Online Class Notes (Nick)

At which level of the Kardashev scale could humans safely try to contact aliens? When would our strength be large enough to not be afraid of destruction?

https://futurism.com/the-kardashev-scale-type-i-ii-iii-iv-v-civilization
http://wilsonweb.physics.harvard.edu/HUMANRIGHTS/PHYSICS/Kardashev_scale.htm

Or, what other way could we decide when it would be safe? When we have more homes than Earth? When we can travel faster than light?

ALSO

Think about your favorite type of books, and we can talk about what to read in English next time.

Vocabulary

花椒 – this doesn’t really have an exact translation in English; perhaps Sichuan peppercorn, or huajiao

You don’t know what you don’t know! – we should be careful to say that we have a fully developed understanding of the world, because sometimes we don’t even know yet what we don’t have the tools to know
e.g. In 1900, a famous scientist, Lord Kelvin, said: “There is nothing new to be discovered in physics now. All that remains is more and more precise measurement” (He was wrong)

Interstellar – between stars
e.g. When humans finally manage interstellar travel and can live on multiple planets, then maybe we can abandon the Dark Forest Theory and try to contact other species.

Solar System – one star and the things that orbit it
Galaxy – many stars that sort of travel together, they are orbiting in one big group

PBS Spacetime – this is a YouTube channel that releases short videos on space and physics; “PBS” is a public TV company in the US, the “Public Broadcasting Station”
e.g. Someone in the comments of a Spacetime video said that they were born at the wrong time–“too late to explore the Earth, and too early to explore space.”

Proper noun – a name, a more “formal” noun
e.g. John, Shanghai, the United States (anything that has a capital letter)
Common noun – any thing or idea that is not a proper noun
e.g. water, river, fire, food, washer, bottle
Inflection – (grammar) changing a word because of its context; number, gender, case
e.g. One apple, two apples (the “s” shows an inflection of number)
e.g. he vs. she (this shows a difference in gender)
Case – inflection of something depending upon its role in the sentence (is it doing the action, is it receiving the action, does it have something?)
e.g. Subject = He ate the apple (“he” is the person doing the action of eating)
e.g. Object = The car hit him (“him” is about the same person as “he,” but now it is the object)
e.g. Possessive = The boy’s apple (the ” ‘s” shows that the boy has or owns the apple; of)

Possessive – something that owns something else; someone that is afraid to lose something, especially a boyfriend/girlfriend or wife/husband (for relationships, it is a negative meaning)
e.g. Her boyfriend always wants to know where she is and who she is with. He is really possessive!
e.g. The possessive case in English shows who controls something else, and is formed by adding ‘s to the end of a word.

Proper – something that is formal, correct, appropriate, in good taste or manners
e.g. The speech that you gave was very proper (it was good for this situation)
e.g. No need to be so proper! (no need to be formal in this situation)

Maximum – 上限
Minimum – 下限