SETI hunting (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) started just 60 years ago. At that time, good old radio signals were the primary search method. Since then the SETI-toolbox has been drastically improved, as well as our understanding of the Universe as a whole. — Exoplanets, planets outside our solar system, are believed to outnumber the 300 billion stars in the Milky Way. Rocky planets are harder to study than gas giants, but there are an increasing number of tools and methods available. In the old days the scientists would have to rely on primarily…

And what would happen in the next hours, days and weeks? — The laws you would have to break First of all, the Sun cannot just disappear without breaking numerous physical laws. That’s the problem of invoking magic — the instant you do it, all bets are off. When you use your imagination to play with something that is not possible given the…

Have you ever noticed that people always flee West, not East? That is “West” as in the western society and not the point of the compass. The Balance Sheet is clearly in favor of the West according to Dr. Kevin Riehle, Associate Professor at the National Intelligence University. — Regardless of which breakaway state or protectorate we are talking about in the old Eastern block, the stream of defectors and refugees are moving West and not East. Even the remains of the scattered German Army in WW2 tried to flee west, towards the allied army, during the Battle of…

The most controversial and expensive FIFA World Cup ever came to a true fairytale ending last Sunday, followed live by football lovers from all continents. 700 000 fans and millions of migrant workers are now leaving Qatar to its own fate. — The FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar had it all: the clash of titans, an unforgettable ending, historical milestones, political and moral dilemmas, the public undressing of a very powerful and corrupt organization and a mindblowing $300 billion investment preparing and transforming the country for the world’s biggest sports event…

After 50 years without progress in manned space exploration, NASA has now managed to send four LEGO astronauts into orbit around the Moon. — The small space explorers will not travel alone since the $100 billion space programme has also made room for three mannequins and two tiny wool dolls — Snoopy and Shaun the Sheep. “This is an exciting time for Shaun and for us…

And how to cherry pick among 45000 biblical denominations — The Center for the Study of Global Christianity counts 45000 denominations around the world, with at least 2 new ones forming every day. Many of these interpretations of the Bible are considered as absolute truths. So how do you cherry pick the right one? Religion, in a pure fundamentalistic meaning…

Most scientists seem to agree on the fact that physics has made very little progress in the last 50 years. The only thing they don’t agree on is the reason for this. — Scientists and wisers seem confused over the current situation. There are more physicists today than ever before and there are enormous investments and efforts put into foundations of physics. The increase in the number of publications, as well as in the number of authors, is exponential.

Models provide us with regularity. Without regularity the history becomes nothing but a bunch of random events and the future becomes unpredictable. Because of models we know that the sun will rise tomorrow, not because it has always done so, but because of the rotation of the Earth. — But while these models are a useful tool to understand and describe the world around us it is important to keep in mind that models are not the same as reality. These models are not only simplified, they are also incomplete. They are merely fractions of man-made reproductions of reality.

Could ancient aliens have built an advanced civilization before our own? Will future civilizations ever find traces of humans? — If an advanced civilization had existed on Earth many millions of years prior to our own era, what traces would it have left behind and would they be detectable today? What would be the geological fingerprint of the Anthropocene, and would it differ compared to other known events in the…