Space Derelicts

Science & Futurism with Isaac Arthur

Isaac Arthur

Science, Futurism, Sci Fi, Future, Scifi, Technology, Space, Engineering

4.8 • 739 Ratings

🗓️ 29 August 2019

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Science fiction delights in showing us brave adventurers boarding abandoned spaceships, exploring ancient alien worlds and space hulks, or surviving on planets turned into giant garbage dumps, but how realistic is this idea? And what sort of civilizations and cultures might spring up around such efforts? Watch the video version: https://youtu.be/xMrWF4nOyC8 Visit our sponsor, Brilliant: https://brilliant.org/IsaacArthur/ Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IsaacArthur SFIA Merchandise available: https://www.signil.com/sfia/ Social Media: Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1583992725237264/ Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/IsaacArthur/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Isaac_A_Arthur on Twitter and RT our future content. SFIA Discord Server: https://discord.gg/53GAShE Credits: Space Derelicts & Trash Worlds Episode 201, Season 5 E36 Written by: Isaac Arthur Editors: Keith Blockus S. Kopperud Cover Art: Jakub Grygier Graphics by: Bryan Versteeg http://spacehabs.com Fishy Tree https://www.deviantart.com/fishytree/ Jarred Eagley Jeremy Jozwik https://www.artstation.com/zeuxis_of_losdiajana LegionTech Studios https://hades9.com Ken York https://www.facebook.com/YDVisual/ Mihail Yordanov Sergio Botero https://www.artstation.com/sboterod?fref=gc Produced & Narrated by: Isaac Arthur Music Manager: Luca DeRosa - [email protected] Music: Scott Buckley, "Red" http://www.scottbuckley.com.au Marcus Warner, "In Arcadia" Chris Zabriskie, "Unfoldment Revealment Evolution Exposition Integration Arson" http://chriszabriskie.com Serena Elis, "Science" https://soundcloud.com/serenaelis Kai Engel, "Soli" https://www.kai-engel.com/ Denny Schneidemesser, "Luminous Rays" https://soundcloud.com/denny-schneidemesser See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, SFIA audio listeners. In this month's Nebula exclusive, big alien theory,
0:05.2	we're asking the reason alien civilizations might be rare is because most aliens are huge.
0:10.5	To hear it and every episode early and add free, plus hours of bonus content,
0:15.1	check out go.nebola.tv slash Isaac Arthur and use my code, Isaac Arthur.
0:20.3	This episode is sponsored by Brilliant.
0:23.6	Science fiction and fantasy loves to show us brave archaeologists and tomb raiders uncovering
0:29.7	some ancient ruins of a lost civilization.
0:32.9	But one day, there might be whole civilizations devoted to it.
0:55.4	Yeah. One day, there might be whole civilizations devoted to it. One of the most popular plots in science fiction is where our brave adventurers encounter a ruined ship, typically of some ancient and long-dead alien race or xeno-archologists hunting among such ruins.
1:02.5	These make for great stories, but lack an element of realism in the context of the Fermi
1:07.5	paradox and galaxy spanning civilizations.
1:11.2	You need some serious handwaves or plot contrivances to explain not why a ship got abandoned
1:16.6	or planetary civilization fell or went extinct, but why nobody else found it or resettled
1:21.9	such a world almost immediately on astronomical timelines.
1:27.3	Analogies to our own lost ships and civilizations don't really work out well in space or
1:32.4	by the capabilities of space-faring civilizations.
1:36.3	These days when a ship sinks, we know where and can go hunt that thing down, our ancestors
1:41.6	couldn't go scuba diving to reclaim their lost treasures.
1:45.4	We also want to keep in mind that a lot of the archaeological past is either composed
1:49.9	of trash our ancestors didn't care about or repurposed, like using broken pottery in following
1:56.0	rounds of construction and repair, or had cultural or religious significance.
2:01.3	We don't find abandoned tracts of useful land, just abandoned tombs or temples and the like,
	...

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