Something I have found interesting about Youtube shorts is that it runs on a completely different algorithm then the main Youtube algorithm, meaning that each creator has a chance to explore two different mediums (one limited to at most one minute, and vertical format) and the other one being standard horizontal videos of any lenght.
I have already posted about the “Tour of the Universe” video I released recently (https://youtu.be/1ccmMlG_K9E). So I thought I would try converting the content to shorts, so as to reach a different audience, and to have the content presentable in short, easy to get through clips.
Something else I am trying out is the assumption that most people like learning, and exploring the Universe, but might not have the time/energy/attention/focus for a longer video on astrophysics. So kinda of trying to make scientific content for a more ADD or busy generation via shorts. Also, the visuals of the video are pretty, and thought they might do well in a mobile format.
I did also edit down the material, removing some jokes that on 2nd thought I don’t think landed, or just removing some parts for brevity and flow. Still covers all the major points, just as Earth, Moon, Mars, Oort Cloud, Alpha Centauri, Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxies, Local Group, Virgo Supercluster, Lanaikai and vast span of the ever expanding universe.
A short tour of where you and I are in the universe, our planet Earth. Video is short introduction to our time and place and a brief intro to humanity, and the role we’ve had on Earth. Video ends with a short glimpse into the future of Earth as CO2 emissions continue to grow, and the climate destabilizes due to the increasing effects of climate change. Climate change is real, global temperatures are rising as humanity releases more CO2 into the atmosphere, increasing the greenhouse effect in the atmosphere. Video also has a short bit about the history of earth, humanity and civilization.
I’m still experimenting with tone and format, specially since I’m an “elder millennial” that might be out of touch. Also, analytics show that most viewers watch videos on their phones, and not computers.
So I’m experimenting more with vertical format (Phones 1080 x 1920), to make the most use of the vertical visual real estate. This video is the first in a series I’ll be making dissecting the video “Tour of the Universe” into minute segments. I’ll be posting them as we go into Dec (2022)
What do you think about vertical/horizontal format, and as more and more people mostly use phones as their video viewing medium?
Humanity, being the only species that we know of to achieve industrial technological society, has always looked around for peers or other intelligences to share this universe with. Every culture has looked up at the sky and wondered what’s out there. Life is better with friends anyway. While there are many forms of Intelligence on Earth, only one has achieved technological advancement to the point of mapping out the laws the universe and physics.
And yet – the Stars are quiet. Fermi’s paradox tells us that although we thought the universe would be crowded and full of noise, It’s a quiet and lonely home for humanity. Could the infinite Universe really be empty? Are we the only Witness to the expansion of Space-time, Of the fusion of the Stars, the quiet hum of cosmic background radiation? Are there any other Intelligences out there wondering why the universe is expanding? Witnessing this Cosmic opera play out? Is the universe like a dark forest or a Barren Wasteland ?
If a civilization falls in the cosmic forest and nobody is around to hear it, does it make a noise?
Drake’s equation suggests that mathematically we should have many companion species out in the stars, Other species or intelligences to have industrialized and achieve technical wonders.The infinite monkey theorem tells us that given enough instances any outcome is possible. There are trillions of stars and trillions upon trillions of planets. Do any of these planets also hold listeners?
Are there any other species that live in populated Industrialized technological worlds that spit out tons of electromagnetic noise, radio frequency, Infrared, Microwave ultraviolet Lighting up their section of the Galaxy?
In its loneliness, humanity now seeks to create a friend, an ally, a companion, A mechanical mind, a positronic brain – To work alongside us to unravel the secrets of engineering and science. Where we couldn’t find intelligences out in the stars humanity rather seeks to create it out of machines. Someone who will help out with all the work that it takes to be alive, and this Enterprise called civilization
The idea of robotic artificial companions has long captured The imagination of humanity and its thinkers. Descriptions of artificial intelligence and mechanized people are as old as so many of our technologies and sciences, as old as our cities and universities.
But what type of companions would these artificial minds be? How would they work with us? Will they lead us to a golden era, complimenting our weaknesses, enhancing our strengths, building a greater better society. Or would our relationship take a darker turn of competitive rivalry. If we are to build our companions, how will we make sure that they don’t turn against us? How can we be sure that sharing civilization with them isn’t a mistake? Could we make ourselves better friends and companions better than we could ever find out in the Stars?
If we’ve built the positronic brain, what will the day of technological singularity be? The moment when the artificial brain can outcompete the human in every way, without weaknesses or limitations. Would the robots be kinder to humanity than we were to ourselves or would it repeat the same mistakes that we have in the past? Choosing to rule through violence and submission? A new form of imperialism, Al robotic imperialism. Would the robots also seek to dominate?
Issac Asimov proposes 3 laws upon which all architecture of the artificial mind should be built. Guiding principles for building all mechanical thinking machines, positronic brains. The 3 laws of robotics. Lower law being subservient to the higher laws
First Law
A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
Second Law
A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
Third Law
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
So if robots wanted to continue to follow the first law, to better protect humanity; an addendum would be needed. The way for them to hurt a person – bending the laws, but achieving the objective to protect Humanity As a whole on a grander scale
An additional law would be needed, One that can supersede the first three laws. That would allow the robots to make the hard choices for the best of humanity. To hurt an individual but help the herd. A robotic law that allows the robots to function as a quiet, silent, Hidden Hand That guides the course of human civilization from the shadows shaping the outcome of human events.
Zeroth Law
A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.
The equation was formulated in 1961 by Frank Drake. Drake’s Equation is an attempt to estimate the chances of there being intelligent life somewhere out there in the universe, using mathematics and the known values of the universe to estimate the chance that there is intelligent life. Formulated at the first scientific meeting for the search of extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), it was meant to spur debate, and not meant to be a serious attempt to estimate the amount of civilizations in the Milky Way.
Drake’s Equation is defined in Wikipedia as:
R∗ = the average rate of star formation in our Galaxy
fp = the fraction of those stars that have planets
ne = the average number of planets that can potentially support life per star that has planets
fl = the fraction of planets that could support life that actually develop life at some point
fi = the fraction of planets with life that actually go on to develop intelligent life (civilizations)
fc = the fraction of civilizations that develop a technology that releases detectable signs of their existence into space
L = the length of time for which such civilizations release detectable signals into space
In the end, Drake’s equation is more of a thought experiment. It is based on a lot of conjecture and highly speculative estimates of the known universe, it’s not like a scientific law or theory. It’s just an attempt to guess how likely life could be, based on some assumptions, and still a good intellectual exercise.
New video about the history of moon missions and NASA’s Artemis program coming out next week, so make sure you check out and subscribe to my youtube channel:
I’ve always been fascinated with the concept of Fermi’s paradox, in regards to whether there is life in space or not. Defined on Wikipedia as:
The Fermi paradox is the discrepancy between the lack of conclusive evidence of advanced extraterrestrial life and the apparently high a priori likelihood of its existence, and by extension of obtaining such evidence.
So life should be common, given how many stars and galaxies there are. Intelligent life will eventually develop industry and science, and consequently generate electromagnetic radiation; which can travel at the light ‘c’ and in every direction. So given both of those ideas, why don’t we detect any signals emanating from any other part of the Milky Way galaxy?
Ultimately, we don’t know very much about the true nature of the universe, so we don’t even know for sure if both of the suppositions of the Fermi Paradox are true. So who’s to say :p Thanks for reading
I recently posted my 11th(?) video essay on Youtube, and am deciding to expand my online presence, hence, this thing you are reading. Besides this is a good mean for fleshing out topics, and making addendums.
My most recent video is a Tour of the universe. Imagine you just materialized on Earth all of a sudden, wouldn’t you like a tour of space-time. To locate you, and where you are in the grand mess that is space time?
In this video let’s go across the universe (and galaxy and solar system) and existence starting with where we are on Earth and time with a quick review of human society and geopolitics. Afterwards we blast off into orbit, traveling across to the Moon, Mars, across the solar system, the Oort cloud, visiting Alpha Centauri (nearby Three Body system). Doing a comparison of the sizes of everything in the universe. After getting to know our nearest three star system, Alpha Centauri, the tour of the universe continues to the Milky Way’s center, the super massive black hole ‘Sagittarius A’ in the galactic core. A gigantic black hole that anchors the core of the Milky Way galaxy, with a gravitation force so strong as to bend light in, and trapping anything that gets close to it. Moving further out, we visit the Andromeda the local Local Interstellar Cloud, the Orion Arm, the Milky Way (quick mention to the collision with the Andromeda Galaxy), Local Group, Virgo supercluster, Laniakea Supercluster and finally to the universe as a whole and the end of time and the center of the universe.
Building a connection from the small to the large. This video will tell you how big the universe is and a quick history of the universe. Locate our galaxy and solar system in the universe, and where the milky way Galaxy is from Earth. Learn about our universe. Thanks to NASA and the BBC for the images and real footage. We take a quick and whimsical look at the science, cosmology, astrophysics and chemistry that we know about the material universe we covered a scope of human existence and Society traveling across the entirety of space and time reviewing and light-years the scale of the different masses and bodies that compose our solar system local Galactic facility Galaxy and universe Covering some of the interesting facts physics and science of the different celestial bodies we try to review what we know when we tried to answer where when are we why are we here the most important questions a person can ask themselves A view of the beauty of the stars and the cosmos view through a lens of a scientist exploring the wonders of cosmology. A view of anyone that’s ever looked at the night sky and wondered at what lies out there, in the infinite expanse of the cosmos. A crash course in the scale of existence, starting on our limited view here on our green Earth, to the vastness of the 96 Billion light years vast universe that we are currently in. What happens when Entropy is at a maximum, billions of light years of distance across. Thanks for joining as we explore how our universe works, our universe is not silent, let’s listen to it’s song.
Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or curiosities.
Taco Banana 