Tag: Science

CONFIRMED: There Is Life in Outer Space!

Posted onAuthorShi ZhiXingLeave a comment

The Milky Way 360° panorama at Death Valley

It is confirmed!  There is life in outer space.  In the far reaches of the Milky Way Galaxy, there lies approximately 200 billion to 400 billion stars.  This is considered a fraction compared to our own Andromeda Galaxy, which houses more than one trillion stars.

 

Amongst this 200~400 billion of stars in the Milky Way Galaxy, there lies a solar system emitting regular pulsating radio waves.  Our probes have identified some of the stronger pulses due to radioactive emission from nuclear detonation that occurred in the past.

 

While contact with the lifeforms found in this solar system is still not established, one particular planet orbiting this system appear to be inhabited by numerous species of intelligent and semi-developed life-forms.  This third planet, currently named by its GUID (Galaxy Unique Identifier) MWG.Sol.3, formed approximately 4.54 billion years ago in the current cycle of the galaxy.  Lifeforms first appeared within a billion years of its formation and is expected to continue for another 5 billion years or so, before its eventual destruction due to the growth of its sun into a red giant.  When the sun runs out of hydrogen, it would turn onto helium to fuel its fussion furnace, swelling up many hundred times, engulfing most of the inner planets, including MWG.Sol.3 in its path.

 

The Confederation of Solar Systems are convening a summit to decide whether to establish First-Contact in accordance to Interstella-Contact ACT Protcol 2554.  The consideration would include whether such contact would bring about mutual benefit and whether there is anything worthwhile to learn from these Sentient beings from the Milky Way Galaxy.  A possible outcome is a short feasibility study of the native lifeforms for 400 centuries to determine suitability.  Thereafter, the findings may assist in arriving at a suitable recommendation on First-Contact.

 

Meanwhile, according to the latest report from the summit … …

 

The above is a possible report from some sentient lifeforms in a neighbouring (2.5 million light-years away!) galaxy about our galaxy, the Milky Waay.  While we search for lifeforms in outer space, it may be worthwhile to consider that we are in outer space, orbiting the sun at 29.78 km/s with an incidental speed of 552 km/s due to the relative speed of the Milky Way as a whole.  That being the case, if we find “ourselves”, what can we learn from ourselves?  What wisdom can we glean from this alien species on MWG.Sol.3, or Earth, the third planet of the solar system in the Milky Way Galaxy?

If we are the alien species that others find, what wisdom do we want to be known for?  For that matter, do we really have to go searching for some lifeforms out there, when we are also an “alien lifeforms” hurling through space, waiting to be discovered.  While we’ve spent trillions trying to conquer space and perhaps find lifeforms in outer space, have we conquered our inner space, our minds so that we are worthy alien lifeforms for others to find, to contact and to learn from?

So, dear alien reader, what wisdom do you have to share?

 

References:

Hint: Satire

Mars Will Be Nearest to Earth Soon … Or Not!

Posted onAuthorShi ZhiXingLeave a comment

An email has been floating around, urging the reader to not miss an event on the 27th August 2009.  It is indeed a rare occurrence to have Mars so near to Earth!
Though, apparently, it was closest in 2003, and not this year.

See the following links:

1. http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/09jun_marshoax.htm
2. http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/errata/ss/mars_in_august.htm
3. http://www.otastro.org/Mars2005/

According to NASA, such an occurrence happens in a 60,000 cycle, so if you miss it six years ago … you got to be around 59,994 years later. Maybe we will see it when we come around as human beings a few more times. Maybe.

The fact that Mars will pass around its orbit is quite certain (unless so catastrophic astronomical event happen); that it’s orbit and Earth’s orbit will be closest once more in some distant future is also rather certain, based on present conditions. Whether we will regain human rebirth a few more times is not certain. Unless we live humanely, observing the precepts, sowing the conditions for human rebirth. Then that is certain.

While it is another 60,000 years or so before Mars will come around, it will be many hundreds, thousands of years, aeons, before the next Buddha will arise and teach the Buddha-Dharma. However now, this present crossing of path, not of Mars and Earth, but that of the Buddha-Dharma and our human life has occurred! This is the rarest and most precious event that we have met, and should all the more, not miss it!

Friends, brothers and sister in the Dharma, let us not “sleep” through this “event”, of the meeting of the Buddha-Dharma and our precious human life. Let us arise and awake to the Truth expounded by the Buddha!

May all of us be guided and protected by the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.

Reference:
Samyutta Nikaya 56.48 Chiggala Sutta: The Hole
PTS: S v 456 CDB ii 1872
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn56/sn56.048.than.html

PS: When you receive some emails you really feel compelled to forward, read again, google it and confirm its authenticity before forwarding them.

Some Thoughts about Evolution and Cancer

Posted onAuthorShi ZhiXing2 Comments

PS: This is a long article and in retrospect, may have more implications to Buddhism than I have explored.  I have decided to leave it as it is and perhaps explore these connections in other articles.

You know, evolution, the Theory of Evolution that is getting a lot of press time in US? Yeah, the one Darwin proposed as the manner human and the various types of animals came to exist the way they exist? That they evolve from earlier simpler forms and are evolving into more complex forms.

I’m not a scientist or a biologist. I never studied biology or anthropology and I’m not even good in Chemistry. I’m just a monk with no training in these fields. But I have an interest in science since young and of late, due to the sheer volume of online articles about the Theory of Evolution (TE), I cannot help but read a few and learn something more.

TE states that as species evolve different traits, the ones with traits that are more suitable for survival tend to be passed on to later generations through the genes, because their hosts survive. On the other hand, species with incompatible or loosing traits die out and these traits die out with the genes. In short, survival of the fittest, with the best evolutionary traits. See Evolution in wikipedia for more info.

Recently, I was thinking about how this may explain why human beings seem to be getting weaker and have more and more illnesses.
Read More …

They Discovered the Fat Controller in the Body or 祸从口出，病从口入

Posted onAuthorShi ZhiXingLeave a comment

Oh good, now they discovered the fat controller in the body.  So it is not your fault that you are 200lbs over weight, it is because the fat controller is faulty.  And by the way, here’s a medication while we are at it.  Now you can continue to gorge yourself with food while having a slim profile.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1162179/Discovered-The-fat-controller-body-key-staying-slim.html

Fat Guy in Chair

Fat Guy in Chair

祸从口出，病从口入

There is a Chinese saying “祸从口出，病从口入”.  It means, “trouble comes from out of the mouth (speech), sickness comes in through the mouth”.  Simple and succinct.

Where I grew up, the fat controller is you.  You decide how much you eat, what you eat, when you eat.  I’m pretty sure some of the starving africans have faulty fat controllers … … strange thing we don’t see obese africans who happen to be starving huh?
Read More …

The Mathematics of Happiness

Posted onAuthorShi ZhiXing7 Comments

When I first learnt about Probability Theory in secondary school, I went nuts! I fell in love with it, as it seemed almost magical that we could somehow synthesize or calculate the probability of something happening! I feel like I’m a psychic! Boy, was it fun finding out that the chance of a ‘1’ occurring from an unbiased dice was 1/6 or 0.1666666… 6667… or that the chance of even numbers occurring was 1/6 + 1/6 + 1/6 or 3/6 or 1/2. Ok, it is intuitive to arrive at 0.5 or half, but the maths behind it is the marvel.

The other thing that was fun about probability was that there were the card games. It seem like many math teachers are very into card games as many questions revolves around the probability “of drawing the next Ace from the deck, given a certain hand that was already played”. I half guess that this obsession with cards might have stem from the poor financial status of teachers in general. Literature and linguistic teachers will poke fun at the social rich strata while the mathematicians will dream about striking it rich by winning at this weekend’s poker game or blackjack! Of course, there are the boring apple and oranges in a bag questions and red and blue marbles questions, but those are for kids and no one got rich guessing apples and oranges or marbles!

Read More …

We Are Being Replaced … as We Speak!

Posted onAuthorShi ZhiXingLeave a comment

I mentioned in one of the talks that our physical bodies are replaced totally over a period of time. I got curious and went looking for a reference.

Here’s one:
http://www.contouring.com/chapter1.html

The physical body that each of us possess (or possesses us) is made up of roughly 50 trillion cells. About 30 billion of these are nerve cells. Every day millions of cells throughout our bodies are being replaced. This takes place through the normal process of attrition and
replacement. Indeed 98% of our body is replaced within one year. The remaining cells are replaced the following year. In fact, 10% of all cells in your body are replaced every 3 weeks, 25% of the cells are replaced every 5-6 weeks. The cells that make up our skin is totally new every thirty days. The cells that make up the soft muscle tissue of our internal organs is replaced in two to three months. The liver is replaced within six weeks, while the stomach lining takes as little as four days. Some cells, such as those closely involved in the process of digestion, are replaced as rapidly as every five minutes!
Read More …