hey Guys..lets talk about some intellectual topic ..

R we alone in the universe? what u think about the concept of multi-verse?

what u think about the movie " Matrix" ? Are we a part of computer simulation ? Is there any Programmer who wrote a self evolving program ( some are viruses ) like us?

flip flop .. great man ..

That was a good discussion .. but people were lacking technical discussion ... We need some thing like 'PaulMaurice" discussion above.

so I think . we are like a small insect in the middle of pacific ocean .. it does not know the size of water and does not know what is beyond the water?. It cant travel. coz it can live for few days and just wonders ..is there anything beyond the water?

As the discussion above .. I feel ..human life is really really a short life .. as compare to the huge universe we have.

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AJ - PaulMaurice is a phycist who has a greater depth of knowledge when it comes to 'mystery of Universe' or as such. Would love to hear more on this.

PS: Paul I guess I need to take your autograph sooner before you become a public figure. Hope all is well.

I am also very very impressed by the Paul discussion.. Need more from you Paul :)

R u alone in the universe? if so this is the huge waste of universe..

aalu jasto

everytime we talk about the cosmos, what we believe now is the only truth, because the cosmos as we see changes all the time - not the cosmos itself, but the way we explain and understand them.

the latest that i have studied (please correct me if i am wrong due to my limited knowledge) is about the M-theory, where everything is made of tiny strings (so tiny that there isn't any microscope or experiment to see or detect it), however the strings can be so long that it can be longer than any galaxies. the reason why many neo-physicists are attracted to this new concept these days is because, it can predict many things that are happening in the cosmos. for example, relativity can explain large bodies but not the small ones, becuase relativity rely heavily on constants and vector, however the quantum mechanics explains all the small particles and always have unpredictable results. these two theories can explain everything that we see and know about how and why about the universe is based on 4 forces of nature. but these 4 forces are easily explained by the two theories. So, what physicists think (only think because we don't know), is that if these two theories are united, we will can find a thoery/formula to find the state of universe in the beginning and in the end. so, we will have all our answers.

remember, are we alone is not important - due to the fact that there are so many (we don't know how many) galaxies and systems in the sky/universe that there are. with string theory we can predict other dimensions besides the known 4 dimensions. now, when we live in this dimension, there is no way we can see what is happening(at least with these physical eyes) in the 5th, 6th or... 11th. To prove this, there is an experiment being conducted. What they are doing is, creating the scenario of a big bang. the hypothesis is, during big bang (of the many big bangs that happens all the time some where), some subatomic parties when gets hit at the speed of light, it takes a different form and so, will escape to a different dimension. we don't know when the results are coming in, but when some mass is accelerated at the speed of light, but disappears before it reaches the destination, we can deduct that the loss of mass is due to the escape into a different dimension, which will prove the existence of the extra dimension.

now coming back to the vedic lieteratures, which predicted all these about 5 thousand years ago. the dwellers in the extra dimension are god(s) - remember small 'g'. so, to have a sight in these dimension, one must have a "divya dristi".

now regarding the beginning and end - since the end is the beginning, we do not have to worry about the beginning or the end, becuase it is eternal. we call this Kali - the ultimate reality. to realize Kali, one must become Shiva - the pure one. To realize Shiva one must understand the Veda - the knowledge - and cannot ignore Narayana - the present. When all these are too confusing, we become happy by seeking refuge in the concept of the "Creator".

Sujanks,

Your last paragraph reminds me of the movie, Matrix Revolution. "Everything that has a beginning, has an end." Indeed.

I am trying to explain what I perceived from the conclusion of the movie. i.e. The world that exists today (good) will be taken over by the machine (bad) in near future (kaliyug). People are being demonized or enslaved by machines (Mr. Smith, the devil, who turns everybody into himself). There are some who are not ready to give up, so they either are destroyed by the agent, or take refuge (Zion). At the end only one remains for the final confrontation to rise against the evil (Avatar, The One, Neo, or Mr. Anderson). And The One must end himself in order to finish the devil. Only then, the cycle, the revolution is completed and a new world begins.

I know its a bit off the topic but couldn't help but notice the Vedic philosophy in that movie. I heard that the entire movie was based on Upanishad and giving it a scientific approach.

We are not most certainly not alone in this universe. And regarding the fact whether we are simulation, there are lots of things in universe that leads us there but doesnt prove it decisively. Until anything is proven or disproven its as good as "sphaghetti monster theory".

I personally think string theory is big pile of bollocks. Once hadron collider becomes totally
functional it might be possible to test this theory. There have already been heated debates about string theroy so I want keep away from one now. If you want to have a look at those
debates have a look here.
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/09/12/1946214
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/01/24/1645255
http://books.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/01/15/1556241
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/09/29/1735237

Dear divlocks,

String theory not a prejudice and it certainly is not a bible or a veda reading group in a local library. There are excellent reasons why reasonable people with expertise in the field like string theory. Any other approach to quantize gravity has faced problems of what is known as renormalization. There are few people doing different things in order to understand this very important problem. There are things called twistors and the emerging field called LQG which has its own problems. The low energy limit of string theory is the theory of gravity, which is given quite naturally by the theory.

However, there is a simple rule that all physical theories must satisfy which is that it should be consistent with observations. Most reasonable people would not pursue a theory after finding sensible evidence that theory is not right. The thing that bothers me immensely is people like yourself making such extraordinary statements without even having an elementary knowledge of how fundamental science works. In order to make such an statement, you need to know what you are talking about.

Science is not about consensus in an internet where you decide some guy should be the next pop starfor reasons that he speaks the same language as you do. Its about understanding the logical structure of the the universe.The only reason I am commenting is I don’t want a bright thirteen year old who could well have a great future be misled by people like yourself. Unless you discuss anything technical, I am not interested in your juvenile comments.

PaulMaurice

definetly i am not a genius on this topic but one thing surely in simplifed verison from my prespective is..................we all are progammed or destined to do our things here. One may say all this kundali and china are hogos bogos. What i belive is capturing right time of your birth allows astrologer to study movement of planet and their influences. Therefore if we were designed same as computer progamme like Xp or others then we might have ended being same loosing taste of life. I dont know there is something out there which one must have faith. Faith is the biggest relegion of world. At the end science will end up in basic 5 elements. I certianly feel that our vedantas holds lot of answer if we learn to intrepret properly.
I dont know about other but sample like me is already programmed from somewhere. Hahahahahahah i still think Lord ganesh may be a alien or any form of gods mentioned in hindu scripture are aliens for their extra feature. Just look how science took pluto out from the rank of solar system. One day science will consider sun and moon as part of planet looking at their influences in human.
dont know anything just my view hai...........I wish i was a reincarnaition of Great lord hanuman

Dear Sujanks,
I agree with some of the facts you have presented and commend you for your interest.
However, your last lines compelled me to comment as I feel that you are suffering from a serious delusional illness, which in modern medical term is called DCS.

Sujanks says,
now coming back to the vedic lieteratures, which predicted all these about 5 thousand years ago. the dwellers in the extra dimension are god(s) - remember small 'g'. so, to have a sight in these dimension, one must have a "divya dristi".

This is an outrageous statement and has nothing to do with reality but mere fantasy and superstition. If you chose to believe in some baloney for mere delusional happiness, it’s ok(perhaps). But I think inspired from the fictitious dwellers of extra dimension, you have successfully added an extra dimension of foolishness in your subsistence.

By the way, the above-mentioned DCS is short for Deepak Chopra Syndrome whose symptoms include nausea, headache and preaching things that one doesn’t understand. Other symptoms may include people uncritically chewing archaic verbose books of shallow rhetorics and trying to make it compatible with conjectures and ideas in modern science. The late stage of the condition leaves individuals susceptible to opportunistic freaks who can mobilize the masses by spreading the illness through fancy covered books in Barnes and noble or the internet.

Namaste!

Must give credit to PaulMaurice. You probably know more than what you're sharing.

If I may share my tiny grain of knowledge... it's been said that what we know is equivalent to a handful of earth. But what we do not know, is as big as this Earth. Thus, this earning for knowledge has existed since the beginning of time...when the Snake tempted Adam to eat of the Fruit of Knowledge. Thus, the awakening of the Kundalini will ultimately lead you to True Knowledge. And when this Knowledge dawns, words become insignificant.

So, ignorance manifests in 3 distinct stages: 1. Lack of information 2. Lack of understanding 3. Lack of experience. Knowlegde, on the other hand, is obtained through 1. Experience of others 2. Guided by a teacher & self-effort 3. Intuitive knowledge.

Through Science, we learn from our relationship with the surroundings. And from Spirituality, we learn from our relationship with the internal or creator (paramatma/atma) or self.

Secular knowledge relates to the external phenomenon whilst Spiritual knowledge relates to the inner phenomenon. The external phenomenon has its limits whilst the inner is limitless. And when this inner knowledge is revealed, its termed as Sruthi. And when this revealed knowledge is applied, its termed as Smrithi.

From the navel of the un-manifest Brahman, (Nirguna) was born Brahma. (Synonymous to a mother-child relationship!). Seated on a lotus growing out of an ocean (rooted to infinite reality, upon which Brahma's personality exists). Water is the source of life and virtually more than 70% of creation is in aqueous phase. All human endeavor into space has always looked for 2 important elements (Water and Oxygen).

From the pervasive sound energy "AUM" came the first bang of creation, commonly termed as the "Big Bang" Theory, and that spurt of energy has continuously given birth to all of God's Creation. (Created Energy never gets destroyed and the original source is pervasive in all its exchange of forms i.e. Original Source is prevalent and resplendent in all it's creation that is termed as Chaitanya (with consciousness).

All boons and answers to life is revealed as if it is a gift of our hidden treasures, when we invoke you, oh Goddess Saraswati, in the beginning of this journey to the self.

Dear PaulMaurice,
First thanks reading my comments and calling me divlocks (if you read my name properly its divdude but it really doesnt matter because you are a great intellectual and you have right to call people whatever you like).
As I pointed above I am tired of debating on this subject now. I just wanted to post this to say PaulMaurice, "Please get out of the lab once in a while and learn a bit how to talk decently to people". Thats it , rest is cool GD luck with your research.

AS astronomers scan the universe for signs of intelligent life, a group of researchers predicts other beings just might be looking at us.

A scientific paper published in this week's online edition of Astrophysical Journal suggests alien astronomers armed with a large space telescope could detect our planet and possibly determine the presence of life.

"They would only be able to see earth as a single pixel, rather than resolving it to take a picture,'' University of Florida astronomer and paper co-author, Professor Eric Ford, said.

"But that could be enough for them to identify our planet as one that likely contains clouds and oceans of liquid water.''

In the past 20 years, astronomers have found more than 200 planets. However, none appear to have the conditions for supporting earth-like life.

Most are hot-gas planets similar to Jupiter, with no solid surface and an atmosphere composed largely of hydrogen and helium.

"The goal of (our) project was to see how much information you can extract from very limited data,'' fellow co-author and MIT associate professor, Sara Seager, said.

According to the paper, a great deal of information about a planet can be gleaned from that single pixel and the way it changes over time.

The paper suggests an alien telescope could collect enough light to identify chemicals in our atmosphere and record periodic changes in the brightness of the earth due to clouds and rotation.
It may even be able to determine the presence of land and oceans from earth's changing light pattern.

Prof Ford believes the hypothetical research will be useful to astronomers designing the next generation of telescopes, providing an outline of the capabilities required for studying earth-like planets.

He hopes that his research will help to motivate an ever larger space telescope that could search for earth-like planets around many stars.

"Maybe somebody's looking at us right now,'' Ms Seager said.

just wanted to bring this topic 'alive' so that we could hear more about poeople's opinion on this

How big universe is ??:Incomprehensible Size

It has only been in recent decades, thanks to technological advancements, that humanity has been able to determine the approximate size of the universe. When describing it, measurements with values of billions and trillions are used—in light years, not miles. Analogies and descriptions can help one appreciate our comparative microscopic size in relation to the cosmos.

In Part Two of this series, we quantified the size of our solar system and galaxy. Doing the same with the universe is a much more difficult task—in fact, its actual size is unknown. All that can be measured is the visible universe (and even this value is not completely agreed upon). Generally speaking, it is thought that the visible cosmos is approximately 93 billion light years in diameter. Since each light year is 5.879 trillion miles, the diameter of the visible universe is 546,747,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles—546 billion trillion miles! It is impossible to fully comprehend a number of such proportions.

To make these distances more meaningful, we must shrink our universe to a more manageable scale. First, let’s reduce the Earth to the size of a grain of salt, making our planet 42.5 billion times smaller.

At this scale, the diameter of our solar system shrinks to less than 600 feet and our galaxy reduces to nearly 14 million miles across. Even at this scale, the visible universe is still 12.9 trillion miles wide.

Numbers this large are impossible to appreciate. Let’s reduce the scale even further.

If we could shrink our solar system from the Sun to Pluto down to the size of a single grain of salt, the Milky Way galaxy would be 24 miles in diameter—an easy distance to visualize. This still leaves the universe’s span at an incredible 22 million miles—about two-thirds the distance from Earth to Mars.

This number is still too large to envision. The scale must be reduced yet again.

If the Milky Way galaxy (in reality, nearly 600,000 billion miles in diameter) was reduced to the size of a grain of salt, the visible universe would be just over 915 feet wide—about the length of three American football fields. Finally, a size we can picture!

What is lost in this analogy is the sheer mass of the Milky Way galaxy and how much reduction is needed to reach this result. In fact, this manageable cosmic scale would mean we have reduced the universe 3.2 septillion times—or 3.2 trillion trillion times. Our solar system, never mind the Earth, would be smaller than a single hydrogen atom!

Is there life on Mars? Enlarge Image

An image of a mysterious shape on the surface of Mars, taken by Nasa spacecraft Spirit, has reignited the debate about life on the Red Planet.

A magnified version of the picture, posted on the internet, appears to some to show what resembles a human form among a crop of rocks.

While some bloggers have dismissed the image as a trick of light, others say it is evidence of an alien presence.

The image is a recent Nasa posting of the Spirit's landing in 2004.

Perspective

When the robotic rover set down on 24 January 2004, its images disappointed space-watchers hoping for signs of extraterrestrial life.

Now they appear convinced that this image provides the evidence they have been trawling Nasa's photo files for.

The blown-up image seems to resemble a figure striding among the Martian rocks.

The internet has been abuzz with postings offering theories.

Copenhagen's mermaid: Evidence of Martian settlers?

One said it was a garden gnome, another that it was the Virgin Mary.

A third suggested Bigfoot, the hairy bipedal mountain beast that appears in various guises in a number of legends around the world.

But the consensus seemed to be that it bore a striking resemblance to the Little Mermaid statue in the Danish capital, Copenhagen.

Poster "Madurobob" said it was a statue "obviously built by an ancient civilisation that later departed Mars and settled Denmark".

Badastronomy.com tried to apply some perspective: "A man? It's a tiny rock only a few inches high. It's only a few feet from the rover!"

I just thought this would be relevant to this topic.. though it may be bunch of crap. I was listening to the radio the othe day and there was a "news" that said that there was a sighting of a flying saucer that eliminated orange light. It was about 1 mile diameter, and several people reported sighting this unknown object. Some govt. officials said tht it must have been some kind of illusion created due to some lighting effect. I thought it was pretty interesting!

Rythm .. By the way, where did that happen???

I am guessing somewhere in TX, because it was in the TX (DFW) local radio and they generally report local news. Dont know for sure though.