3I/ATLAS

[MoonSong]

I heard Loeb has been getting hate mail and stuff over his ideas. How awful, the guy is just an excited and curious man who has made many young people get interested in science.

 

[Hriston]

I was just about to post this. Excellent video. Literally everyone in this thread should watch it. Twice.

I tried to watch it but could only get less than half way through. I definitely would not recommend it to anyone.

 

[Reynard]

I tried to watch it but could only get less than half way through. I definitely would not recommend it to anyone.

Okay.

 

[môrgondír]

Does Hank Green ever explain why he wants there to be aliens in his video?

If the existence of aliens were known, is the universe a more fascinating place?

 

[Reynard]

Does Hank Green ever explain why he wants there to be aliens in his video?

If the existence of aliens were known, is the universe a more fascinating place?

Not in that one specifically, but that is a culmination video of a bunch of videos on the subject. Watch those too.

 

[Morrus]

If the existence of aliens were known, is the universe a more fascinating place?

I can’t answer for Hank Green or for you, but for me the answer is yes.

 

[môrgondír]

The universe is fairly fascinating to me as-is - there is plenty on Earth about which I have not an inkling, and yet I could theoretically travel to any part of it if my curiosity needed satisfied.

But is the discovery of a new lemon-striped mountain lizard in China not as interesting as the discovery of life on another planet, or are they both equally fascinating in different ways?

 

[Morrus]

The universe is fairly fascinating to me as-is

It is also fascinating to me as-is. It's not a binary choice.

- there is plenty on Earth about which I have not an inkling, and yet I could theoretically travel to any part of it if my curiosity needed satisfied.

Good for you!

But is the discovery of a new lemon-striped mountain lizard in China not as interesting as the discovery of life on another planet, or are they both equally fascinating in different ways?

To me both are interesting, but the latter is more interesting.

I have very little interest in moulds and fungi, and my wife has zero interested in tabletop gaming (or, to be fair, moulds and fungi). I do, on the other hand, love space exploration--it is of particular interest to me. Different people are interested in different things. And that's OK.

 

[Reynard]

But is the discovery of a new lemon-striped mountain lizard in China not as interesting as the discovery of life on another planet, or are they both equally fascinating in different ways?

For me, it isn't so much a matter of "interesting" as it is that discovering extraterrestrial life in any form is going to have a much more massive impact on science and our place in the universe than the discovery of any new terrestrial species (except perhaps finding a remnant Neanderthal population or similar).

 

[Umbran]

I tried to watch it but could only get less than half way through. I definitely would not recommend it to anyone.

Well, his personal style isn't for everyone. But, in terms of the content, he's pretty spot on in this one.

Does Hank Green ever explain why he wants there to be aliens in his video?

Not in that one specifically,,,

What are you talking about? He addresses why in the first minute of the linked video.

The universe is fairly fascinating to me as-is - there is plenty on Earth about which I have not an inkling, and yet I could theoretically travel to any part of it if my curiosity needed satisfied.

But is the discovery of a new lemon-striped mountain lizard in China not as interesting as the discovery of life on another planet, or are they both equally fascinating in different ways?

As Mr. Green says in this video, there is more unexplained phenomena going on in your own colon than in all the UFO pictures and video ever taken.

Perhaps, for you, every single unknown in the universe revealed has the exact same value as every other. But folks are allowed to have their particular interests and enthusiasms. Not that he needs to justify his, but he does so, as I noted, in the first minute of the video.

And, in terms of implications for humans, that mountain lizard is not really on par with intelligent life travelling across the sea of stars.