcast and streamed on the (occasionally “far side”) state of affairs on our pale blue planet, signaling our existence to possible exo-civilizations.
“FM signals and those of broadcast television travel out to space at the speed of light. Any eavesdropping alien civilization will know all about our TV programs (probably a bad thing), will hear all our FM music (probably a good thing), and know nothing of the politics of AM talk-show hosts (probably a safe thing).” –Neil deGrasse Tyson, Death By Black Hole, 2006
Stephen Hawking –Artificial Intelligence Becomes a New Form of Life –“I fear that AI may replace humans altogether. If people design computer viruses, someone will design AI that improves and replicates itself. This will be a new form of life that outperforms humans.”
‘Nostradamus of the Balkans’ –Baba Vanga passed away in 1996 at age 85, but more than two decades later her recorded prophecies continue to stir the imagination. Between 2170 and 2256, a Mars colony, stocked with nuclear weapons, will demand independence from Earth. Between 2262 and 2304, time travel will be discovered and developed. During the years 4302 and 4674 humans will have achieved immortality, assimilated with aliens, and live scattered throughout the cosmos. In 5079, the universe will come to an end.
From the Farside –Theories of the Black Knight Satellite –“A 13,000 Year-Old Alien Artifact in Orbit Around the Earth” –Sometime in the 20th century a theory arose, claiming that the famous inventor Nikola Tesla was actually contacted by a 13,000 year old alien artifact in orbit around Earth, an object which has since become known as the Black Knight Satellite.
Black Swan Events and Outside Context Problems, highly unpredictable events which massively impact civilization.
How America Lost Its Mind –The nation’s current post-truth moment is the ultimate expression of mind-sets that have made America exceptional throughout its history.
Alien apocalypse: Can any civilization make it through climate change? Astrophysicist Adam Frank, a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Rochester, is part of a group of researchers who have taken the first steps to answer these questions.