What If....

Quote: Nareed

As I understand it, Charles de Gaulle is dead.

But Joan Osborne is not =)

If 'ifs' and 'ands' were pots and pans, we'd have no need for tinkers.

If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, then everyday would be Erntedankfest.

The nematode worm was completely neurally mapped. It's neural map was transplanted as software into a Lego Mindstorms EV3 robot.

With no further instructions, the neural map provided the robot with behaviors.

What is the question?

Quote: Nareed

What if the universe is not eternal but existence is?

We are all made of stars.

Quote: Face

If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, then everyday would be Erntedankfest.

This belongs in THE OFFICE (US) forum

What if we find life on Mars?

If we do, we're most likely to find "simple" life such as bacteria and perhaps other once-celled organisms.

If we find these, then what?

It depends. We may find they're nearly identical to similar life on Earth. If so, then they may show only adaptations not possible or not likely on Earth (say to UV light, near-vacuum and so on).

If it's different, then we may discover something completely amazing. Perhaps a different mechanism for inheritance altogether, perhaps the absence of something thus far deemed essential, perhaps something else.

Quote: Nareed

What if we find life on Mars?

If we do, we're most likely to find "simple" life such as bacteria and perhaps other once-celled organisms.

If we find these, then what?

We conquer them and plant a flag?

Newspapers not being what they once were, I can hardly look forward to the headline in capital letters befitting such a discovery. Guess it will be virtual mostly.

If we find something the nature of it will play a significant part in our future theorizing, of what to expect around the Universe.

Quote: rxwine

If we find something the nature of it will play a significant part in our future theorizing, of what to expect around the Universe.

One important principle in scientific studies is to examine different varieties of the same thing. For example, if you tried to develop biology based only on the heart cells of cows, you'd have a very hard time doing so. It would be far easier if you examined many cells from many types of organisms.

One problem with biology is that all life on Earth is related. Thus even though we can see differences between plant, fungal and animal cells, we still have studied only one very large sample of life. If we were to find some different type of life, not related to Earth's, we might be able to advance biology even further.

This is also the case for planets. Until recently we knew only nine planets (eight?), and we tried to posit theories of planetary formation based on that. When we began to finally discover planets elsewhere, we were immediately surprised by how unlike the Solar System planets these are. Gas giants in close orbits of their stars, for one.

Quote: Nareed

One important principle in scientific studies is to examine different varieties of the same thing. For example, if you tried to develop biology based only on the heart cells of cows, you'd have a very hard time doing so. It would be far easier if you examined many cells from many types of organisms.

One problem with biology is that all life on Earth is related. Thus even though we can see differences between plant, fungal and animal cells, we still have studied only one very large sample of life. If we were to find some different type of life, not related to Earth's, we might be able to advance biology even further.

This is also the case for planets. Until recently we knew only nine planets (eight?), and we tried to posit theories of planetary formation based on that. When we began to finally discover planets elsewhere, we were immediately surprised by how unlike the Solar System planets these are. Gas giants in close orbits of their stars, for one.

I guess I would say, whatever we find, it will be easier to start hypothesizing from that example than guess some opposite or different idea.