New potentially habitable exoplanets found.

[terranus]

In just a year of peering out at a small slice of the galaxy, the Kepler telescope has discovered 1,235 possible planets outside our solar system. Amazingly, 54 of them are seemingly in the zone that could be hospitable to life â€" that is, not too hot or too cold, Kepler chief scientist William Borucki said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110203/ap_on_sc/us_sci_alien_planets

Pretty cool stuff...I've always been fascinated by the discovery of new exoplanets and the possibility of finding an alien world with life on it. Not sure if the government would ever allow such a discovery to be made public though. But if it ever was, the discovery of alien life would no doubt be the greatest discovery in my generation's lifetime.

[Tank]

I heard about this 6 planet system while I was driving to college. It's amazing to think what will be discovered while I'm still around and even more amazing to think what my kids will see. I wonder what little Lennon, 10 weeks old today, will see in his lifetime.

[joeactor]

... yeah, pretty cool stuff.  Can't believe how much has changed in my lifetime.

Tech comes and goes (anyone still using a modem???), but the new science discoveries continue to astound!

(need some pictures of our new alien pals)

[Ultima22689]

Indeed, gotta love science man.  Think about how much the world has changed from 1980 to 2010, imagine what will come from the next 30 years.  People don't think about it but the future is here now. All those wild advances that movies portray are being made right now or have already been made.

[KDbeads]

(anyone still using a modem???)

Uhmmmm... define modem?  Cause I just spent a half hour trying to reset my dsl modem/network box thingy so I could get back online

[Thumpalumpacus]

I cheered when I heard this news.

[karadan]

I heard about this 6 planet system while I was driving to college. It's amazing to think what will be discovered while I'm still around and even more amazing to think what my kids will see. I wonder what little Lennon, 10 weeks old today, will see in his lifetime.

Hopefully lots of exciting discoveries and the solutions to global problems.

[karadan]

Indeed, gotta love science man.  Think about how much the world has changed from 1980 to 2010, imagine what will come from the next 30 years.  People don't think about it but the future is here now. All those wild advances that movies portray are being made right now or have already been made.

Yep. I remember being blown away when a show called Tomorrow's World said: "One day we will be able to speak to someone on the other side of the world with a device which fits in your pocket!"

I also like how films tend to over-estimate advances. According to Back to the Future 2, we'll have flying cars and hover boards in four years!  

[ForTheLoveOfAll]

Visiting these planets for short stays would certainly be possible within the next hundred or so years, but inhabiting them, who knows how much longer.

Let's hope we don't destroy ourselves with nuclear war before then.

[karadan]

Visiting these planets for short stays would certainly be possible within the next hundred or so years, but inhabiting them, who knows how much longer.

Let's hope we don't destroy ourselves with nuclear war before then.

Unless some groundbreaking and inconceivable technology (no one predicted the internet) happens within the next few hundred years, we will not see humans travel to other planets. The distances are just too great.

Five hundred years would be a more reasonable figure i think.

[ForTheLoveOfAll]

Visiting these planets for short stays would certainly be possible within the next hundred or so years, but inhabiting them, who knows how much longer.

Let's hope we don't destroy ourselves with nuclear war before then.

Unless some groundbreaking and inconceivable technology (no one predicted the internet) happens within the next few hundred years, we will not see humans travel to other planets. The distances are just too great.

Five hundred years would be a more reasonable figure i think.

The thing about technology is that currently, unless we're looking ten years or so into the future, it's impossible to imagine what sort of technical leaps we will make in the next hundred or so years. I mean, really, who in the year 1900 would've been able to imagine what we have now? If, perchance, technology improves as rapidly this century as it did in the last (It probably wont, but it might.) who knows. But you're right. It'll take a long time either way, no doubt.

[Ultima22689]

http://www.kurzweilai.net/the-law-of-ac ... ng-returns

We will see far more advancement this century than in the 20th,  since 2000 we've already seen a stupid amount of advances.

[ForTheLoveOfAll]

http://www.kurzweilai.net/the-law-of-accelerating-returns

We will see far more advancement this century than in the 20th,  since 2000 we've already seen a stupid amount of advances.

Hell yes.  

[terranus]

http://www.kurzweilai.net/the-law-of-accelerating-returns

We will see far more advancement this century than in the 20th,  since 2000 we've already seen a stupid amount of advances.

Advances schmadvances.  :drool It's happening.

[Ultima22689]

http://www.kurzweilai.net/the-law-of-accelerating-returns

We will see far more advancement this century than in the 20th,  since 2000 we've already seen a stupid amount of advances.

Advances schmadvances.  :drool It's happening.

Maybe in the US, in other countries like China, India and many countries of the EU, education and IQ are steady and/or rising.