Speculation: Is the speed of light like a dog leash keeping us out of trouble?

The speed of light as a limitation for interstellar travel seems kinds imposed. Is it possible that like a dog we (baronic based entities) need reigned in to prevent contamination of the galaxy? Notice this one physical constraint stops us in our tracks.
Just like a dog on leash are we incapable of seeing or knowing the leash is there? We only feel it's effects but can't control it.
First time to try and start a thread so bare with my sloppy presentation. It probably belongs somewhere else. Perhaps it was better left in my head. LOL.

If we a species can be compared to a virus within an entity....

Than I have no trouble believing that some barriers are neigh impossible for us to cross/breach.

I have often thought about how the universe, with its galaxies is like our microscopic world. It's a great mental exercise.

Cheers.

reply to post by datasdream

Notice this one physical constraint stops us in our tracks.

The distance to the moon isn't a constraint? For what?
The distance to Mars isn't a constaint?
To the astriods?
Our seemingly total isolation on this small planet isn't a constraint?
Nah, we're not going anywhere by ourselves.

reply to post by datasdream


The speed of light (SOL) is nature at work, if you wanna support what you suggested, you gotta have an intelligence making that decision for us. Therein it gets complicated.

It is far less complicated to think that nature is nature. Having made its own laws. But regardless, there are work-arounds that defeat basic nature. Gravity is very important in nature and simply "rules," more or less, we could say. But we know that insects, birds and manmade craft can defeat gravity. So there are escapes from nature. It takes intelligence and/or evolutionary process to find those releases.

As far as us being confined by SOL theory in its basic rules, we are stuck, just as we are stuck to the ground no matter how hard we flap our arms. But if we create an anti-gravity or massless space drive--such as maybe the UFOs have?--we can sidestep that law of nature also. And to do that feat, means that we have come upon a very impressive "test" of nature but defeated it, earning the right to plaster ourselves further into the cosmos. --I don't intend to say that is a good thing!

Exceeding the speed of light is not an active possibility at this juncture of the program, maybe later?

reply to post by datasdream


So, you are suggesting that a super-intelligence monkeyed with the basic laws of physics, to protect us, out of some sort of compassion towards us?

... and that this is provable because it is the case we actually observe, not one merely theorized about?

How logical.

You must be wrong.

datasdream
Is it possible that like a dog we (baronic based entities) need reigned in to prevent contamination of the galaxy? ...

Until we have the intellect to overcome the 'imposed' barrier, by whic point we will also have the intellect to be responsible and mature enough to not contimate the galaxy ... one would hope .. in my idealistic mind ...

perhaps so .. perhaps not ... but i feel that other aspects of life , the universe, and reality, are being revealed to us, when were ready, and have the intellect to see it ..., like layers of an onion being peeled back ..the atom .. gravity .. electromagnetism .. etc .. and now, quantum science .. other dimensions .. time not being a constant, and being inherently intwined withthis universe .. as in, it doesnt exist in teh way we know it, outside this universe ... our consciousness and understanding is deepening .. so perhaps its inevitable we overcome the supposed speed of light barrier .. or just completely work around it ..

i dont know where you stand with ufos etc ... but for me .. theyere real .. and in the nasa tether video, if youre familiar with it .. when the tether snaps .. theres literally a huge swarm of these huge crafts within a couple of minutes if memory serves well ... if theyre real, and coming from another very close star in our galaxy even ... then clearly the light barrier is no barrier imposed on their level of understanding .. of course that last arguement is based on you believing in that kinda thing

The painting cannot see behind the canvas.

When does something happen? Wave to a friend across the road, did you wave when he saw you, or when you waved?

Light tells you one thing, and him another.

And to a third person 1 light year away, he sees the event at a completely different time.

Which one is the one that happened when you waved?

If you could travel beyond the speed of light you would travel beyond the ability for reality to exist.

We cannot see behind the canvas either.

Segenam

datasdream
Is it possible that like a dog we (baronic based entities) need reigned in to prevent contamination of the galaxy? ...

Until we have the intellect to overcome the 'imposed' barrier, by whic point we will also have the intellect to be responsible and mature enough to not contimate the galaxy ... one would hope .. in my idealistic mind ...

perhaps so .. perhaps not ... but i feel that other aspects of life , the universe, and reality, are being revealed to us, when were ready, and have the intellect to see it ..., like layers of an onion being peeled back ..the atom .. gravity .. electromagnetism .. etc .. and now, quantum science .. other dimensions .. time not being a constant, and being inherently intwined withthis universe .. as in, it doesnt exist in teh way we know it, outside this universe ... our consciousness and understanding is deepening .. so perhaps its inevitable we overcome the supposed speed of light barrier .. or just completely work around it ..

i dont know where you stand with ufos etc ... but for me .. theyere real .. and in the nasa tether video, if youre familiar with it .. when the tether snaps .. theres literally a huge swarm of these huge crafts within a couple of minutes if memory serves well ... if theyre real, and coming from another very close star in our galaxy even ... then clearly the light barrier is no barrier imposed on their level of understanding .. of course that last arguement is based on you believing in that kinda thing

edit on 8-12-2013 by Segenam because: (no reason given)

Perhaps it just nature putting the restriction on our present reality. Perhaps it's something else. Not saying it has be done by intelligent control it might just be the way things are. That one restriction puts the stars out of our reach. Unless we combine slow star ship travel with controlled time travel to make the trip faster. Now there is a dumb idea! If travel takes time and you can compress time perhaps we could get around it. But combining the two items together put it into another realm of impossibility.
I'm saying from our present viewpoint the speed of light restricts our efforts more than just gravity. Perhaps as we get smarter we can find a loophole to allow us to reach the stars. We can't see the solution because we can't see who or what is holding the leash.

reply to post by Segenam

Believing in UFOs is like a faith. I would like to believe something has visited us but a lack of real solid evidence stops that. Unless you believe that the powers that be are hiding facts from the world. As the pirates used to say "Two men may keep a secret if one of them is dead". Keeping facts like that under control would require a level of conspiracy beyond the ken of believability. Some truth would escape.
I'm a heavy Sci-fi reader and been at that for years so it's not due to a lack flexibility or hope.

reply to post by datasdream


Interesting premise.

A potential answer to that "problem" is quantum entanglement.

We need to begin thinking beyond the usual means/methods of travel. Hell, we may need to begin redefining what "travel" means.

I believe we'll continue to chip away at the limitations and problems associated with Einstein-Newtonian physics, but the real leaps will come from a better understanding of the quantum world.

When and if the breakthroughs come, I think the world may experience a collective Homer Simpson "Doh!" moment...

Or maybe to keep us from reaching the boundaries of the simulation...yyyeeee!

datasdream
The speed of light as a limitation for interstellar travel seems kinds imposed. Is it possible that like a dog we (baronic based entities) need reigned in to prevent contamination of the galaxy? Notice this one physical constraint stops us in our tracks.
Just like a dog on leash are we incapable of seeing or knowing the leash is there? We only feel it's effects but can't control it.
First time to try and start a thread so bare with my sloppy presentation. It probably belongs somewhere else. Perhaps it was better left in my head. LOL.

Thanks for your thread and congrats on your first one. I do not think the limitation is imposed, other than by the law of physics right now.

We have come a long way in just 50 years. We've sent man missions to the moon, the ISS is another step, numerous probes like the voyager missions are all stepping stones including our unmanned Mars missions.

We also keep improving our telescopic technologies and are seeing more and more of the universe. We have radars and satellites all over. So, although we haven't solved manned intergalactic space travel yet, we are still in the infant stages.

I'd still like to see us put up a colony on the moon, then Mars, and continue jumping to one planet to the next, all the while improving and moving further out into the universe. At 7 Billion people already and growing, we'll need to make some decisions over the next century or two if not sooner. I say 'Space Exploration', let's continue a more aggressive program. Funding seems to be more of a barrier than the speed of light at the moment.

While the speed of light in a vacuum is technically a boundry that we can not simply physically overcome through speed alone, I'm not so sure that it's a leash yanking us back.

First: we've not even come anywhere near the speed of light with any space craft at this point. The fastest spacecraft so far is New Horizons, setting the record at a paltry 21 km/s when it passed through the Jupiter system.

Speed of light is 299,792 km/s. So our fastest craft right now has attained only 0.007% of the speed of light.

NASA's Juno space craft, on it's way to Jupiter, is expected to break New Horizon's record, reaching up to 40 km/s. That is a whopping 0.010% of the speed of light!

It is not so much that we can't cross the speed of light. Right now, we can't even get close to it using the technology that we are using (reaction thrust).

If you think about it, what is limiting us from reaching the stars is not so much how fast we are going. Rather the distance of the stars themselves. A single light year is close to 57 TRILLION miles. And the closest visible star with the naked eye, Alpha Centauri is 4.3 times that distance.

It's not so much that "someone" created a speed limit (that is like complaining that your car only goes 60 Mph.....yet you don't use it, and walk everywhere).

If you want to complain about it, then it's someone's fault for putting other stars so far away from each other.