Questions Only VII: Answer In Your Pants

[RJDiogenes]

Starting a way overdue new thread. Thank you, Maddie.

Carrying over the last question:

who is harris?

Kamala Harris, the current vice president.

Who do you think Harris would choose as her VP if she runs?

[scottydog]

Do you think Harris will make it to the presidency, one way or the other?

Doubtful. I fear our country is too sexist and too racist to elect a Black woman. I'd love to be proven wrong.

Who do you think Harris would choose as her VP if she runs?

Well, if she's as smart as Obama was in 2008, she'll choose an old politically moderate white guy as her VP.

Are there any out there?

[RJDiogenes]

Doubtful. I fear our country is too sexist and too racist to elect a Black woman. I'd love to be proven wrong.

Why? She's already been elected.

Well, if she's as smart as Obama was in 2008, she'll choose an old politically moderate white guy as her VP.

Are there any out there?

If you believe the Complaint Department, most of the potential candidates are.

If people voted for The Donald because they thought he was a successful businessman, do you think they would vote for a Space Billionaire?

[scottydog]

Why? She's already been elected.

I'd say it was Biden who was elected, not her. But I agree that it's encouraging that she (hopefully) didn't lose him many votes.

If people voted for The Donald because they thought he was a successful businessman, do you think they would vote for a Space Billionaire?

Yes, of course, unfortunately. People make the mistake of believing that wealth equals wisdom.

Of all the billionaires out there (Bezos, Musk, Branson, etc), which one strikes you as having the most wisdom?

[RJDiogenes]

I'd say it was Biden who was elected, not her. But I agree that it's encouraging that she (hopefully) didn't lose him many votes.

I think people know that the Vice President is a backup President. Obama won two elections handily. Clinton won the popular vote, despite being an awful candidate. Across the board, women win elections as frequently as men. I don't see why racism or sexism would be an issue.

Yes, of course, unfortunately. People make the mistake of believing that wealth equals wisdom.

They have the advantage of actually being successful in business. And also of being innovators and getting things done. The Donald couldn't run an airline, let alone a space program.

Of all the billionaires out there (Bezos, Musk, Branson, etc), which one strikes you as having the most wisdom?

I can't say I know enough about any of them to be sure. I think Musk is a bit off the wall, and I don't think that Branson was born in the USA. Meanwhile, Bezos seemed to want to run away from Shatner as fast as possible, so I'd probably pick him.

Do you think one of these guys should build Space Force One and offer a ride to the president?

[scottydog]

Yes. But better yet, why not build a space ship for all world leaders? Or at least the major leaders. It might be an opportunity for space exploration to be a unifying force.

[RJDiogenes]

In the 70s, the Apollo-Soyuz mission was a unifying event. Do you think that the Obamas and the Bushes should go on one of these suborbital jaunts as a similar show of unity?

[scottydog]

Yes, great idea. While Trump tries to divide us, people need to step up and role model unity. I'm surprised it isn't happening more.

What can the average citizen do to help heal the rifts in our society and in politics?

[RJDiogenes]

Stop being assholes?

Aside from that, the two most important things would be to live by the principle of reciprocity and remember that everybody is equally vulnerable to self delusion, not just the other guy.

Do you think skeptical thinking should be taught in grade school, or would it be too confusing for kids that young?

[scottydog]

... and remember that everybody is equally vulnerable to self delusion, not just the other guy.

That's humility, and I agree it should be taught and encouraged.

Do you think skeptical thinking should be taught in grade school, or would it be too confusing for kids that young?

Yes, we can teach good critical thinking skills at a young age, using age-appropriate examples. It wouldn't surprise me if educators have already been working on this. I would even go further and teach kids basic well-being practices such as meditation, time spent in nature, yoga, and public service.

Would any of that stuff do the world any good?

[RJDiogenes]

That's humility, and I agree it should be taught and encouraged.

Unfortunately, ideology is the death of humility.

Yes, we can teach good critical thinking skills at a young age, using age-appropriate examples. It wouldn't surprise me if educators have already been working on this. I would even go further and teach kids basic well-being practices such as meditation, time spent in nature, yoga, and public service.

It would definitely have to be age appropriate, otherwise we risk creating a generation that's as cynical and nihilistic as the current one is naive and gullible.

Would any of that stuff do the world any good?

Yes, a lot, but only in the long view. It's going to take at least a human lifetime to dig us out of the pit that the Woke-QAnon Mobius Strip has gotten us into.

It's likely in the near future that new space telescopes will confirm the existence of life in other solar systems-- not intelligent life, just the fact that it exists. How do you think people around the world will react?

[scottydog]

Honestly, I don't think that 99% of people will care. That's such a shame but most people are just trying their darndest to get by here on Earth.

Now if you told people there was intelligent, human-like life on another planet, that might get their attention. But even then, I bet a good sold majority of people won't care unless you told them that such intelligent life was going to impact them in some way. For example, if you told them that intelligent human-like life forms were on a ship heading our way -- THAT might get their attention.

Am I being cynical?

[RJDiogenes]

The initial breaking news will get a lot of attention-- kind of like the Moon Landing when everything stopped for a day, and then went back to normal. A lot of people will be skeptical, of course, the amount of them depending on the strength of the evidence. Then it will be another topic of discussion, with people holding forth on whatever they see as the philosophical implications, and the nature of the life, and so forth. UFO cults will get a boost. "We told you so!" And, depending on where the planet is, some new science projects may get approved.

Otherwise, people will go back to worrying about putting dinner on the table.

But do you think there will be any impact on popular religions, aside from the UFO cults?

[scottydog]

Well, Christianity should be affected because the religion places the Earth and humanity as the center of the universe. Maybe conservative Christians will declare anything that threatens their worldview "fake news".

But more progressive Christians should embrace news of alien intelligence as further proof of God's infinite creative and evolutionary potential.

When the movie Contact came out in the 1990s, starring Jodie Foster, did you enjoy it? Had you read Sagan's book which it was based on?

[RJDiogenes]

I did read the book and see the movie, and I thought they were both pretty good-- a fairly realistic portrayal of extraterrestrial contact, even if he was trying a bit too hard to be 2001. But it did include one of the most intriguing ideas I've ever read, namely the idea that there may be a message encoded in the value of Pi (actually not Pi, but something similar that hasn't been discovered yet).

Do you think Christians who believe in intelligent aliens believe in alien Jesuses?