Activity for Sheraff
| Type | On... | Excerpt | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Question | — |
Is there a reason to believe that programming languages are going to converge? On Earth today, even though most people speak some English, there is seemingly no reason to believe that future generation's main language will be the same in decades/centuries to come (i.e., we'll keep having different native languages and learn a common language later on in life). Similarly, ther... (more) |
— | over 9 years ago |
| Question | — |
What more than sentience do you need from a species for its intelligence to be recognizable by humans? It's becoming obvious from how could humans recognize another species as sentient / intelligent that recognizing another species' intelligence is very complicated. There are no universal tests, no common definition of intelligence... Let's go with one assumption: wherever we go in space, we'll be lo... (more) |
— | over 9 years ago |
| Question | — |
How could climate be extremely localized? What could be the reasons for climate to be so localized that it could rain in one street and not in the next, be extremely hot in a city and not in the next, have extremely narrow gusts of wind... These changes are supposed to be random or at least somewhat unpredictable for lay people (the same wa... (more) |
— | over 9 years ago |
| Question | — |
How could humans recognize another species as sentient / intelligent? There is this fantasy in fiction that humans meet another species and figure out that it's intelligent. This usually happens with dragons, dolphins, aliens, collectively intelligent plancton... But sentience could theoretically be so different from what humans experience. Let's put aside the fact t... (more) |
— | about 10 years ago |
| Question | — |
How soon will the first underwater cities be built? Considering that the oceans are rising (and that humans don't seem too keen on doing anything about it) and that population is growing exponentially, is it plausible to imagine that in a not too distant future, cities will expand underwater? If yes, how soon and at what rate? This question is not m... (more) |
— | about 10 years ago |
| Question | — |
Could two planets be tidally locked to each other so close they share their atmosphere? Could two planets be tidally locked to each other at such a small distance from one another that they share their atmosphere, and material is floating around between the two? (more) |
— | about 10 years ago |
| Question | — |
Is there any likely reason why personal DNA tinkering machines would become widespread? Say we're in a world where it is possible to tinker with biology as easily as it is to tinker with programming nowadays. For feasibility, refer to How soon will tinkering with biology be as simple as programming is now? Now computers answer many needs such as work, play, information, communication..... (more) |
— | about 10 years ago |
| Question | — |
How soon will tinkering with biology be as simple as programming is now? Biotechnology is a big keyword in the industry right now, like computing was a bunch of years ago. Nowadays, anyone can pop up a terminal and start tinkering with their computer, program software, make anything from their imagination true in the virtual world. A similar trend is observable with objec... (more) |
— | about 10 years ago |
| Question | — |
How early was the Earth liveable for today's humans? Say you were to drop a (bunch of) human(s) at some past era of our Earth. I'm assuming they might encounter a few problems such as the composition of the air not being breathable, the water being too rich or too poor in some chemicals, some diseases being totally new to their immune system... Maybe t... (more) |
— | about 10 years ago |
| Question | — |
Could knowing the state of the universe at time T allow to predict the state T+1? Quantum physics today tells us that we may not predict outcomes with certainty. We perceive events as random. So is this old philosophical fantasy of an all knowing computer possible? Meaning that all particules at a time T would have a determined state. If it is, and assuming that there is going t... (more) |
— | about 10 years ago |
| Question | — |
If our universe was a simulation, what could a bug look like? Let's assume, without revoking any of today's science, that the world is a simulation. What would a bug look like? I'm assuming that "the eiffel tower suddenly being bent at 45°" is rather unlikely, the same way you don't see a bunch of clowns appearing in the middle of a game of need for speed. S... (more) |
— | about 10 years ago |
| Question | — |
Could inter-individual communication be based on DNA transfer? There is this idea that we find in a few books, mainly The Swarm by Frank Schätzing and in the Ender Saga by Orson Scott Card, that some species could communicate via DNA exchange. Technically, yes DNA is information and with the rise of computers, we're all well aware that binary is enough to enco... (more) |
— | about 10 years ago |
| Question | — |
Can an atmosphere englobe a planetary ring? Would it be possible for the atmosphere of a planet to reach beyond its planetary ring so that earth-like biology could develop on some of the asteroids there? This question is mainly about whether there could be a life sustaining atmosphere there, not if developing life there would be possible (eve... (more) |
— | about 10 years ago |
| Question | — |
How much technology for a ring-world to work? There is this setup that I've seen a few times of a ring-shaped world where people live on the inner side. My question is: what is the minimum advancement of technology for such a thing to happen? So first: can it exist by itself without any crafting of any sort? if no, how close? is a ring shaped... (more) |
— | about 10 years ago |
| Question | — |
Is there a scientific explanation as to why aliens should look similar to us? In almost all science-fiction stories that include alien races, said aliens are similar to humans in many ways: bipedal (and often humanoid), communicate with sounds coming out of a mouth, orient in space thanks to light, are fleshy (they look like carbon-based animals with an inner skeleton)... Why... (more) |
— | about 10 years ago |
| Question | — |
What would be the evolutionary advantage for plants to be bioluminescent? As fas as I know, there isn't a single plant on Earth that (naturally) produces any sort of luminescence. But it is seen in science-fiction worlds, especially Avatar. From an evolutionary point of view, what would be the benefits for a plant from being bioluminescent? (more) |
— | about 10 years ago |
| Question | — |
What factors could lead to a narrow focus of technology? In many SF stories (or fantasy if you replace science with magic), there is one technology that is hyper advanced in one specific field, like robotics in Real Humans or in Extant, but almost nothing else in the world has advanced beyond what we know today. However, robotics (like most advanced scien... (more) |
— | about 10 years ago |
| Question | — |
Are dragons cold or warm blooded? My world is science-based with an earth-like biology. The dragons fly when they're young and then grow too heavy and can only glide if at all. They breathe fire by expelling gas and igniting it. They are carnivores. See How could dragons be explained without magic? for more. Knowing that dragons loo... (more) |
— | about 10 years ago |
| Question | — |
Is there a scientifically sound faster-than-light travel system for a spaceship? Recurringly in Sci-Fi spaceships manage to make it to lightspeed and above. Is there a scientifically plausible explanation of such capacity? How does it impact the spaceship's design and its passengers lives? (more) |
— | over 10 years ago |
| Question | — |
What would a planet spinning fast enough to allow geostationary orbit near the surface look like? From an answer to a previous question of mine: A planet spinning fast enough to allow geostationary orbit near the surface would result in odd side effects. Any object at rest on the equator would be moving at speed near to orbital speed. It would have weight but much less than similar objects a... (more) |
— | over 10 years ago |
| Question | — |
How could dragons be explained without magic? Dragons are a grand classic of fantasy. For this question, let's assume we're talking about the following stereotype: hatches from an ostrich-sized egg and can grow to mountain size if nothing limits its growth (enough food and space) lizard-like appearance, bat like wings, able to fly breathe... (more) |
— | over 10 years ago |
| Question | — |
What would be the next technological step for a civilization after it has depleted all resources that allow for conventional technologies? Imagine a world that reaches the end of its resources in silicon, petrol, coal, metals... everything that allows for conventional technology "” even before it has found a way over it (renewable energy sources, space exploration for mining...). Let's ignore the possibilities for stagnation or proper ... (more) |
— | over 10 years ago |
| Question | — |
What could cause rock formations (small stones, boulders, islands...) to levitate? You see this in quite a bunch of movies / books (think avatar). What could be a reasoned physical explanation of such phenomenon? Would this explanation impact other things on a planet? Like most things in nature, I'm assuming it could come from a combination of many factors. Magnetic repel (sugges... (more) |
— | over 10 years ago |