Daybreak, Part 3 (421)

[VSS]

DUH! Yes, the writing would be retained, but what's the point of having an Encyclopedia if its filled with words and concepts that are NO LONGER IN THE VOCABULARY?

When did I say anything about an encyclopedia? Frankly, during this whole conversation you've been throwing up straw men which I have never once mentioned. This entire debate, all I've been talking about is a written language. Any written language. The ability to read and write. But thank you for finally agreeing with me.

Maybe not. If they could get anyone to write all the knowledge that one retained from Colonial university calculus courses, they may be able to survive. Hell, I think they given a few years of writing, they could end up retaining 20th century relativistic physics. The Colonials needed a library of knowledge; they could get their children to figure out the mathematical proofs.

With our history, we didn't know that calculus was possible. We didn't know about relativity until we came across it. But one of my fellow graduate students in physics suggested that physics students work based on faith. They end up trusting that the solution exists and they work faster to get the answer because they have a faith in the professor that the answer exists. So if Gaius Baltar wrote that faster than light travel was possible, the next generation could take possibly ten years to verify that it was possible. If Baltar wrote down that it should be possible to find a mathematical expression for the slope and area of a curve, the next generation of students may make incredible progress to get the solution.

I think you might be right, if there were enough people dedicated to keeping alive knowledge that had no useful current applications. It'd be a little like the monasteries in the Middle Ages keeping Platonic philosophy alive. But remember, they lost Aristotle for a long, long time. Because there was no practical application.

I think that a lot depends on if the Colonies ever went through their own Dark Ages. If they did, they would know how precious something like calculus can be, even if it can't be used at the time.

Also, weren't you impressed with Starbuck's calculations? I was. Why would a fighter jock still remember quadratic equations? Maybe the Colonists were more mathematically inclined than we are.

You are not taking into account natural disasters in the past 150,000 years that have pushed humanity to the brink of extinction.

Yes, I am. I specifically stated it would be unlikely that every colony of colonists (okay, that sounded weird) would be wiped out. If they were all in one place, I'd buy that argument, but they're not. Plus, they'd have to be wiped out rather quickly- before their knowledge had a chance to disseminate amongst the natives. (And we know for a fact they were not, because Hera lived to reproduce). But disseminate it would, and rather quickly, I might add. Writing, as I mentioned, is not high tech at all, and it would seem like very powerful magic to the indigenous people.

That's why Sequoyah is such a legend in the US. He recognized right away that the Cherokee needed a written language, and he made one up. He didn't even use our alphabet- just the idea of a written language was enough for him.

[Corona]

35,000 people who were splitting up into lets say 10 groups still has 3500 people. Were they breaking it up smaller than that, further apart? Now their fate is completely independent from each other.

Losses due to predation, disease, hunger, drought, accidents, weather or murder will be high. If the farmers die before they can educate others, the group is compromised. I also doubt the colonists can all run very fast to avoid wild animals. Lunch time!

I suppose they brought the logs from Galactica which they could seperate and place into clay jars in a cave somewhere.

[kharn the betrayer]

Why is this so difficult for people to get? The Colonials never traveled in a straight line; it was a million light-years going in circles and zig-zags, essentially.

or they never actually traveled 1 million light years and Adama was exaggerating

(and im not saying they traveled in a straight line)

[BobBot]

Has anyone considered that maybe Earth Light Years are calculated slightly differently from Colonial Light Years?

No. A lightyear is the distance light travels in one year. If you redefine 'lightyear', you can redefine every word said in the series. You can then say 'death' in the colonial definition is different to our 'death'; you can say 38,000 survivors translates as over a billion survivors as we would count them. You just can't go around assuming the words on the show have different meanings to our usage, because then the show makes no sense.

Something else to consider


we've never even traveled near light speed, so we have no idea what really happens. again, more theories, guesswork and conjecture.

Yes we can; our theories are pretty accurate. We send matter at sublight speeds all the time, we know time slows down as you approach the speed of light. We've done it. We've tested the theories in other ways too, and they are accurate enough. Maybe people here should just accept that science has influenced the show. If you don't understand the science, either learn about it or accept you don't know what you're talking about.

or they never actually traveled 1 million light years and Adama was exaggerating

(and im not saying they traveled in a straight line)

Yay, someone making sense!

[HAL2100]

When did I say anything about an encyclopedia? Frankly, during this whole conversation you've been throwing up straw men which I have never once mentioned. This entire debate, all I've been talking about is a written language. Any written language. The ability to read and write. But thank you for finally agreeing with me.

The Encyclopedia was merely an example. The point being that having a written language is pointless if those who try to read it in 150,000 do not understand the concepts behind the words contained therein.

[HAL2100]

As I walked through Chicago the other and also visited the Sears tower, I kept thinking that if I were to die in a nuclear blast I'd want to at least see it all happen for that split second between the blast and going blind.

[HAL2100]

I'm now of the opinion that Starbuck was Starbuck resurrected. She wasn't an angel or anything else. The thinking is that God destined her for the part that she would play - hence her father playing the song for her and the prophecy. He death only created a situation that necessitated her rebirth. If she hadn't been killed, then events would have still played out so that in the end she would have found New Earth.

[Admiral Mappalazarou]

see, it all makes sense now

has anyone considered galactic shift? the planets/stars etc are close but aren't exactly in the same places they were then. our galaxy (and presumably others) are slowly spiraling outwards and have been since they day they were made.

in 150,000 years they could have all shifted apart so they're further apart now than they were then

Just think, in a few thousand years we should be able to see the supernova (or the Eye of Jupiter) appear faintly in the night sky...

[HAL2100]

As I sit here watching the next to last episode of ER, which is the first episode that I've seen in at least 5 years, I can't help but think that it'd be awfully, awfully hilarious if Head-Six and Head-Baltar were to appear as a guest patient and guest doctor. The prospects of in-jokes and references to BS:G would be hilarious esp given that most ER viewers would never get them.

Head-Six (To a mother and baby in the waiting room) "There, there. It's okay. You're not gonna have to cry much longer."

[Shan Bruce Lee]

35,000 people who were splitting up into lets say 10 groups still has 3500 people. Were they breaking it up smaller than that, further apart? Now their fate is completely independent from each other.

Losses due to predation, disease, hunger, drought, accidents, weather or murder will be high. If the farmers die before they can educate others, the group is compromised. I also doubt the colonists can all run very fast to avoid wild animals. Lunch time!

I suppose they brought the logs from Galactica which they could seperate and place into clay jars in a cave somewhere.

probably 12 groups

[Sixesplaything]

Mitochondrial Eve's bones were of a young woman, so life span was'nt too great then ?.

Hera was'nt actually the big saviour we all thought, her bones turned up, a 150.000 years later (and she was a modern human ?.).

What happened to all the vipers and raptors etc?.

Personally I'd have liked to have seen it end at the point where the camera pans away from adama on the hill top, but then if it had done that what about Hera ?, could'nt she have jumped the ship or something more important ?. Something like Elizabeth in V (Pretinama).

Laura's dead so why not go back to Lee ?.

150.000 years ?, how far has man kind progressed in the last 200 years ?, how much quicker would it have developed with colonial knowledge, surely not 150.000 years, and if i were about to settle down on a new planet I'd certainly want more than one small bag and more than a few tools and screws.

On the whole it addressed most of the puzzles, I liked the fact that the ops room was the opera house, although I could'nt fathom out that if Kera was an angel, what was the viper (a nice touch would have been to see the viper also disappear).

The battle scene was ok, i could'nt really see galactica's guns doing any damage to the colony ship, the raiders seem to get thru the defensive parimeter barrage quite easily ?. I never really saw the galactica dish out a lot of punishment in any of the episodes, like the Pegasus did, I'd really have liked to see it kicking seven bells out of the colony ship, which for me was the most disapponting thing about the series, the Galactica either ran or took a lot of damage merely defending itself, the Pegasus battle summed up the power of a Battlestar.

[HAL2100]

On the whole it addressed most of the puzzles, I liked the fact that the ops room was the opera house, although I could'nt fathom out that if Kera was an angel, what was the viper (a nice touch would have been to see the viper also disappear).

The Viper would have been destroyed with Galactica sailed off into the sun. I'm convinced that Kara was not an Angel or anything else, she was simply Kara Thrace reborn to complete her task. I came to this conclusion on the assumption that God selected her when she was little - hence her Dad playing the song for her and the assorted drawings of the Eye of Jupiter. He death was merely an inconvenience that had to be worked around. If she hadn't of died, then at some point the Final Five would still have regained their memories, she would have found a way to Earth and what not. In short, she was destined to lead them to Earth. The HOW was negotiable.

[Pharaoh Atem]

Just think, in a few thousand years we should be able to see the supernova (or the Eye of Jupiter) appear faintly in the night sky...

but sadly we won't know the history of how it happen and the people

[BobBot]

The Viper would have been destroyed with Galactica sailed off into the sun. I'm convinced that Kara was not an Angel or anything else, she was simply Kara Thrace reborn to complete her task. I came to this conclusion on the assumption that God selected her when she was little - hence her Dad playing the song for her and the assorted drawings of the Eye of Jupiter. He death was merely an inconvenience that had to be worked around. If she hadn't of died, then at some point the Final Five would still have regained their memories, she would have found a way to Earth and what not. In short, she was destined to lead them to Earth. The HOW was negotiable.

God could have prevented her dieing if it wasn't in the plan... I think her death was more important than that, her death and resurrection showed people that there was more going on than they believed, that there was in fact a third party in the goings on between human and cylon. And her original viper was still on Earth, emitting the transponder signal.

[apollo123]

Mitochondrial Eve's bones were of a young woman, so life span was'nt too great then ?.

Hera was'nt actually the big saviour we all thought, her bones turned up, a 150.000 years later (and she was a modern human ?.).

Hera was important in other ways as well. She was the catalyst for the entire Opera House vision and eventual confrontation in the ops room, all of which needed to happen. Also, she was the one who drew out the notes allowing Kara to find Earth.