TheFlyingGerbil Posted May 2, 2017 Report Share Posted May 2, 2017 (edited) I thought I'd make a thread for topics worth discussing a bit further than somewhere like random thoughts, random things allows, but perhaps don't warrant an entire thread or fit neatly anywhere else. First up: If you could have conclusive proof of one of the following, which would it be? ~ghosts, -cryptids ~aliens visiting Earth. Edited May 2, 2017 by TheFlyingGerbil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Jack Posted May 2, 2017 Report Share Posted May 2, 2017 Ghosts would pretty much confirm the existence of an afterlife, which is a pretty huge deal. I'm going with ghosts. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted May 2, 2017 Report Share Posted May 2, 2017 My first thought was aliens, but I've got to agree with Jack's reasoning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saturnine Tenshi Posted May 3, 2017 Report Share Posted May 3, 2017 Yeah, but an afterlife might not be a good thing. If these aliens visiting Earth gave us (me) the technology to travel the stars, that'd be my choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Jack Posted May 3, 2017 Report Share Posted May 3, 2017 More likely they'd strip the planet of its resources. Why else would they come this far out? Just to give us free stuff? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. GOH! Posted May 3, 2017 Report Share Posted May 3, 2017 Aliens. Or confirmation that there is no afterlife. I don't want confirmation of an afterlife of haunting. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mal Posted May 3, 2017 Report Share Posted May 3, 2017 The reason there are ghosts is not only because of lingering regrets but you get recycled into a new person or thing(s). Most ghosts are just running from the law. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MetalCaveman Posted May 3, 2017 Report Share Posted May 3, 2017 I mean, there's a ton of resources floating around in space, so, if anything, it's the whole invading/visiting/whatever Earth for resources that doesn't make any sense. Unless those resources are humans, then yeah, those are harder to find elsewhere. On topic: Aliens, confirming that intelligent life exists out there and has been here would be awesome. Hell, it could be that they come here for fun/entertainment or some other triivial thing, sure, a lot of people say that it wouldn't make sense to travel that far just for that, but that's because of how hard it is for us to imagine travelling such distances, could be that for more advanced life-forms jumping from one planet to another is no different than going from one country to another is for us earthlings. I don't know, I just watched GotG Vol. 2, so all kinds of crazy space travel ideas are in my head right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thursday Next Posted May 3, 2017 Report Share Posted May 3, 2017 I'm comfortable that probability wise, life elsewhere is pretty much inevitable. I can wait for us to find it or it to find us. I'm also an alien intelligence optimist. I think humans are explorers at heart, I see no reason why a superior intelligence wouldn't be similarly curious about the universe. I would love 100% concrete, utterly undeniable, everyone accepting it, no more arguments disproof of any sort of afterlife whatsoever. If we could get rid of afterlife based religions altogether I think people would be a lot more careful with the one that they have. On the flipside, if there was total proof of an afterlife, it would have to be really detailed proof so we all finally agree on which god is the god, which set of rules we are supposed to follow etc. Either way, I would just want absolute consensus on the issue so we can get on to more important things like not screwing up the planet, and going to space and finding new places to live and new people to disagree with things over. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted May 3, 2017 Report Share Posted May 3, 2017 Aliens. Or confirmation that there is no afterlife. I don't want confirmation of an afterlife of haunting. Maybe haunting is the best part, maybe everybody who dies is like "fuck yeah, now I'll show those assholes." Then they sit around laughing about it like "dude, you totally should have seen the look on his face" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted May 3, 2017 Report Share Posted May 3, 2017 Just to clarify here, because I think I've read TFG post to everyone else; but is this asking for it to be a thing or just confirmation that it's a thing or not. Like you get told "Aliens defo visited Roswell" or "There's no such thing as ghosts". Best argument against ghosts I've heard is the "so where are the dinosaur ghosts?" As for aliens visiting here for resources, we do have quite a few of the rarer elements in the solar system here. And a huge source of liquid water which is pretty dang important. Moon has a chunk of Helium-3, handy for fusion, but end of the day so does Saturn and Jupiter. However one thing we have, from a "visiting for fun" that next to no other planet in the observable universe has is: a total solar eclipse. Our moon and star are the right size ratio, and the right distance from earth that we get a solar eclipse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted May 3, 2017 Report Share Posted May 3, 2017 I took it as "conclusive proof that one of the following is definitely a real thing". Not just that you get to conclusively know whether it's a thing or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thursday Next Posted May 3, 2017 Report Share Posted May 3, 2017 If the only choice is that one of the above is a thing. I'll take aliens over ghosts and cryptoids. Aliens aren't going to shake my worldview any. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. GOH! Posted May 3, 2017 Report Share Posted May 3, 2017 The cryptid choice is pretty broad, too. I mean, is it all cryptids, or just specific cryptids? Who would really care if, in fact, giant anacondas are real (aside from scientists)? I mean, if the cyptid, no matter how banal, is an alien, then, yeah, that would matter a whole lot to folks, but that overlaps with the 'aliens visiting earth' choice. On the other hand, lots of folks would care about confirmation of the afterlife (or echoes of previous lives; a ghost need not be a sentient phenomena, I suppose), or of alien visits to Earth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFlyingGerbil Posted June 22, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2017 Next question: Assuming it was done humanely and willingly, would you try human meat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted June 23, 2017 Report Share Posted June 23, 2017 Sure. Have chatted about this with friends, and the main thing we said that'd make it possible is that factory grown meat stuff since largely there would be zilch ethical concerns. It massively opens up the door to all kinds of foods given you can make the meat without having to kill the animal. Ultimately it's meant to be akin to pork though so not sure it'd be some super interesting meat to eat (kangaroo is pretty different to your usual beef/chicken/pork options for example). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted June 23, 2017 Report Share Posted June 23, 2017 It doesn't gross me out or anything, so yeah if all ethical concerns could be eliminated I'd give it a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MetalCaveman Posted June 23, 2017 Report Share Posted June 23, 2017 As long as there were no health issues, sure, why not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mal Posted June 23, 2017 Report Share Posted June 23, 2017 No since I don't see human as food. Note: I have a hard time seeing lab grown meat as being what and where their respective cells came from. It's literally just "meat". It's akin to pointing to the entire animal(s) when you see grounded pork, beef or whatever. Not to say that I won't eat it. Lab grown meats would open up some interesting culinary options because you don't have to just stop with just a beef or pork base. Like can you get a steak that's like a beef steak but with hints of lamb? Or just say fuck it, lamb masquerading as a beef steak. Or human masquerading as beef. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. GOH! Posted June 23, 2017 Report Share Posted June 23, 2017 (edited) Hmmm. No. It would gross me out. Nothing logical about it, just would be gross, is all. But while we're on the lab-frown meat subject, let me opine. I agree with Mal: lab-grown meat is fundamentally different than natural meat. Although I would call pig-like lab meat "pork" and cow-like lab meat "beef," I wouldn;t call it cow meat or pig meat (or chicken, or lamb, or whatever). I would be totally fine with eat lab-grown meats of all kind, but if it were labeled "human," I would still be grossed out. Edited June 23, 2017 by Mr. GOH! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted June 23, 2017 Report Share Posted June 23, 2017 *stoppers my bottle of chianti* 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted June 23, 2017 Report Share Posted June 23, 2017 (edited) @Mr. GOH! Would that still be the case even if lab-grown meat was perfected to the point that it was completely indistinguishable from meat grown on a living animal? Like what if they can clone your thigh muscle for a transplant after an injury, and it will be perfect and identical in every way to your real thigh muscle from before the injury, and they use the exact same techniques to grow food meat as well? Would you consider that to be "really" [animal] meat, or is it still just [animal]-like? Edited June 23, 2017 by TheMightyEthan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MetalCaveman Posted June 23, 2017 Report Share Posted June 23, 2017 I would love lab-grown meat to be a thing, then we'll get rid of all the cows, getting rid of their contributions to climate change while still having meat in our diets. Win-win! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. GOH! Posted June 23, 2017 Report Share Posted June 23, 2017 @TheMightyEthan For me, the fundamental difference is that it's lab-grown, so, yes, even if it were indistinguishable from real meat, I would differentiate it so long as it did not actually come from a dead animal. For the record, I think that's a *good* thing and I would happily eat lab-grown meat if it were affordable and tasty, even if it did not taste quite like natural meat. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Jack Posted June 24, 2017 Report Share Posted June 24, 2017 (edited) @TheMightyEthan @MetalCaveman @deanbmmv Buncha wendigos in this thread. Edited June 24, 2017 by Mister Jack 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.