Mayhap, but if so, the humans should not have been able to land in the first place. Even then once that laser system reveals itself, it is simple to take it out with a cloud of nail sized impactors.
He's implying they're Organians or something THAT far advanced. It would see the war-fleet coming lightyears away.
All THAT would do is force the super-AI to take more DIRECT action, just as the squabbling Federation and Klingon groups finally annoyed the Organians enough to make THEM take off the gloves.
Actually one shuttle is enough. This has the added benefit that you are releasing from close orbit which makes it harder for a defense system to react in time.
You're not thinking on the scale involved. If Brad's theory is right, what they're really dealing with is something like a Culture Mind -- a supercomputer beyond our imagination with Doc Smith level powers. Or the Vorlon from Babylon 5 -- the Vorlon HOMEWORLD. They're just not SHOWING it.
RE your other reply, it didn't MIND the humans landing. It has use for them, probably, eventually, if they don't cause too much trouble. Brad's theory is describing it as one of Star Trek's Near-Omnipotent Aliens, which means it DOES NOT worry -- nor really have REASON to worry -- about anything the humans can do, any more than I need to worry about a couple of ants. Yes, if I let them get established in my house, etc., I may have to resort to nastier measures to get rid of them, but get rid of them I will, and in fact I have. They have no IDEA what I am capable of. Your "nail-sized impactors" simply won't GET to their target. Depending on how much time it has and how much of a "point" it wants to make, this "not get there" will be more or less spectacular in its effect and "WTF" in its mechanism.
That was a neat explanation. It's also the first time in years, I think, that I've run across Brad (other than as a mention in a completely distant context, such as him being mentioned in conjunction with the EFF and its work).
You know how sometimes you have a personality mismatch with somebody, and then you let it feed rather than trying to soften it? I think that's how it was decades ago with Anita and I, not that we were ever particularly important people in one another's lives. The only reason I still recall it is that, while I'm the sort that has few long term resentments, there was a brief event almost 20 years ago which Anita almost surely doesn't remember but which got on my short list of unforgivables. As to why she still feels strongly enough decades later to post post like that I have no idea, nor great interest, but perhaps she will mail you.
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(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-09 01:10 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-09 02:06 pm (UTC)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Nicoll#Nicoll-Dyson_Laser
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-09 02:38 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-09 02:08 pm (UTC)All THAT would do is force the super-AI to take more DIRECT action, just as the squabbling Federation and Klingon groups finally annoyed the Organians enough to make THEM take off the gloves.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-09 02:41 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-09 03:50 pm (UTC)RE your other reply, it didn't MIND the humans landing. It has use for them, probably, eventually, if they don't cause too much trouble. Brad's theory is describing it as one of Star Trek's Near-Omnipotent Aliens, which means it DOES NOT worry -- nor really have REASON to worry -- about anything the humans can do, any more than I need to worry about a couple of ants. Yes, if I let them get established in my house, etc., I may have to resort to nastier measures to get rid of them, but get rid of them I will, and in fact I have. They have no IDEA what I am capable of. Your "nail-sized impactors" simply won't GET to their target. Depending on how much time it has and how much of a "point" it wants to make, this "not get there" will be more or less spectacular in its effect and "WTF" in its mechanism.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-09 02:10 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-09 02:39 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-09 02:45 pm (UTC)That's an odd one
Date: 2010-01-10 02:45 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-09 06:50 pm (UTC)