• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EST 16:58
CET 22:58
KST 06:58
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
ByuL: The Forgotten Master of ZvT29Behind the Blue - Team Liquid History Book19Clem wins HomeStory Cup 289HomeStory Cup 28 - Info & Preview13Rongyi Cup S3 - Preview & Info8
Community News
Team Liquid Map Contest - Preparation Notice6Weekly Cups (Feb 23-Mar 1): herO doubles, 2v2 bonanza1Weekly Cups (Feb 16-22): MaxPax doubles0Weekly Cups (Feb 9-15): herO doubles up2ACS replaced by "ASL Season Open" - Starts 21/0258
StarCraft 2
General
Vitality disbanding their sc2-team How do you think the 5.0.15 balance patch (Oct 2025) for StarCraft II has affected the game? Team Liquid Map Contest - Preparation Notice ByuL: The Forgotten Master of ZvT Nexon's StarCraft game could be FPS, led by UMS maker
Tourneys
RSL Season 4 announced for March-April Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament $5,000 WardiTV Winter Championship 2026 Sea Duckling Open (Global, Bronze-Diamond) PIG STY FESTIVAL 7.0! (19 Feb - 1 Mar)
Strategy
Custom Maps
Publishing has been re-enabled! [Feb 24th 2026] Map Editor closed ?
External Content
The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 515 Together Forever Mutation # 514 Ulnar New Year Mutation # 513 Attrition Warfare
Brood War
General
BSL 22 Map Contest — Submissions OPEN to March 10 Are you ready for ASL 21? Hype VIDEO battle.net problems BGH Auto Balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/ Flash's ASL S21 & Future Plans Announcement
Tourneys
ASL Season 21 Qualifiers March 7-8 BWCL Season 64 Announcement [Megathread] Daily Proleagues [BSL22] Open Qualifier #1 - Sunday 21:00 CET
Strategy
Soma's 9 hatch build from ASL Game 2 Fighting Spirit mining rates Simple Questions, Simple Answers Zealot bombing is no longer popular?
Other Games
General Games
No Man's Sky (PS4 and PC) Path of Exile PC Games Sales Thread Nintendo Switch Thread Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion The Story of Wings Gaming
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
Mafia Game Mode Feedback/Ideas Vanilla Mini Mafia TL Mafia Community Thread
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread Mexico's Drug War Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine YouTube Thread
Fan Clubs
The IdrA Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
[Manga] One Piece [Req][Books] Good Fantasy/SciFi books Anime Discussion Thread
Sports
2024 - 2026 Football Thread Formula 1 Discussion TL MMA Pick'em Pool 2013
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Laptop capable of using Photoshop Lightroom?
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
FS++
Kraekkling
Shocked by a laser…
Spydermine0240
Gaming-Related Deaths
TrAiDoS
ONE GREAT AMERICAN MARINE…
XenOsky
Unintentional protectionism…
Uldridge
ASL S21 English Commentary…
namkraft
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 1885 users

Game theory, applied to aliens - Page 6

Forum Index > General Forum
Post a Reply
Prev 1 4 5 6 7 8 18 Next All
DoubleReed
Profile Blog Joined September 2010
United States4130 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-01-05 23:41:36
January 05 2012 23:38 GMT
#101
There is a fantastic science fiction short story all about the idea of Game Theory + Aliens by Eliezer Yudowsky. It also has a lot of crazy morality questions in it. It's called Three Worlds Collide.

Your theory of Game Theory would really only be realistic if you think that's what we would do. I mean, assuming we meet some aliens like us, we wouldn't necessarily just instantly kill them.
liberal
Profile Joined November 2011
1116 Posts
January 05 2012 23:38 GMT
#102
If we REALLY want to be ahead of the curve in the gallactic space wars, we should preemptively launch these RKV's BEFORE we receive a signal from anyone. Because by the time you actually receive the signal, it may be too late for you, they already launched at your ass.

Of course, we won't know which direction to specifically choose, so we must launch countless attacks randomly and in every direction to wipe out as many civilizations preemptively as possible.

This might exhaust the entire resources of our planet, but it's better than being killed off completely by the less-than-human space scum. I bet they are communists, too.
Insomni7
Profile Joined June 2011
667 Posts
January 05 2012 23:39 GMT
#103
On January 06 2012 08:31 sviatoslavrichter wrote:
Show nested quote +
On January 06 2012 08:26 Nightmarjoo wrote:
Good read. How the hell do you hit a planet revolving around a star which may be revolving around something (e.g. a blackhole) which is in a galaxy which is rotating with an RKV whose trajectory would absolutely be effected chaotically by the myriad of gravitationally non-negligible sources (and without getting too close to a blackhole) from just a radio signal though? I can't think of a more difficult target.


You use a shotgun, of course. You put a H-bomb into the asteroid, and split it up into chunks as it's getting close to the general area of the planet. Actually, better yet, you fling about 100 RKVs at the star it's orbiting, each fragmenting into 100 chunks, so you have 10,000 mini-RKVs, each of which is carrying enough energy to burn off the planet's atmosphere. Essentially, a carpet bombing of an entire solar system.

In that case, you'd only have to plot the course of a star, which is a trivial exercise any first-year astrophysics student could do.

Dude this is so wrong. 10000 is actually nothing with the scales we are talking about. The chance of hitting anything is still miniscule. It is hard to explain how big the scales actually are, but believe me they are massive on a level we cannot even comprehend and this is just one solar system. 10000 missles would stand very little chance of hitting anything.
Never Forget.
TheToaster
Profile Joined August 2011
United States280 Posts
January 05 2012 23:39 GMT
#104
The question that I have about an "RKV" is what actually guarantees that you hit a target light years away in space? By your explanation, all you need is a necessary supply of nukes and a large mass like an asteroid. But in reality, how would you have any clue where that bomb would even go?

Tons of factors would change the direction of a projectile over that much distance in space. The RKV would be passing by hundreds or even thousands of celestial bodies, each with their own unique gravitational effect on the projectile. The massive amount of nukes also causes a huge problem. Simply by watching Mythbusters, it's easy to realize how difficult setting off a simultaneous launch sequence can be. More nukes means more possibility for problems with timing and launch failure. An asteroid would also make a terrible mass to make an RKV out of. Their irregular shapes would most likely cause a headache full of issues as the RKV travels through space.

Taking these and several other unmentioned issues into account, the idea of an RKV would either be impossible in the immediate future or require a highly elaborate real-time guidance system that would rely on future advances in interstellar communication. There are simply too many issues with an RKVs path control, that making a remote control guidance system would be the only real option.
Oh, get a job? Just get a job? Why don't I strap on my job helmet, squeeze down into a job cannon, and fire off into job land, where jobs grow on jobbies!
Insomni7
Profile Joined June 2011
667 Posts
January 05 2012 23:40 GMT
#105
On January 06 2012 08:38 liberal wrote:
If we REALLY want to be ahead of the curve in the gallactic space wars, we should preemptively launch these RKV's BEFORE we receive a signal from anyone. Because by the time you actually receive the signal, it may be too late for you, they already launched at your ass.

Of course, we won't know which direction to specifically choose, so we must launch countless attacks randomly and in every direction to wipe out as many civilizations preemptively as possible.

This might exhaust the entire resources of our planet, but it's better than being killed off completely by the less-than-human space scum. I bet they are communists, too.

I really hope you are a troll.
Never Forget.
Sinterklaas75
Profile Joined December 2011
34 Posts
January 05 2012 23:43 GMT
#106
On January 06 2012 08:40 Insomni7 wrote:
Show nested quote +
On January 06 2012 08:38 liberal wrote:
If we REALLY want to be ahead of the curve in the gallactic space wars, we should preemptively launch these RKV's BEFORE we receive a signal from anyone. Because by the time you actually receive the signal, it may be too late for you, they already launched at your ass.

Of course, we won't know which direction to specifically choose, so we must launch countless attacks randomly and in every direction to wipe out as many civilizations preemptively as possible.

This might exhaust the entire resources of our planet, but it's better than being killed off completely by the less-than-human space scum. I bet they are communists, too.

I really hope you are a troll.


He is telling the people in this stupid thread in an ironic way how stupid this thread actually is. I hope you realized that, right?
EatThePath
Profile Blog Joined September 2009
United States3943 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-01-05 23:44:58
January 05 2012 23:43 GMT
#107
On January 06 2012 08:33 FuzzyJAM wrote:
I can't imagine humans being OK with committing genocide against an entire planet's life as a first act and I see no reason to assume other intelligent species would either. If a species has lived long enough to develop interstellar weaponry it seems far more reasonable to assume they must be relatively peaceful.

There is next to no chance of humans ever finding intelligent life "out there" anyway (if there is even any to find), and that minute chance approaches zero if you're talking about the lifespan of people alive today.


We're not talking about this as (metaphorically) an upcoming spaceage civ in the universe is like arriving at a party: once in the front door do you shoot everyone or say hi? Obviously most of us will vote for say hi, and so you might assume for aliens, or whatever. But...

The point of departure is that given a silent universe, why, and given a reasonable chance of the predominance of the policy outlined in the OP, should we adopt that policy?

You can't just say "no way" without providing an argument against either the choice of premises or the reasoning.


On January 06 2012 08:34 CosmicSpiral wrote:
Show nested quote +
On January 06 2012 08:17 Warfie wrote:
On January 06 2012 08:12 CosmicSpiral wrote:
On January 06 2012 08:12 Warfie wrote:
So many replies in this thread are in bad taste. Game theory in its essence is rational, cynical and logical. If you think this thread is full of bullshit then you must either disagree with the assumptions its logic is based on, or base your disagreement on logical flaws in the arguments that derive from the assumptions.


If you actually studied game theory then you would know that you are wrong.

Please elaborate. I don't study game theory, so I am not one to disagree. But what I'm trying to get at is exactly this - no one ever cares to explain anything, all they do is state a fact as if it were obvious to anyone and everyone. In this instance I am eager to learn about what the 'essence' of game theory might be, if I can assume you have studied it, but your post doesn't lend itself as of right now.


Game theory is developing mathematical models as applied to decision-making between rational agents. It's closely related to decision theory and no more cynical or logical than Marxism-Leninism and analytic philosophy. It doesn't assume that everyone shares the same values and goals, it incorporates those possibilities into the models themselves to provide better explanations and hypothetical scenarios. And of course for the more complex scenarios you need a lot of prior information to make assumptions about said goals and values. Often times cooperation and altruism results in better rewards than mere self-interest.


Nice post Cosmic.
Comprehensive strategic intention: DNE
oBlade
Profile Blog Joined December 2008
United States5920 Posts
January 05 2012 23:46 GMT
#108
On January 06 2012 08:40 Insomni7 wrote:
Show nested quote +
On January 06 2012 08:38 liberal wrote:
If we REALLY want to be ahead of the curve in the gallactic space wars, we should preemptively launch these RKV's BEFORE we receive a signal from anyone. Because by the time you actually receive the signal, it may be too late for you, they already launched at your ass.

Of course, we won't know which direction to specifically choose, so we must launch countless attacks randomly and in every direction to wipe out as many civilizations preemptively as possible.

This might exhaust the entire resources of our planet, but it's better than being killed off completely by the less-than-human space scum. I bet they are communists, too.

I really hope you are a troll.

Sounds to me like he was joking, not trolling.
On January 06 2012 08:36 Purind wrote:
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/804/aliensl.png/

I'm not seeing it. How would killing benefit aliens?

Case 1: Humans also kill
Aliens die either way. Makes no diff. what they choose

Case 2: Humans are unaware
Aliens live either way. Makes no diff. what they choose

Case 3: Humans are aware and don't kill
Aliens live either way. Makes no diff. what they choose unless they see value in integrating aspects of human culture.

If there are NO benefits to trying to befriend humans then sure, kill us. If there's even an inkling of a chance that contacting humans could be beneficial, why would you kill? How does game theory arrive at the conclusion that aliens will instantly shoot space dicks at everyone?

Yeah, the crux seems to be awareness/communication. If a civilization has control of whether it is loud enough to be detected, then they can just choose to be silent. In that case if they still listen and find other civilizations talking, there would be no difference between destroying and not destroying another civilization. Actually, there would be a difference because of the collateral internal pressures it takes to support a genocidal attitude.
"I read it. You know how to read, you ignorant fuck?" - Andy Dufresne
TheToaster
Profile Joined August 2011
United States280 Posts
January 05 2012 23:48 GMT
#109
On January 06 2012 08:43 Sinterklaas75 wrote:
Show nested quote +
On January 06 2012 08:40 Insomni7 wrote:
On January 06 2012 08:38 liberal wrote:
If we REALLY want to be ahead of the curve in the gallactic space wars, we should preemptively launch these RKV's BEFORE we receive a signal from anyone. Because by the time you actually receive the signal, it may be too late for you, they already launched at your ass.

Of course, we won't know which direction to specifically choose, so we must launch countless attacks randomly and in every direction to wipe out as many civilizations preemptively as possible.

This might exhaust the entire resources of our planet, but it's better than being killed off completely by the less-than-human space scum. I bet they are communists, too.

I really hope you are a troll.


He is telling the people in this stupid thread in an ironic way how stupid this thread actually is. I hope you realized that, right?


The thing about all these "new age" ideas is that you can't automatically call it stupid and discredit the thinking. Because if you do and it someday becomes true, the supporters will just laugh at you for being the one who's wrong. That's what separates "new age" from "crazy". The content might actually be found to exist in some way.
Oh, get a job? Just get a job? Why don't I strap on my job helmet, squeeze down into a job cannon, and fire off into job land, where jobs grow on jobbies!
FuzzyJAM
Profile Joined July 2010
Scotland9300 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-01-05 23:52:41
January 05 2012 23:49 GMT
#110
On January 06 2012 08:43 EatThePath wrote:
Show nested quote +
On January 06 2012 08:33 FuzzyJAM wrote:
I can't imagine humans being OK with committing genocide against an entire planet's life as a first act and I see no reason to assume other intelligent species would either. If a species has lived long enough to develop interstellar weaponry it seems far more reasonable to assume they must be relatively peaceful.

There is next to no chance of humans ever finding intelligent life "out there" anyway (if there is even any to find), and that minute chance approaches zero if you're talking about the lifespan of people alive today.


We're not talking about this as (metaphorically) an upcoming spaceage civ in the universe is like arriving at a party: once in the front door do you shoot everyone or say hi? Obviously most of us will vote for say hi, and so you might assume for aliens, or whatever. But...

The point of departure is that given a silent universe, why, and given a reasonable chance of the predominance of the policy outlined in the OP, should we adopt that policy?

You can't just say "no way" without providing an argument against either the choice of premises or the reasoning.


Well, what is there to argue exactly? If a species is capable of destroying entire planets millions of light years away and hasn't yet killed itself then it is, almost certainly, fairly rational and peaceful. There is no reason to believe anyone would be aggressive, therefore there is no reason for anyone to be aggressive. Genocide isn't a default, therefore there must be a compelling reason to commit it.
Did you ever say Yes to a single joy?
wswordsmen
Profile Joined October 2007
United States987 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-01-05 23:56:45
January 05 2012 23:50 GMT
#111
OP is bullshit. Hitting a planet at earth's distance from the sun moving around a star a light year away is like trying to hit a fly circling .1 meters from a light with a grain of sand, from 6.33 km away.

Also the closest star is 4 and a bit light years away, so we are looking at a minimum difficulty of hitting a fly with a grain of sand from 25km+ away
sviatoslavrichter
Profile Joined January 2012
United States164 Posts
January 05 2012 23:50 GMT
#112
On January 06 2012 08:43 EatThePath wrote:
Show nested quote +
On January 06 2012 08:33 FuzzyJAM wrote:
I can't imagine humans being OK with committing genocide against an entire planet's life as a first act and I see no reason to assume other intelligent species would either. If a species has lived long enough to develop interstellar weaponry it seems far more reasonable to assume they must be relatively peaceful.

There is next to no chance of humans ever finding intelligent life "out there" anyway (if there is even any to find), and that minute chance approaches zero if you're talking about the lifespan of people alive today.


We're not talking about this as (metaphorically) an upcoming spaceage civ in the universe is like arriving at a party: once in the front door do you shoot everyone or say hi? Obviously most of us will vote for say hi, and so you might assume for aliens, or whatever. But...

The point of departure is that given a silent universe, why, and given a reasonable chance of the predominance of the policy outlined in the OP, should we adopt that policy?

You can't just say "no way" without providing an argument against either the choice of premises or the reasoning.


Show nested quote +
On January 06 2012 08:34 CosmicSpiral wrote:
On January 06 2012 08:17 Warfie wrote:
On January 06 2012 08:12 CosmicSpiral wrote:
On January 06 2012 08:12 Warfie wrote:
So many replies in this thread are in bad taste. Game theory in its essence is rational, cynical and logical. If you think this thread is full of bullshit then you must either disagree with the assumptions its logic is based on, or base your disagreement on logical flaws in the arguments that derive from the assumptions.


If you actually studied game theory then you would know that you are wrong.

Please elaborate. I don't study game theory, so I am not one to disagree. But what I'm trying to get at is exactly this - no one ever cares to explain anything, all they do is state a fact as if it were obvious to anyone and everyone. In this instance I am eager to learn about what the 'essence' of game theory might be, if I can assume you have studied it, but your post doesn't lend itself as of right now.


Game theory is developing mathematical models as applied to decision-making between rational agents. It's closely related to decision theory and no more cynical or logical than Marxism-Leninism and analytic philosophy. It doesn't assume that everyone shares the same values and goals, it incorporates those possibilities into the models themselves to provide better explanations and hypothetical scenarios. And of course for the more complex scenarios you need a lot of prior information to make assumptions about said goals and values. Often times cooperation and altruism results in better rewards than mere self-interest.


Nice post Cosmic.


Yepyep. It would like arriving at a party only to find the entire mansion is dead silent, covered in cobwebs, and everyone inside is blind, has a gun, and is trying to kill each other. What are you going to do then?

Cosmic, that's a great post and I'll try to back this up with some math soon (although my class on game theory was 2 years ago.) That being said, the lightspeed communications barrier is the main factor I'm arguing for here. What happens to a game theory model when the ability for actors to communicate themselves is highly restricted?
It is easy to lead a successful life, but hard to lead a meaningful one.
Sinterklaas75
Profile Joined December 2011
34 Posts
January 05 2012 23:51 GMT
#113
On January 06 2012 08:48 TheToaster wrote:
Show nested quote +
On January 06 2012 08:43 Sinterklaas75 wrote:
On January 06 2012 08:40 Insomni7 wrote:
On January 06 2012 08:38 liberal wrote:
If we REALLY want to be ahead of the curve in the gallactic space wars, we should preemptively launch these RKV's BEFORE we receive a signal from anyone. Because by the time you actually receive the signal, it may be too late for you, they already launched at your ass.

Of course, we won't know which direction to specifically choose, so we must launch countless attacks randomly and in every direction to wipe out as many civilizations preemptively as possible.

This might exhaust the entire resources of our planet, but it's better than being killed off completely by the less-than-human space scum. I bet they are communists, too.

I really hope you are a troll.


He is telling the people in this stupid thread in an ironic way how stupid this thread actually is. I hope you realized that, right?


The thing about all these "new age" ideas is that you can't automatically call it stupid and discredit the thinking. Because if you do and it someday becomes true, the supporters will just laugh at you for being the one who's wrong. That's what separates "new age" from "crazy". The content might actually be found to exist in some way.



It's just the way people are talking about it in this thread, with their crazy ideas. But it is funny to read though.
TheToaster
Profile Joined August 2011
United States280 Posts
January 05 2012 23:52 GMT
#114
On January 06 2012 08:50 wswordsmen wrote:
OP is bullshit. Hitting a planet at earth's distance from the sun moving around a star light years away is like trying to hit a fly circling .1 meters from a light with a grain of sand, from 6.33 km away.


That's basically what I posted, except I explained it in a more scientifically relative way. Try to be more elaborate when you discredit these people. They think they are actually being smart by talking about this stuff.
Oh, get a job? Just get a job? Why don't I strap on my job helmet, squeeze down into a job cannon, and fire off into job land, where jobs grow on jobbies!
sviatoslavrichter
Profile Joined January 2012
United States164 Posts
January 05 2012 23:52 GMT
#115
On January 06 2012 08:49 FuzzyJAM wrote:
Show nested quote +
On January 06 2012 08:43 EatThePath wrote:
On January 06 2012 08:33 FuzzyJAM wrote:
I can't imagine humans being OK with committing genocide against an entire planet's life as a first act and I see no reason to assume other intelligent species would either. If a species has lived long enough to develop interstellar weaponry it seems far more reasonable to assume they must be relatively peaceful.

There is next to no chance of humans ever finding intelligent life "out there" anyway (if there is even any to find), and that minute chance approaches zero if you're talking about the lifespan of people alive today.


We're not talking about this as (metaphorically) an upcoming spaceage civ in the universe is like arriving at a party: once in the front door do you shoot everyone or say hi? Obviously most of us will vote for say hi, and so you might assume for aliens, or whatever. But...

The point of departure is that given a silent universe, why, and given a reasonable chance of the predominance of the policy outlined in the OP, should we adopt that policy?

You can't just say "no way" without providing an argument against either the choice of premises or the reasoning.


Well, what is there to argue exactly? If a species is capable of destroying entire planets millions of light years away and hasn't yet killed itself then it is, almost certainly, fairly rational and peaceful. There is no reason to believe anyone would be aggressive, therefore there is no reason for anyone to be aggressive. Genocide isn't a default, therefore there most be a compelling reason to commit it.


You missed the part in the OP where I argued that if we only made an interstellar map of gravity anomalies (say within the surrounding 6000 ly, not hard to do if we use our telescope images to look at where light from faraway stars is getting bent) then we, 21st century humans, could destroy these planets RIGHT NOW.
It is easy to lead a successful life, but hard to lead a meaningful one.
sviatoslavrichter
Profile Joined January 2012
United States164 Posts
January 05 2012 23:54 GMT
#116
On January 06 2012 08:52 TheToaster wrote:
Show nested quote +
On January 06 2012 08:50 wswordsmen wrote:
OP is bullshit. Hitting a planet at earth's distance from the sun moving around a star light years away is like trying to hit a fly circling .1 meters from a light with a grain of sand, from 6.33 km away.


That's basically what I posted, except I explained it in a more scientifically relative way. Try to be more elaborate when you discredit these people. They think they are actually being smart by talking about this stuff.


Even if you say that hitting a planet with an RKV is unlikely, you'd have to then accept that getting to the planet with a manned spacecraft is even more unlikely.
It is easy to lead a successful life, but hard to lead a meaningful one.
Nevermind86
Profile Joined August 2009
Somalia429 Posts
January 05 2012 23:58 GMT
#117
What if aliens are one huge cloud of thinking neutrons like in Arthur C. Clarke childhood's end? RVK would be absolutely worthless ^^ and you still lose.
Interviewer: Many people hate you and would like to see you dead. How does that make you feel? Trevor Goodchild: Those people should get to know me a little better. Then they'd know I don't indulge in feelings.
turdburgler
Profile Blog Joined January 2011
England6749 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-01-06 00:02:34
January 05 2012 23:58 GMT
#118
On January 06 2012 08:34 hp.Shell wrote:
Sorry, but your game theory is wrong. You need to understand that you as a human will never know how advanced the most advanced civilization in the universe is. The ideal strategy in universal diplomacy/warfare is peace and cooperative communication; thus RKVs are not needed and should not be discussed.

The universe is so big that the most advanced species will probably never know that they are the most advanced. Therefore there is always a huge risk in attacking another species' planet with the intent of genocide. If humans are the most advanced race in the universe, we would never know it. If you have a race that knows what's going on in 60% of the entire universe at all times, they still cannot know for certain that they are the most powerful race. What if we are simply being imprisoned in a matrix-like universe by an interdimensional species? It's like arguing for or against god.

There is no reason to believe any higher civilization wants anything other than universal peace. This logically follows from the above thought experiment. Therefore there is no reason for humans to even want to develop interplanetary weapons and defense.



this is a fair point, how can you be sure you are the big dog and he isnt watching you waiting to see how angry you are, destroying you when you decide to crush a smaller species.

the problem though is that you cant run the risk. as has been stated, your only choice is to blindly attack everything, because firstly its easier to design a weapon of mass destruction than it is to defend a defence. and secondly you have no idea what the thoughts of the other side are. even if they are stronger than you, you dont know they are peaceful, you have to attack. as was stated, assuming non instantaneous information travel, you can blindly attack quicker than you can wait for replies. you only have to be wrong once for your planet to die, so you must continuously attack in order to guarentee survival.

and as ive already said even if 99.9% realise that we can all just be safe together, only 1 civ needs to start shooting, and we all start shooting.
oBlade
Profile Blog Joined December 2008
United States5920 Posts
January 05 2012 23:58 GMT
#119
On January 06 2012 08:52 TheToaster wrote:
Show nested quote +
On January 06 2012 08:50 wswordsmen wrote:
OP is bullshit. Hitting a planet at earth's distance from the sun moving around a star light years away is like trying to hit a fly circling .1 meters from a light with a grain of sand, from 6.33 km away.


That's basically what I posted, except I explained it in a more scientifically relative way. Try to be more elaborate when you discredit these people. They think they are actually being smart by talking about this stuff.

Don't get hung up on the dumb (in the sense of unguided) asteroid RKV example of the OP. It's not a very elaborate technological feat to assemble a guided spaceship (weapon) capable of flying relativistic speeds. As he says, we can physically do that now. Hitting a planet is no problem.
"I read it. You know how to read, you ignorant fuck?" - Andy Dufresne
evanthebouncy!
Profile Blog Joined June 2006
United States12796 Posts
January 06 2012 00:00 GMT
#120
HahhaA funny read
Life is run, it is dance, it is fast, passionate and BAM!, you dance and sing and booze while you can for now is the time and time is mine. Smile and laugh when still can for now is the time and soon you die!
Prev 1 4 5 6 7 8 18 Next All
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
AI Arena Tournament
20:00
RO4 & Finals
Laughngamez YouTube
PSISTORM Gaming Misc
16:55
FSL TeamLeague: ASH vs ST
Liquipedia
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
elazer 243
UpATreeSC 160
ProTech118
JuggernautJason94
Nathanias 81
CosmosSc2 79
StarCraft: Brood War
Sea 4982
NaDa 10
Dota 2
monkeys_forever218
League of Legends
JimRising 275
Counter-Strike
fl0m3481
pashabiceps2464
Super Smash Bros
Mew2King76
Heroes of the Storm
Liquid`Hasu369
Khaldor297
Other Games
gofns21896
tarik_tv12760
summit1g4509
Grubby4152
FrodaN3598
KnowMe379
QueenE56
Trikslyr46
ZombieGrub33
Organizations
StarCraft 2
angryscii 34
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 19 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• printf 79
• davetesta32
• Hupsaiya 10
• sooper7s
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• Migwel
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
StarCraft: Brood War
• blackmanpl 18
• Michael_bg 3
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
• BSLYoutube
League of Legends
• Doublelift4748
Other Games
• imaqtpie1092
• Scarra275
• Shiphtur234
Upcoming Events
Patches Events
1h 2m
Replay Cast
2h 2m
Sparkling Tuna Cup
12h 2m
RSL Revival
12h 2m
Classic vs TriGGeR
Cure vs Cham
WardiTV Winter Champion…
14h 2m
OSC
14h 32m
BSL
22h 2m
Replay Cast
1d 2h
Replay Cast
1d 11h
Monday Night Weeklies
1d 19h
[ Show More ]
OSC
2 days
Replay Cast
4 days
The PondCast
4 days
Replay Cast
5 days
Replay Cast
6 days
CranKy Ducklings
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Proleague 2026-03-05
PiG Sty Festival 7.0
Underdog Cup #3

Ongoing

KCM Race Survival 2026 Season 1
Jeongseon Sooper Cup
Spring Cup 2026
ASL Season 21: Qualifier #1
RSL Revival: Season 4
WardiTV Winter 2026
Nations Cup 2026
ESL Pro League S23 Stage 1&2
PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026
IEM Kraków 2026
BLAST Bounty Winter 2026
BLAST Bounty Winter Qual

Upcoming

ASL Season 21: Qualifier #2
ASL Season 21
Acropolis #4 - TS6
Acropolis #4
IPSL Spring 2026
CSLAN 4
HSC XXIX
uThermal 2v2 2026 Main Event
Bellum Gens Elite Stara Zagora 2026
NationLESS Cup
CS Asia Championships 2026
IEM Atlanta 2026
Asian Champions League 2026
PGL Astana 2026
BLAST Rivals Spring 2026
CCT Season 3 Global Finals
IEM Rio 2026
PGL Bucharest 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 1
BLAST Open Spring 2026
ESL Pro League S23 Finals
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2026 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.