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<blockquote data-quote="Brother MacLaren" data-source="post: 1423697" data-attributes="member: 15999">I'm just saying that there's a chance that some things will never be possible.&nbsp; There is quite a lot we will accomplish in the future, but it is also true that science is not magic.&nbsp; It is limited by fundamental laws of the universe, some of which I think we have gotten right.&nbsp; And if the fundamental laws of the universe do result in it being impossible to travel faster than the speed of light, or travel back in time, then no amount of engineering will change that.&nbsp; Magic, however, can break all the rules.&nbsp;&nbsp; Teleport I'm unsure about.&nbsp; I know that quantum mechanics *does not* transfer directly to the macroscopic level - that was Schroedinger's point with the cat.&nbsp; When we've been able to accomplish what was previously thought impossible (Goddard and his rockets), it was because the previous makers of conventional wisdom were wrong (the NY Times editorial board, in that case).&nbsp; I don't think it's true that all of our current theorists are as badly wrong as their predecessors.&nbsp; I think some of them have gotten some of the laws right, so we can't count on accomplishing the impossible quite as much in the future.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Brother MacLaren, post: 1423697, member: 15999"] I'm just saying that there's a chance that some things will never be possible. There is quite a lot we will accomplish in the future, but it is also true that science is not magic. It is limited by fundamental laws of the universe, some of which I think we have gotten right. And [I]if [/I] the fundamental laws of the universe [I]do [/I] result in it being impossible to travel faster than the speed of light, or travel back in time, then no amount of engineering will change that. Magic, however, can break all the rules. Teleport I'm unsure about. I know that quantum mechanics *does not* transfer directly to the macroscopic level - that was Schroedinger's point with the cat. When we've been able to accomplish what was previously thought impossible (Goddard and his rockets), it was because the previous makers of conventional wisdom were wrong (the NY Times editorial board, in that case). I [I]don't [/I] think it's true that all of our current theorists are as badly wrong as their predecessors. I think some of them [I]have[/I] gotten some of the laws right, so we can't count on accomplishing the impossible quite as much in the future. [/QUOTE]

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