Hello! Welcome to the End of the World and/or Christmas 2012!
This week we don’t have a Soapbox, but we’re discussing all things apocalyptic-y and have some light-hearted festive fun around our potential last day on the planet, with regulars Janis Callister, Gavin Schofield and Rick Owen, and almost regular Geoff Whelan.
GMSS Skeptics in the Pub regular, Nick, tells us his best candidate for disaster, whilst at the Pub.
Janis asks if we should tell our kids the truth about Santa (that he farts and steals money out of Dot Cotton’s purse).
Rick dutifully explains what we really might have to worry about here on planet earth (glad someone is thinking ahead).
Gavin… well… it’s hard to describe some days. You’re probably better off just listening.
Oh and while I’ve got you, here’s a link to the wonderful Astronomycast Podcast. No Cheating, get right in at episode 1! http://www.astronomycast.com/
I think the Doomsday Argument has a neater solution than you covered: including life on other planets is a cheat, and including all life on earth is fine but gives you a time for the extinction of all such life. No, I think the solution is just to remember that all the Argument gives you is a first guess, but a reasonable estimate for how long we have left given no other information. In fact we have lots of other information and we’d be fools not to use it. That said, I there definitely will be a “last human”. The third law of thermodynamics will see to that.
Quite right! It’s just a best guess, that which you should put a bet on if you had to.