While silicon-based life forms are a popular science fiction trope, they are pretty unlikely in reality because silicon doesn't combine with other elements to form the vast range of molecules th… (View Post)

That may not be the optimal approach when it comes to improving productivity. (View Post)

I'm not sure I agree with you on the likelihood of intelligent life developing from simple life. Until very recently, intelligent life had failed to develop on Earth despite plenty of opportunit… (View Post)

That is reflected in a recent experience of mine. A friend of my family, a woman in her early twenties, recently flew to Central America for an organised holiday. Although not a political type and ge… (View Post)

I think I'm rather in the opposite camp, my suspicion being that the evolution of complex, intelligent life is wildly improbable, requiring a very particular series of circumstances in order to … (View Post)