Olhonestjim

I'm aware of the promises of AI, yes. LLMs are trash. Folding proteins is awesome. Nonetheless, it's all controlled by the ultrawealthy, and that is THE problem today, which AI ain't solving for us.

Vandalism > genocide to you, huh?

AI as it now stands gives me quite the opposite of hope. It's only intended to enslave the working class and further transfer wealth to the top 0.01%, as is fusion.

Solarpunk gives me hope.

Fortunately for them, I flushed my kids.

Humans harness fire now more than all of history combined. And fire is plasma.

I'm just saying, even the lowest tech has never really disappeared. We still use rocks and steam in our highest technologies. There's no reason to think aliens would abandon whatever tech has worked for eons.

I know right? Who needs fire anyway?

It drives me crazy that we haven't translated their written language, and know none of their stories, none of their heros, philosophers, or rulers. What we have gleaned from their artifacts suggests a marvelous society rich with tales, and every single one of them is currently lost. I need to go visit their cities one day.

I'm still not convinced alien technologies would be totally incomprehensible to us. Some of it obviously will, but their tech will still adhere to basic fundamentals like levers, inclined planes, and wheels -- as well as fundamental forces like electromagnetism, kinetic energy, and pressure.

When you need to fasten two parts of machinery together, there are a limited number of efficient ways to do it. I fully expect bolts, nuts, and washers to be a universal technology. Same with focusing radiation; there are not many substitutes for lenses, mirrors, and lasers. When you need to move something around in gravity well, you're always going to need a wheel. If something needs to rotate, there aren't many substitutes for a rotor, stator, copper windings, and electricity. Gears, chains, and belts work just fine for transferring that rotational energy. Nobody is gonna go looking for exotic forces to perform tasks that can be far more easily accomplished conventionally.

I'm optimistic about it. It seems likely given the types of minerals found in Mesopotamian artifacts can be traced to mines near the Indus.

Only since the last season of Cosmos got me obsessed with the Indus Valley Civilization. I'm over 40.

Yep, I see very little value in them. I have techie friends who keep telling me I should try it more, but it just pisses me off and creeps me out. It took a long time getting this brain working as well as it does, and it's already headed back downhill. My neurons need the exercise.

Legal limit of 2 per household. Illegal for corporations to own housing of any kind. Immediate sell-off mandatory.