Daniel Celano said that, before the Universe was created, the properties
of Big and Small didn't exist, so the Universe wasn't a small place and
the Bang wasn't big. That sounds rather like the opening of the Bible
to me - God created Light and Dark on the first day, but He didn't
create the Sun, ie. a major source of light, until the 6th! And, worse
still, how could days exist without the Sun in the first place?!?
Next: what Terry Pratchett said about the theory that all places are one
place and that distance is an illusion. That would be fine if it were
true, as it would solve all the problems we're having over FTL travel -
and it is true! It's just that the "one place" is very, very big.
Finally, I agree that physics is all about what we, as mere humans, can
observe, and that we can only perceive four dimensions. What I meant
is, let's not discount FTL travel just because we can't do it now! I
mean, we accepted that the Earth is not at the centre of the Universe
(although I get the feeling that people who defend fox hunting just
because it's "traditional" would still cling to that belief... oh no,
now I'm gonna be burned for heresy!), so all we need is proof that there
are more dimensions. Actually, saying that there are dimensions at all
is really just to facilitate our understanding of things, isn't it? We
can't see anything which has just two dimensions (as someone rightly
pointed out, paper has thickness!). Correct me if I'm wrong here (and
please don't just say "it'd take six weeks to explain, so go and ask
someone in the physics dept.!"!). Incidentally, could Dave Barlow at
least try and explain why time isn't the zeroth dimension (or whatever
it was he said "nope" to in his reply)?
Oh yes, and just to flog a deceased equestrian just a little longer,
when I said that those self-replicating mines in DS9 (this episode
hasn't been on TV yet, has it?) had a root power source, I meant they
get their energy through a transmitted means, not a blinking cable!
(Eg. a subspace conduit...)
I await responses from all corners of IFIS...
David Chilard
"In the bathtub of history, the truth is harder to find than the soap"
-- Terry Pratchett
of Big and Small didn't exist, so the Universe wasn't a small place and
the Bang wasn't big. That sounds rather like the opening of the Bible
to me - God created Light and Dark on the first day, but He didn't
create the Sun, ie. a major source of light, until the 6th! And, worse
still, how could days exist without the Sun in the first place?!?
Next: what Terry Pratchett said about the theory that all places are one
place and that distance is an illusion. That would be fine if it were
true, as it would solve all the problems we're having over FTL travel -
and it is true! It's just that the "one place" is very, very big.
Finally, I agree that physics is all about what we, as mere humans, can
observe, and that we can only perceive four dimensions. What I meant
is, let's not discount FTL travel just because we can't do it now! I
mean, we accepted that the Earth is not at the centre of the Universe
(although I get the feeling that people who defend fox hunting just
because it's "traditional" would still cling to that belief... oh no,
now I'm gonna be burned for heresy!), so all we need is proof that there
are more dimensions. Actually, saying that there are dimensions at all
is really just to facilitate our understanding of things, isn't it? We
can't see anything which has just two dimensions (as someone rightly
pointed out, paper has thickness!). Correct me if I'm wrong here (and
please don't just say "it'd take six weeks to explain, so go and ask
someone in the physics dept.!"!). Incidentally, could Dave Barlow at
least try and explain why time isn't the zeroth dimension (or whatever
it was he said "nope" to in his reply)?
Oh yes, and just to flog a deceased equestrian just a little longer,
when I said that those self-replicating mines in DS9 (this episode
hasn't been on TV yet, has it?) had a root power source, I meant they
get their energy through a transmitted means, not a blinking cable!
(Eg. a subspace conduit...)
I await responses from all corners of IFIS...
David Chilard
"In the bathtub of history, the truth is harder to find than the soap"
-- Terry Pratchett