Feo: Stellar cause of Ordovician Extinction?


Posted by Feo Amante on Jan 08, 2004 at 12:31
(206.72.67.158)

Re: Stellar cause of Ordovician Extinction? (Amaranth Rose)

I've been reading about the new theory and it now makes me lean more toward the idea that our little blue ball has had an overabundance of bad luck.

Arguing the point that the book RARE EARTH makes -

It is one thing to think that mass extinctions may have been caused by large impacts, during the natural early periods of a young solar system, and so, by example, all potential earths in other solar systems would go through the same thing in and thus we form an equation (a Drake modification) using the earth as a standard.

But if mass extinctions were caused by so many different variables, like this new theory, which is little more than "wrong place / wrong time", then in relation to other planets that didn't have to suffer so many mass extinctions, even one less, would tip a balance of intelligence and tech advancement against us, vis-a-viv; we may be late comers to the technologically advanced civilization table by several million years. More than enough time to make us intellectual plankton by comparison.

(broad strokes here folks)

I believe that intelligence is incidental, not a necessity of life. But by believing that I also must admit that intelligence may occur at any level and past mass extinctions may have had their own intelligences, possibly technological ones. I'm fascinated with the idea that life born on this planet may have thrived, advanced, and jumped ship when faced with their own extinction.

Pure speculation of course.

One thing I'm not sure of is the possibility of life without a DNA or RNA basis.

While there are other theoretical possibilities, we've only seen this combination throughout the many mass extinctions. With all of the environmental extremes that occur on this world and sustain an incredible variety of life, the basics remain constant.

PROTEIN RULES!

RNA & DNA ROCK!

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