View Profile: Colin Robinson - Cosmoquest Forum

2021-Feb-14, 09:06 PM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

The most recent descent missions to the atmosphere and surface of Venus were in 1985. The WOW signal was transient. The dark areas in the...

1169 replies | 84952 view(s)

2021-Feb-14, 04:33 AM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

I'm saying that the net we're casting for ET life hasn't been wide enough. For instance, we've closed our eyes to the possibility of life in the...

1169 replies | 84952 view(s)

2021-Feb-13, 11:26 PM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

The dark patches in the clouds of Venus are easily detectable by ultraviolet photography. What is less easy, is establishing whether they are caused...

1169 replies | 84952 view(s)

2021-Feb-12, 08:59 PM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

"Obvious" is not the way I'd put it. What I am saying, is that microbial populations can have effects which you don't need a microscope to...

1169 replies | 84952 view(s)

2021-Feb-12, 09:33 AM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

But... Populations of ET microbes * may be at interplanetary distances not interstellar distances * are comparable (if they exist) to what...

1169 replies | 84952 view(s)

2021-Feb-11, 09:53 PM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

I'd suggest that the first step is to look for life in general, including microbial life. When we know a bit more about how widespread or...

1169 replies | 84952 view(s)

2021-Feb-11, 09:09 PM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

Thing is, the past two centuries on Earth show that industrial technology changes fast. Do we really know where it's going? How much idea do we...

1169 replies | 84952 view(s)

2021-Feb-10, 09:04 PM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

What we seem to be looking for is evidence of industrial revolutions...

1169 replies | 84952 view(s)

2021-Feb-10, 12:45 AM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

I agree (up to a point) that we have to start from what we know. Although one thing we know from studying life on Earth is that life is diverse. ...

1169 replies | 84952 view(s)

2021-Feb-08, 11:10 PM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

The phrase "Eerie Silence" refers to part of the Fermi Paradox. The Fermi Paradox is about why we don't observe a range of things that would be...

1169 replies | 84952 view(s)

2021-Feb-08, 11:00 PM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

One of the things I'm skeptical of, is whether species that evolve on different planets are likely to be understand messages they might beam out to...

1169 replies | 84952 view(s)

2021-Feb-07, 08:48 PM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

What, in your opinion, is the most likely explanation for what Paul Davies calls "the eerie silence"?

1169 replies | 84952 view(s)

2021-Feb-06, 09:32 PM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

How long do you think groups of humans will keep sending out messages, if we don't detect any messages from others? Decades? Centuries?...

1169 replies | 84952 view(s)

2021-Feb-06, 08:40 PM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

It's true that science seeks answers to unanswered questions. But aren't there different kinds of questions? For instance, highly specific...

1169 replies | 84952 view(s)

2021-Feb-06, 09:15 AM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

We as a species, over our history, have put a lot more time and effort into building pyramids... Does it follow that future humans will also...

1169 replies | 84952 view(s)

2021-Feb-06, 06:56 AM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

We fed them meat, which they helped us get hold of via hunting. Historically, domestication of the dog has been an instance of what Brin calls...

1169 replies | 84952 view(s)

2021-Feb-06, 06:26 AM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

Well, dogs and humans are something of a special case, because the two species have co-evolved for thousands of years. When and if we make contact...

1169 replies | 84952 view(s)

2021-Feb-06, 05:41 AM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

Or maybe we're among the technological also-rans, fouling our own planetary nest in a way that only a few technological species (the real leaders)...

1169 replies | 84952 view(s)

2021-Feb-06, 05:33 AM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

I'd suggest that holding back climate change will take much greater discipline in how we use energy. Perhaps the technological civilisations...

1169 replies | 84952 view(s)

2021-Feb-06, 01:03 AM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

I'd agree it's plausible that ETIs might know a lot about Earth, including that there is life on Earth, without knowing that Earth has intelligent...

1169 replies | 84952 view(s)

2021-Feb-03, 09:47 PM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

If you're right — if they have been getting extensive information about Earth for millenia — then yes, that means that sending them METI would be...

1169 replies | 84952 view(s)

2021-Feb-02, 09:15 PM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread What do you think is the most likely explanation for the Fermi paradox? in Life in Space

Your word "effluence" points to the downside of how we've been behaving. What you call "ever cheaper energy" appears to have long-term costs, such as...

1169 replies | 84952 view(s)

2021-Jan-30, 03:08 AM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread Phosphine, a strong biosignature, has been detected in the atmosphere of Venus in Life in Space

And how do you know this sulphur dioxide explanation is right? You're quoting from a paper which was "submitted on 25 Jan 2021". That means it...

115 replies | 5367 view(s)

2021-Jan-30, 12:15 AM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread Phosphine, a strong biosignature, has been detected in the atmosphere of Venus in Life in Space

The words you've quoted are actually by David Grinspoon. If you're not sure what he meant, I suggest you read the interview with him in...

115 replies | 5367 view(s)

2021-Jan-29, 10:55 PM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread Phosphine, a strong biosignature, has been detected in the atmosphere of Venus in Life in Space

Phosphine is also produced on Earth by microbial activity in environments with little free oxygen (O2). That's why scientists have started a project...

115 replies | 5367 view(s)

2021-Jan-29, 10:51 PM

Colin Robinson replied to a thread Phosphine, a strong biosignature, has been detected in the atmosphere of Venus in Life in Space

Perhaps there’s a risk of jumping to negative conclusions here. One of the just-quoted papers actually calls for further research to determine...

115 replies | 5367 view(s)

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Colin Robinson
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