Would you Kill

[Colonel]

Say one day NASA scientists launch a probe that is supposed to crash into a comet to do research on it, it does and its a great successful mission. Then say ten years later after swinging around the sun, as it got caught by the gravitational pull. Only now its going to hit us, you find out that its going to hit us because the probe the scientists launched knocked it into our orbit.

The question, say there is no way to stop the comet.

Would you kill the scientists before you died from the comet?

Second if you could kill the scientists before they launched the probe thereby preventing your later death would you?

 

[StarWorms]

I would go on a holiday to the other side of the world

 

[frob2900]

Say one day NASA scientists launch a probe that is supposed to crash into a comet to do research on it, it does and its a great successful mission. Then say ten years later after swinging around the sun, as it got caught by the gravitational pull. Only now its going to hit us, you find out that its going to hit us because the probe the scientists launched knocked it into our orbit.

The question, say there is no way to stop the comet.

I think the question is kind of unrealistic. Because if the comet is large enough to be dangerous, then there is no way that a small probe can knock it "into our orbit". On the flipside, if the comet is small enough to have its orbit perturbed, then it's not likely to be a danger to humanity.

 

[Colonel]

By the scenerio I described it wasn't the probe alone that did it, it knocked it so slightly that it pushed toward the sun, then used its gravity to pull out on an orbit that would intersect ours.

 

[frob2900]

By the scenerio I described it wasn't the probe alone that did it, it knocked it so slightly that it pushed toward the sun, then used its gravity to pull out on an orbit that would intersect ours.

Are you sure that isn't the same thing? AFAIK, perturbing an elliptic orbit slightly shouldn't make it do anything extreme. It should merely alter the ellipse ever so slightly. Now if the comets path was already skirting so close to earth that the perturbation would make it hit, I think the NASA people would be aware of this. ([EDIT]To answer your question, then: Yes, if they are that dumb then I would stab them to death with their own pencils )

For the perturbation to send the comet into a completely different path, it would need to be very large indeed. I mean, are we talking about a large asteroid, the size of tens of thousands of probes, or what? In that case I don't see how that could happen.

 

[Colonel]

Its a hypothetical situation, and the comet would be of the size to be considered a global killer. Just make the assumption that the comet was already pretty close to hitting us and NASA just screwed up massively.

 

[frob2900]

Its a hypothetical situation, and the comet would be of the size to be considered a global killer. Just make the assumption that the comet was already pretty close to hitting us and NASA just screwed up massively.

Yeah, well the main question then is: Was the probe meant to figure out how to stop the comet from hitting? Is it provable that the probe landing actually pushed the comet exactly so that it would hit? Why didn't they fire a bunch of further probes/nukes/kitchen sinks at it to make it miss?

Remember, all you really need to do is hit the asteroid with another probe from the opposite direction (roughly speaking, but NASA knows how to calculate that exactly) and you will have pushed it back.

Also, where's Bruce Willis in all of this?? Is he on a vacation or something?

 

[Jesus Civs]

Its a hypothetical situation, and the comet would be of the size to be considered a global killer. Just make the assumption that the comet was already pretty close to hitting us and NASA just screwed up massively.

I would go on the biggest bender ever and shag as many different women as possible.

 

[frob2900]

I would go on the biggest bender ever and shag as many different women as possible.

I'd smoke 6 packs of cigarettes a day, eat only Big Macs & Fries, and brush my teeth with a mixture of Whiskey and Coca-Cola.

Oh yeah, and I'd tell my boss where to stick it.

 

[Jesus Civs]

I'd smoke 6 packs of cigarettes a day, eat only Big Macs & Fries, and brush my teeth with a mixture of Whiskey and Coca-Cola.

Oh yeah, and I'd tell my boss where to stick it.

Man, your Paris Hilton avatar is turning me on!

When is this comet going to arrive!

Yes, Paris Hilton is a bird and she's definitely in my top ten babes list.

 

[Colonel]

That reminds me where is the latest babe thread

 

[frob2900]

Yes, Paris Hilton is a bird and she's definitely in my top ten babes list.

Except for that weird lazy eye she has, but luckily that can't be seen on my avatar due to the small size

 

[azzaman333]

Something is going to kill all humanity eventually, might as well be a giant comet.

 

[Jesus Civs]

Something is going to kill all humanity eventually, might as well be a giant comet.

But if you believe in the theory of evolution, life is just one big continuation.

If "humanity" becomes extinct, life will still go on in some other organisms.

Humans aren't necessarily the ultimate life forms, we are just a small part of the circle of life.

"Circle of Life" by Elton John:

From the day we arrive on the planet
And blinking, step into the sun
There's more to see than can ever be seen
More to do than can ever be done
There's far too much to take in here
More to find than can ever be found
But the sun rolling high
Through the sapphire sky
Keeps great and small on the endless round

It's the Circle of Life
And it moves us all
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the Circle
The Circle of Life

It's the Circle of Life
And it moves us all
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the Circle
The Circle of Life

 

[frob2900]

Something is going to kill all humanity eventually

Not necessarily. (Unless you want to get silly and talk about the end of the universe)

 

[azzaman333]

They live we die. Big deal, $#!^ happens.

 

[Jesus Civs]

They live we die. Big deal, $#!^ happens.

I love being alive simply because I don't know any other way to exist!

Enjoy it while it lasts!

 

[Jawz II]

I'd kill them out of boredom if I knew I was gonna get away with it.

Ill kill you fatboy, lets go.

(only kidding)

 

[Moonsinger]

Would you kill the scientists before you died from the comet?

Absolutely not! There is an infinite list of reasons why you should not kill them; I'm just going to name a few here:

(1) I'm sure they didn't do it on purpose.

(2) Killing them doesn't chance anything because you are going to die anyway.

(...)

(n) May be just a nano-second before you die, the scientists somehow manage to stop the comet.

Second if you could kill the scientists before they launched the probe thereby preventing your later death would you?

Even the scientists don't know what happen next. If they know that would be their death, they wouldn't launch the probe in the first place. Since there is no way for you to know that would prevent your later death, it would be immoral and unethical to go around killing people because of what you believe may or may not happen.

Furthermore, even if your God give you the power to foreseen the future and tell you to kill those scientists, it would still be wrong for the following zillion reasons (to name a few):

(1) If your God is all powerful, why didn't he stop the comet in the first place? I'm sure he/she can just command it not to crash and it shall be done. If your God couldn't do it himself and need your help, then he isn't the powerful God after all. This is really a problem with the world today. Too many people saying that they do it in the name of their God or for their God or to save the world, but in reality, they are doing it for themselves.

(2) How do you know for sure that your God is the good guy? As far as you know, he may be the devil in disguise. Sure, even if he can show off some impressive powers, that doesn't mean that he is the good guy. If he is really all powerful and good, he would have stopped the comet himself.

(3) Doesn't it written somewhere that thou shall not kill? Especially, when thou doesn't know what is real and what is not. Saying that thou kill because of your faith or because someone told you so is simply a plain cop-out stupid excuse for thou ignorance.

(4) Since there is a thin line between having faith and having an hallucination, how do you know for sure which one is which? Oh yes, you are sure because you have faith. Isn't that arguing in circle?

 

[Brighteye]

I'd tell them that they needed to correct their mistake.