During a hearing of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology Tuesday, Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher managed to baffle and amaze when he asked about life on Mars.
[...] "You have indicated that Mars had a, was totally different thousands of years ago," the California congressman said, addressing a panel of space science experts.
"Is it possible that there was a civilization on Mars thousands of years ago?".
[...] Kenneth Farley — NASA Mars 2020 rover project scientist — had to start off his answer by correcting Rohrabacher's question.
"So, the evidence is that Mars was different billions of years ago, not thousands of years ago," Farley said.
[...] "Would you rule that out? That — see, there are some people — well, anyway," Rohrabacher said.
Farley answered: "I would say that is extremely unlikely."
Source: Mashable
(Score: 3, Funny) by Whoever on Saturday July 22 2017, @04:48AM (7 children)
How could there have been a civilization on Mars be millions of years old, if the Earth is only 6000 years old?
Obviously, this congressman really meant thousands of years ago.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 22 2017, @07:10AM (6 children)
Orange County used to be reliably Republican.
It has gone through a shift toward the Blue in recent years.
Dana's congressional district[1], however, is -still- voting for this GOPer (who is obviously a nitwit).
During the Cold War, he was a real Cold Warrior.
Now, he can't be buddy-buddy enough with the Rooskies.
The dude is a complete joke, but he keeps getting elected.
[1] There was a pro-Trump rally where neo-Nazis showed up wearing their insignia and carrying weapons.
The skinheads started getting violent with counter-protesters and reporters.
I'll give you 1 guess who the Huntington Beach cops arrested.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Saturday July 22 2017, @09:10AM (5 children)
You have to recognize at least the honesty about his nitwitness.
Unlike so recently resigned political talking head, who was sure Hitler didn't use chemical weapons.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 22 2017, @12:19PM (4 children)
Are we now calling Zyklon B pellets, dropped by hand through a hole in the roof of a "shower" building, a "weapon".
...or did you have something else in mind?
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday July 22 2017, @12:45PM (2 children)
It also notes that many parties in the war had stock piles of chemical weapons, but didn't use them mostly due to the fear of retaliation in kind.
(Score: 2) by deadstick on Saturday July 22 2017, @01:28PM (1 child)
More, I suspect, because gas is a lousy weapon. Absent a static trench war like WW1, it's largely useless because you don't dare attack the area you just gassed. And the wind always threatens to change.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday July 22 2017, @01:44PM
Germany could have gotten a lot of mileage out of using mustard gas (or a mustard gas/nerve gas mix) in 1944 on the Eastern (Russian) Front (and later on the French. They were retreating everywhere on that front and hence, had relatively low risk of getting poisoned by their own weapons. Similarly, using chemical weapons in Italy and France would have been relatively low cost for them as they were retreating in those places as well. The problem would have been that it would have given the Allies a pretext to use chemical weapons on German cities, which is a thing that wasn't possible in the First World War. That would have greatly increased the mortality rate (of people Germany cared about) of the war.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Saturday July 22 2017, @03:03PM
Letting aside Odessa 1941 (linked by others)
And why not? Anything that is used against an adversary or victim can be defined as a weapon.
Doesn't even need to be deadly: see the "weapon of sarcasm"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 22 2017, @05:02AM (8 children)
A Martian civilization could have existed underground. The planet hasn't been probed thoroughly enough to rule out the possibility yet.
(Score: 2) by Lagg on Saturday July 22 2017, @05:33AM
Oh please. You know it's because they're bible thumping fuckweasels looking to rationalize a batshit insane conspiracy theory. [wikipedia.org]
http://lagg.me [lagg.me] 🗿
(Score: 2) by Weasley on Saturday July 22 2017, @06:35AM (2 children)
You're jumping the gun a bit. There's no reason to look for a civilization if there's no evidence of life.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 22 2017, @08:08AM
The life is underground. Keep digging.
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Saturday July 22 2017, @01:45PM
Well, not much of one, but there's a non-negligible chance Mars used to be hospitable enough to have evolved intelligent life - and if it did then then there's a fair chance that there's at least the remains of an underground civilization still there. At least if they developed any sort of technological civilization to begin with.
After all, any civilization would probably strive not to die with their planet, and planetwide emigration probably isn't feasible without *extremely* advanced technology. Gradually moving underground into increasingly self-contained environments as the atmosphere thins though? That's easy.
Would I bet on it? No. But I would absolutely go looking for it - especially if the romance of the idea helped secure funding to go looking for more pedestrian subterranean life of any sort. After all, if there was *ever* life on Mars then there's probably still lots of microbial life to be found if you go deep enough - deep-rock lithovores aren't going to much care what happens on the surface, and they'll be carrying the genetic-equivalent history of a branch of life very alien to our own.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday July 22 2017, @12:36PM (2 children)
Even so, why isn't there a sign of it on the surface of Mars? Erosion on Mars is quite a bit less than it is on Earth (almost no surface water and atmospheric pressure two to three orders of magnitude lower than Earth). Something like the Great Pyramids of Giza or the Great Wall of China would last a billion years on Mars. I didn't pick those examples because that's the technology level I'm expecting, but rather as an analogy to Earth projects of large size which have been around for a while.
Any structure on the surface which is say, 10 meters or greater in diameter would already be imaged by our current satellites orbiting Mars. Radar probing of the subsurface would pick up any openings to the surface and near surface structures (particularly hard stuff like metal buried in meters of sand). Between the two, we've found lots of evidence for natural lava tubes [wikipedia.org] and nothing for artificial structures.
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Saturday July 22 2017, @02:10PM (1 child)
Do you have actual calculations to back that up, or are you just speculating? Because I would imagine a billion years of erosion, tectonic activity, and meteoric bombardment would pretty much obliterate any surface artifacts - at least to the point where they'd no longer be recognizable as artifacts from orbital photography where each pixel is a couple feet across. Especially when you consider that the surface would likely have been abandoned thousands, possibly millions, of years long before surface water and microbial life disappeared.
And despite that, there actually *is* some evidence for potential artifacts on Mars - I remember when Google Maps first put up maps of Mars there was a big "anomaly identification" movement that found a lot of interesting things worthy of at least a little further investigation. A couple I remember offhand were things looking like long, extremely regular "drier vent hoses" half buried in sand winding across the surface (maybe some sort of geological formation? But what would cause that?) And, I think nearby, some fairly large geodesic-dome type structures that I can't think of any geologic source for. Crystals are about the only thing that naturally form facets like that, and even they very rarely form symmetric shapes, much less dozens of yards across. Pressure domes and tunnels on the other hand...
(Score: 2, Informative) by khallow on Saturday July 22 2017, @03:08PM
Most of the Moon's craters are more than a billion years old. For example, here's a guessimate map [wikipedia.org] for areas on the Moon that are a billion years or less old. So if Mars gets whacked as much as the Moon does, then most of its surface will be unmarred by asteroid impacts even a billion years later.
As to Mars geology, most of it is also thought to be over a billion years old. For example, from Wikipedia [wikipedia.org]:
So notice right there that volcanic activity has been nearly stationary for 3.7 billion years.
And as to wind erosion, the atmosphere is two to three orders of magnitude less dense than Earth's. As I recall, in some old Viking 1 photos (such as of "Big Joe" [nasa.gov], a nearby boulder), there are some signs of weathering, but not the extensive weathering that one would expect from wind activity. A study of this area has concluded [harvard.edu] that there hasn't been significant weathering of this area in roughly a billion years (I can't quote the text in question, which sites an older study, because it is an image).
So all of the potential, geologically significant processes known haven't affected Mars in at least a billion years.
(Score: 4, Funny) by richtopia on Saturday July 22 2017, @04:08PM
NASA: "Umm, yea, totally. They are still there, just underground. We need you to increase our funding so we can make contact with these aliens"
(Score: 3, Flamebait) by idiot_king on Saturday July 22 2017, @05:50AM (15 children)
RARE: Remove All Repugnicans Everywhere.
This is insane. Repubs are OBSOLETE. They are ignorant, they are racist, sexist, anti-science, Islamophobic, homophobic, and worst, they are EVERYWHERE. We need to just get rid of them. Throw them in the trash. This is insane! It's like I'm living in a world where Galileo or Darwin might as well have not existed! Fuck science! Fuck everything that isn't Christianity or Capitalism! Yeehaw! Got my guns and "free speech" aka The Bible, so let's deport Mexicans and try to Christianize the Martian civilization! Whaddya say boys?!
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 22 2017, @05:57AM
Why oh why won't the old people just fucking die?
Why oh why won't the white people just fucking die?
Why oh why won't the poor people just fucking die?
The future belongs to young billionaire brown people!!!
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 22 2017, @06:05AM (5 children)
The worst part is that while Democrats call for gun control, Republicans [pewresearch.org] continue to accumulate dozens of guns per person. In general, gun ownership among Republicans is more than double that of Democrats. So your hate fantasy can never be fulfilled because all of the Democrats would be slaughtered instantly.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 22 2017, @07:49AM (4 children)
Republicans cannot shoot straight. Surely you have seen this with the "repeal and replace" of Obamacare? Two targets, zero score. And then there is the Republican in Florida, shooting up the AT&T trucks. Missed almost every time! I would lay odds that when the Repubs finally go apeshit and start waving their "manhood" about in public, that they will be brought down almost instantly by those liberals with fewer guns, but better fire discipline and accuracy. Try going all "second amendment solutions" with almost every bone in your shooting hand shattered, you cowardly traitor! Did you every wonder why the Confederates lost? Couldn't shoot straight. No health care. Not too bright. This is why we cannot have white supremacy, and the South WILL LOSE again. Word, bros!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 22 2017, @08:04AM (1 child)
Why shoot straight when you can hold a gun in each hand?
Or 1 gun and 1 bourbon.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 22 2017, @08:38AM
Or 2 guns and a bourbon with a beer back? Just trying to help you out with your Confederate "Rebel Courage".
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 22 2017, @09:15AM (1 child)
Well, they can shoot right. And when facing any left leaning person, you'll see this left leaning brings him exactly in your right.
The only safe way a left leaning person can approach a republican is by walking backwards.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 22 2017, @09:26AM
That ain't right! And why is there two of 'em?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTGmTrQXrwg [youtube.com]
"I just fucking shot myself!" The Musical!
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Lagg on Saturday July 22 2017, @06:12AM (5 children)
I was going to tell you that even though I am fully sympathetic to your frustration, this is the same kind of statement they make. It really sucks having to be the party in the conversation that realizes this. I know. But the same cognitive dissonance you're talking about just makes them put up more stupid shit in response because once you invest belief in something it's hard to admit you're wrong. I say this from personal experience with christianity. It takes a hell of a lot of willful ignorance to put that and reality together. I can't imagine it's easier now that we have telescopes high resolution enough to see the sphincters of distant planets.
Point is, those people are better than you at handling cognitive dissonance. They can rationalize their beliefs - however stupid or archaic - better than you. That's what happens when you are "free" of a critical mindset.
Also, they're doing a really great job of getting rid of themselves for the foreseeable future by apparently not giving a shit about their own country. We'll have to see what the state of the US looks like as this investigation and next year comes closer to decide if that would matter or not. But best case they'll go back to just being meddling saboteurs. Then we shall have to deal with whatever moderately-less-obvious insanity comes out of that other group of flag carrying retards.
http://lagg.me [lagg.me] 🗿
(Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday July 22 2017, @12:25PM (4 children)
idiot_king is probably not being sincere here (the name gives it away IMHO). But if he is, he's definitely way over the weight limit for cognitive dissonance.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Lagg on Saturday July 22 2017, @12:56PM (3 children)
Apathy is the solution to things you don't want to think about. Which is fair. But there are some things where personal responsibility must triumph.
It also weaves a mindset that you're probably too much of a good person for. Which is the assumption that the person behind the computer is at an equilibrium with what they post. When in reality people self-censor pretty heavily. But think about what's prompted you internally to actually go and post something on teh internets that can't be reversed out of sheer emotion. Imagine the despair or anger that the real life person has to be feeling behind the post.
So look at twitter for example and notice the real people in those floods of bots saying stuff much like idiot_king did. Then multiply it by millions, keeping in mind the above. And that this is the only medium of expression for people. We're doing people and ourselves a continuous disservice in not understanding the role of internets in modern society and just how in the hell we're supposed to deal with it until emotions and body language have lower stack protocols. Maybe idiot_king actually does have a posting philosophy based on a one-time name entry but i'm not going to be the stupid one for trying to understand that's for sure.
This might sound hysterical to you, which is fair too. But scientifically, apathy is not what we should be doing to deal with what is clearly an emerging issue. One that is going to become a very visible one soon whether we like it or not.
and to be clear, I don't like it. I've been experiencing what can only be called the worst bad-vibe poisoning that I've ever seen. It's sent me spiraling twice when I attempt to meditate. And this kind of introspection is not fun despite its learning value. I know this sounds stupid too. But look at it for what it is and note that I recall the last 12-16 years just fine, and one of the few things I can credit myself for is empathy. Even if I wield it like a retarded monkey. This hasn't happened to me before and my ego generally doesn't allow me to admit I'm over-empathetic. So I hope at the very least this can be taken as a note for later research by a real behavioral scientist?
Speaking of, I recently had a guy who doesn't generally have the mindset to waste time on shit like "vibes" (handyman, straightforward, doesn't grok social studies terms) talk to me about how this town is getting sicker. To me it always has been, but... Ah fuck it I don't have the eloquence available right now. But sufficed to say if you see that shit on the internet and it trickles down to real life in this fashion. Something notable is happening.
http://lagg.me [lagg.me] 🗿
(Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday July 22 2017, @01:36PM (2 children)
What emerging issue? I see nothing here that hasn't been kicking around for thousands of years aside from the pace of technological innovation and even that has slowed down (IMHO) in recent years (too many people more interested in getting funding than in doing science/engineering) though maybe the developing world will heat it up once again.
Sounds like you might need some more separation either short or long term from the things giving you bad vibes. The world will always be imperfect as will the people in it. We simply don't have to care about things we can't do anything about. And one way to avoid that is to isolate for a time from these things.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Lagg on Saturday July 22 2017, @02:10PM (1 child)
Well you kind of said the emerging issue in your march of tech comment. Computers are not old by any definition let alone the internet. Don't take it lightly, seriously. When's that ever went well in the history of disruptive tech?
and yes you're 200% correct in telling me I need to break off. But the absurd thing is I've been trying. There's even a void in my posting history here to vouch for the extent of disconnecting I did which was damn near emergency-only-contact mode. Everything from mail down to soylent-like sites I tab to throughout the day. I don't consume this stuff obsessively. To give you an idea I deleted my twitter account in pretty much genuine disgust. I don't really know how else to describe the overall feeling besides that disconnecting doesn't get rid of it, even if i didn't have to hear depressing stuff in real life. But please believe me when I say it's not for lack of effort.
This is why I insist it's a mistake to pass off this stuff as just another round of politics. Maybe my highly selective exposure to videos of any kind (mostly due to cringe, partly cause transcripts are easier) and general restriction to finding links to hop from for further research due to no cable TV may have affected this in some way? Like there's no mystery with my view of this administration. I see Trump's words like a guy who hasn't seen any of the campaign ads and crap would. Because that's mostly the case unless it's a video I need to see and there is no text. We also have the first president who has 1 degree of separation between me and him sitting on the toilet at 0400 with his iphone. When's that happened before? When has there even been a president that did the equivalent of printing thousands of copies of his bathroom musings and throwing them out the window every morning?
Oh and so as to not appear to be a raging dingleberry: Lack of TV is not humblebrag or superiority. It simply reduced my bill by 45% or so and I can live without it. Pure monetary reasons.
In any case, still have to say there's something going on. People acknowledged what was going on when TV happened alongside the Nixon/Kennedy debate. We'll acknowledge this when we know what it is. Or fall behind.
http://lagg.me [lagg.me] 🗿
(Score: 3, Touché) by Azuma Hazuki on Sunday July 23 2017, @06:39AM
You're another one who can sense the loose ends of the timeline flapping in the breeze, then...I have a tendency to get pretty worked up too, and your "bad vibe poisoning" is a prime example of why.
There's a difference, though, between apathy and realizing that you cannot fight the tide of history. We're locked into this spiral for another cycle; another generation has been lost. Go to ground and just try to survive, doing small good deeds for those you come across as you can. We've long since, as a nation, hit critical mass of evil, and there is nothing we can do about it. They won (for now).
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2, Informative) by eravnrekaree on Saturday July 22 2017, @07:11PM (1 child)
This is an utterly absurd comment. Your using a bunch of false stereotypes to push your own socialist, atheist agenda. That, is all christians, want to kill gays, think the earth was created 6000 years ago, and all Republicans too. Ironically, much of this is true about mainline Islam. Its amazing how you can profess your love for Islam while at the same time you bash Christians with false accusations which are however true about Islam. We republicans respect gays, believe in equal economic opportunity, and do support science. Many christians as well do not believe in young earth creationism, and do not consider the bible to be a book of science, mainly a book of allegory and moral commentary. For us, we believe in conservative principles which is an ideology of decentralization based on moral principles and self discipline rather than by tyrannical rule., Rather than government, family is the center of our lives. We would rather live moral lives rather than become a bunch of immoral savages living under your socialist tyranny.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Sunday July 23 2017, @06:42AM
Then for the sake of your contingent, go to your bretheren on the alt-right, the Confederate/Gadsden flag-wavers, the actual honest to God Klansmen, the Dominionists, the violent homophobes, and rein them in.
The GOP constituency has a terrorism and extremism problem. You know how a lot of people ask where the hell all the moderate Muslims are every time there's a terror attack? Ideologically the right wing in this country isn't too far off of Islam, and for many of the same reasons. You are analogous to the "moderate Muslim" people are wondering about. So...where are you? Why don't you clean house? Why do you notice the mote in your brother's eye but not the beam in your own?
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 22 2017, @07:23AM (1 child)
McCain may not be the only Republican who needs attention upstairs.
(Score: 2) by isostatic on Saturday July 22 2017, @10:26AM
Would it not be easier to list those that don't have issues?
(Score: 1) by Virindi on Saturday July 22 2017, @09:47AM (7 children)
If there had been intelligent civilization on Mars a billion years ago, which died out, what evidence would we really see? Seems quite reasonable to think that if that had been the case we might see no evidence at all.
Regardless of where the Congressman was coming from asking it, it seems like a reasonable question to me (though one that clearly couldn't be answered to anyone's satisfaction).
But who am I to get in the way of political ranting on the Internet?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 22 2017, @12:12PM (5 children)
I'm thinking that intelligent life would have figured out metallurgy.
Structural engineering too.
Maybe have combined the 2 to make some stuff that would still visible maybe even impressive. [google.com]
They might also have made vaults to stash their cool stuff. [wikipedia.org]
(I saw that story in the 1980s on the retread of The Twilight Zone.)
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1) by Virindi on Saturday July 22 2017, @06:06PM (4 children)
After a billion years? It would all be dust (anything that can corrode) or buried (stone, concrete and brick). Structures wouldn't last 1/10000th of that time without maintenance.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 22 2017, @08:55PM (2 children)
Where are you gonna get the water/air for that?
Mars doesn't have either in any significant volume; there's no evidence that it ever did.
...and what water it does have is sequestered at the poles in solid form.
...and Spirit|Opportunity didn't sink into sand when they were roving.
You are concocting scenarios that aren't the case on Mars.
...and lifeforms on Mars would need to be significantly different than where liquid water and oxygen-rich atmosphere are common.
Quit thinking that every place is|needs to be just like Earth.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 23 2017, @08:57AM (1 child)
Huh? This was based on the hypothesis that a long time ago Mars was more Earth-like. That cannot currently be ruled out as far as I know.
Besides, in a billion years there will be a lot of asteroid impacts alone, throwing material into the atmosphere and covering up the surface. Let alone small amounts of wind-spread erosion material building up over time. And even a small amount of atmosphere blowing around dust grains would erode buildings after awhile. I do not think you appreciate the timescale.
You seem to be responding to me as though this is some kind of crazy conspiracy theory or religious thing. I am just saying it is possible.
(Score: 2) by isostatic on Sunday July 23 2017, @09:38AM
A lot of people fail to grasp just how long 1 billion years is. Dinosaurs were around 1/10th of that time ago.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 25 2017, @05:29PM
Structures on Earth have lasted thousands of years, which is the time-frame posited in the question. Mars is drier than the Earth and has a much thinner atmosphere, hence weathering ought to be less there. Can a member of the Committee on Science, Space and Technology be expected to know such things prior to questioning NASA's scientists on the topic? It's as though he didn't ask his staff for even a 5-minute briefing.
(Score: 2) by sjames on Sunday July 23 2017, @03:40PM
Except the Senator asked about a THOUSAND years ago. We would see plenty of evidence.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 22 2017, @09:58AM (1 child)
That's a pity. Should've asked the senator to fund a new Mars mission.
(Score: 3, Touché) by isostatic on Saturday July 22 2017, @10:23AM
Mention the fact that ancient life could mean oil.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Unixnut on Saturday July 22 2017, @10:26AM (1 child)
Wrong answer! The right answer would be "Maybe there was, but we need to find proof. Please fund an exploratory mission to Mars so we can find the evidence".
We will never get decent space funding if we keep missing out on such opportunities with politicians.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Saturday July 22 2017, @10:45PM
"Mr. Farley, if I'm not mistaken, you've just told me to get my ass to Mars."
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 22 2017, @11:59AM
It is then reported that Congressman Rohrabacher sprang to his feet and cried "BARSOOM!" while dashing from the room.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by looorg on Saturday July 22 2017, @12:23PM (1 child)
I would assume Rohrabacher read "Death on Mars: The Discovery of a Planetary Nuclear Massacre" by Brandenburg, possibly he was on TV again lately if it wasn't actual reading. But he is the proponent of a nuclear war on Mars. Guess NASA isn't up to date on their conspiracy literature.
https://www.amazon.com/Death-Mars-Discovery-Planetary-Massacre/dp/193914938X [amazon.com]
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2843871/Ancient-Martian-civilisation-wiped-nuclear-bomb-wielding-aliens-attack-Earth-claims-physicist.html [dailymail.co.uk]
(Score: 2) by looorg on Saturday July 22 2017, @01:17PM
OK I had a look, this theory was on the History Channel just a couple of weeks ago on the feelgood program Ancient Aliens (season 12 episode 10).
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 22 2017, @03:13PM (1 child)
The partisanship here is painfully myopic. There is no evidence to directly suggest Mars had any civilization at any time, but discussing whether this is theoretically possible is hardly worthy of mockery - even if the proposed timeline was indicative of a lack of education. I think the desire to definitively answer this question is one thing that could actually spur on government funding of Mars projects - something that is desperately needed.
Titillating peoples', and congress' even more so, curiosity is a very good idea. Columbus spoke of great treasures in the new world. He thought he was lying (even though it turns out he accidentally told the truth), but without that lie truth it's highly unlikely that he would been able to secure funding for a return trip having spent years seeking funding for the inaugural voyage to the New World. Who knows what would have happened in that time line where he told the truth? How many decades, if not centuries, would it have taken before we did discover what was there waiting to be found? His 'lie' helped accelerate the future by one can only imagine how many years.
In this case humoring and even appealing to this congressman's curiosity would be completely honest. The congressman's date may have been ignorant, but it was the NASA scientist who acted like the idiot here. I mean seriously, a congressmen shows some inquisitiveness towards Mars and is shut down in the most direct means possible with a curt correction thrown in on top of it - and people wonder why congress couldn't care less about funding space, let alone Mars.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 22 2017, @05:42PM
yeah, and how does this know-it-all wise ass know what the fuck happened on mars *billions* of years ago. what is this pissy little nerd basing the "level of extremeness" on? his answer should have been more along the lines of, "we know so little at this point, almost anything's possible".
(Score: 2) by eravnrekaree on Saturday July 22 2017, @07:31PM (1 child)
Many here jumped to a conclusion that this is an instance of Young Earth Creationism, or a religious or political bent on it. It sounded to be more like someone confused about it, and its not unlike something you might here coming out of some Democrat as well like Pelosi who border on senility.
There have been however, some people, like Richard C Hoagland, quite far outside of any religious context, have made suggestions of past civilizations on mars, often around the face on mars controversy, and believe that the government is covering it all up. Many of these theories often revolve around it being an ET base from some other civilization based in another solar system. Hoagland was entertaining the possibility of his monuments being millions of years old.
Intelligent life is something quite different from something more simple, which is likely to be found there as some sort of fossil perhaps, maybe even some simple bacteria living there to this day. It doesnt sound to me like its possible that mars could have had its own home ground mammals or reptiles, not enough time for the prerequisites to come about like an oxygen atmosphere.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 25 2017, @05:21PM
> It sounded to be more like someone confused about it
It certainly does. Unlike Ms. Pelosi or Mr. Hoagland, Mr. Rohrabacher is a member of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. One might rightly expect him to be less confused.