"The systems of similar stars were usually very much alike - especially when it came to the spacing of planets."
-"The Green Thumb," p. 33.
In Robert Heinlein's Time For The Stars, an interstellar explorer claims that the planetary system of Tau Ceti confirms Bode's Law but do recently detected exo-planets confirm it? See here.
I thought that expecting such a law to apply to other planetary systems was a case of generalizing from a single instance. Certainly exo-systems confound expectations in other ways. That's probably all for tonight, folks.
4 comments:
Generalized zing from small samples is always dangerous; so is unconcious bad in your sample. A lot of “classic” psych experiments were done with Western university students as their subjects, who turn out to be significantly different from hmanityas a whole.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Which is why mankind should get OUT there and find out what we think can be generalized from small samples is likely to be true or not!
It is my firm belief that human explorers on Mars and in other parts of the Solar System will find and discover vastly more than what the best robotic rovers and probes will ever be able to discover. Because humans can "reprogram" themselves on the spot while machines will never be better than what they were programmed to do.
Ad astra! Sean
Comment to any interested readers:
Long ago, in 2009, I printed out from the Internet an article allegedly written by Poul Anderson called "Notes on Gotterdamerung." It certainly reads as tho written by Anderson, but no exact source or date was given, nothing about where and when it was first published.* As a result I have been unwilling to cite or quote from this essay. And I have never seen this article listed in any bibliography of the works of Anderson.
Does anyone who might see my comment here know more about the origins and provenance of this essay, assuming it was written by Anderson? I have recently been trying to track down this piece again by googling, with no luck.
The internet address on my paper print out is: http://fanac.org/fanzines/Rhodomagnetic20-47.html. And it was "entered" by somebody named Judy Bemis.
Were these "Notes" something written by Poul Anderson as a contribution to a now long defunct fanzine? If so, it might be an example of works by Anderson at risk of becoming permanently lost.
Ad astra! Sean
*Whether in a book, magazine, fanzine, or newspaper.
Correction:
I incompletely copied the Net address on the alleged essay by Anderson I gave above. This is the version I have: http://fanac.org/fanzines/Rhodomagnetic/Rhodomagnetic20-47.htpl.
I've no luck entering this address in the search box.
Ad astra! Sean
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