@Archie,

Oh. I forgot to add to my previous to you.... And don't forget the avian flu.

Shock tactics. I like that. I know whereof you speak but, again, we wander into a taboo subject matter area. Do not think that I disagree with you, however.

Edited by - Indy11 on 2/2/2004 10:02:43 AM

i saw a video in school about this and similar crap in sixth grade

- Wolf_Demon - aka wolfy, wolf, king of odd, king of spam, and twonk

although it is very well presented, including a clip by a "scientist" (shock horror!) it is of course complete pap. Oooh takes me right back to "Tomorrow's World..."

...Raymond Baxter demonstrating the revolutionary hoverjet skateboards we'll all be flying to work on in the year 2004....

ugh, horrible flashback there. quite put me in mind of walking toasters for some reason. ah well, i wouldn't worry about it, anyone, not going to happen tomorrow, is it?

Geez. If the poles switch (wich they are wont to do) it'll wreak havoc with, lots of stuff! And Earth's climate has been known to fluctuate over time. This global warming buisness may be a bunch of nothing.

Now here is somthing to consider for everybody, but esp Americans and Canadians. Yellowstone National Park in Montana is a "hot spot" of semi volcanic activity. Bubbling sulphur springs and the like. Wana know why? The entire par (and it's a BIG park) sits on a bubble of magma. Once in a great while this bubble pops, that is a ralativly small hole opens up and the weight of the park shoots all that magma into the atmosphere. How much? Last time it put two feet of ash in Illinois!!! And it's due to go again soon. Sweet dreams

(That info from the discovery channel some time ago. For furthur proof, the lake at Yellowstone is moving as the bubble rises)

Speaking of hovering skateboards, have any of you been confronted with those Segways?

Just the other day, walking to my office building, some dweeb came barrelling down the side walk on one of those things. After a brief pang of jealousy, I became quite
miffed at the nerve of the guy forcing us lowly pedestrians out of his way like that.

@Taw
"Of course" its pap? Why of course?

Hmm, I'll have to add this to my list of things to worry about.

*Writes on notepad*

There we go, it's right after the million or so other things that I worry about, the ones I can actually do something about.

"Life is much too important a thing ever to talk seriously about it." -- Oscar Wilde

"why is it pap, of course?"

1/ look at the presentation. let's do a formalist analysis before we even get to the content.

You have what should be an extremely complex scientific debate reduced to a few minutes as a "news" item. It's primary elements consist of some computerised graphics, an english "scientist" if thats what he was and not an actor or some bloke off the street, to add scientific gravitas to the report, then some stock footage of animals, conveniently whales which everyopne loves, that "might" suffer if this happens, then some waffle about skin cancer but no mention of worldwide drought and flooding. Haven't I seen this all before every time there's some theoretical threat, be it comets, asteroids, global warming, ice age, pollution?

2/ what's the source for this report? who's research is it? I see no provenance on this whatsoever and Professor Wotsisname could be anyone for all I know. How do we know the data is correct? even if the data is correct, how do we know the conclusion is correct?

just because the earth's magnetic field may be being weakened in some places (which is still not proven) does NOT mean that it will inevitably disappear and/or reverse itself, nor does it mean that it will do these things anytime soon. It is pure conjecture, and based upon very dubious eveidence if you ask me. Sounds good though!

3/ even if it was true (which it isn't) what could we do about it? diddly-squat.

I don't think the poles flipping is anything to
worry about. If it has happened before then
has there been a major apocalypse like the one
that wiped out the dinosaurs? No. Besides
humans have survived worse.

Poles flipping shouldn't be a total cataclysm. It's the loss of the magnetic field that protects the Earth from radiation emanating from the Sun that likely will prove to be damaging that is of concern.... regarding radiation effects upon human life and health, as well as such effects on the biosphere as a whole.

While the pole reversal takes place, there is expected to be a century or three of little or no magnetic field protection of the planet.

In the case of Mars, a current hypothesis is that, upon permanently losing its magnetic field, the cosmic storms from the Sun eventually stripped the planet of most of its atmosphere.

@Taw:

Hmmm. It is true that the "scientific community" is not 100% behind what was shown on Nova as far as the idea of what causes polarity reversals on Earth is concerned. I take it that this is what you find flawed. On the other hand, however, these current hypotheses are not being attacked by scientific peers either. It is more of a wait and see.

As to the development of weakened areas of N/S polarity on the globe, this has been documented for the past two or three decades and, in particular, the region in the South Atlantic (which includes the Falklands) has been observed over this time frame to be growing larger over time.

The "model" while still imperfect, is the first comprehensive method to explain how the "flip-flop" may occur. As computer models go, it was not purpose-built to demonstrate polarity reversals. Rather, the model was intended to track all the kinds of data that have been observed and to project them out to see how such indications may develop over time. From this original goal, an unexpected result was a switch in the model's polarity.

Basically, in the model, in both its Northern and Southern hemispheric areas, pockets of opposite polarity occur which, over time increase in number and size until the poles are reversed as the respective "pockets" merge and become the whole.

Do you also deny that there is credible geological evidence of polarity reversals


Bad things are good
in Bizzaro World

Edited by - Indy11 on 2/3/2004 6:43:22 AM

I really wouldn't know. ok I accept that its happened in the past. so have asteroid impacts and ice ages etc.

btw I'm so glad you wrote Falklands and not the other enemy word <spit>

-last time yellowstone national park blew as aprroxamatly 200,000 years ago. you're thinking of Mt. St. Helens

-i watch the discovery channel, completely reliable source

-and i dont think that polarities changing will affect me, ive always wanted to live more south


-both videos is saw about these subjects ended somewhat like this:
the last time __________happened was ______ years ago, the next time is overdue
and this was said in a deep scary kinda voice

- Wolf_Demon - aka wolfy, wolf, king of odd, king of spam, and twonk


Edited by - ):Wolf_Demon on 2/3/2004 3:02:34 PM

I heard about this weeks ago on Slashdot, but I'm not worried. The planet is history when the sun goes nova anyway .