In article <1140091965.087061.170360@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com>, 
ianparker2@gmail.com says...

I don't think it is a given, that AI is necessary, unless you are
going to make other such statements too?
That computers are necessary - and any number of other projections,
other than the obvious - a craft capable of travelling great distances,
substainable with their own atmosphere and other requirements for the
occupants to live.

Who says the first expedition will be manned. In fact ET will be
unmanned relying on AI except when actual colonization is planned. This
has not hapenned yet. The path to interstellar travel (without FTL) has
been reasonably well researched.

http://groups.google.co.uk/group/sci.physics/browse_frm/thread/1d7c010855caf1

dd/074a60610c4da1bb?lnk=st&q=group%3Asci.physics+insubject%3AVo

Basically you have a Von Neumann machine. You then have a dielectric
sail and you propel the craft by means of an array of lasers. Stopping
is done either with the Forward proposal of a second sail, or by
antimatter.

As was shown in my discussion with George Dishman AI represents one of
the main barriers to interstellar flight. I had more or less pat
answers to everything except that. Now the path to VN too is starting
to become clearer. A VN machine would not in fact be a single machine
but a swarm. A robust swarm that can repair itself with any robot out
of action.

I myself believe that we should be actively researching in these
fields, the fact that we can see this now is a great cause for
disbelief. ET will of course have trodden this path lon, long long ago.

I don't think this is a given. ie. No crashes.
The more complicated a technology is, the more likely that it can
go wrong, unless you say that Murphy's Law only applies to earthmen and
women.

Murphys law does happen. However they will be using robust redundant
swarms. A strike of a piece of dust in interstellar space (nuclear
force if at relativistic speed) could be curtains. However wrekage will
be scattered over light years. UFOs will almost certainly be built in
the solar system using VN machines, they will NOT have traversed
interstellar space. They will be constructed according to established
(from their stand point) technology. Their control systems will be
fully redundant. Autopilots for modern aircraft are built in
triplicate. To land in fog (Cat 3 ILS) you are required to have a
triplex system. This has a voter. It is not hard to imagine a true Reed
Soloman type of computer system where there are no critical parts.
Anyway our civil aviastion has a good safety record.

Everyone generally thinks, ie. reasons that - if UFOs were valid,
they would be a respectable field of research by now, instead of
remaining as Page 3 fodder for tabloid magazines and the like.
The subject of Hollywood movies but not that for serious scientific
research and study.

Of course we are dealing with a subject that has enormous implications
for mankind, that no doubt upsets a lot of religious views and beliefs.
That it is best for the public to not speculate upon this, because it is
too controversial to deal with.

I don't believe that at all. The arguments I have put forward are not
religious ones, they are primerally "gedanken engineering". SETI has
been seriusly discussed (see below)

But we must deal with this subject - because it is in our best interests
to do so, and all of it's implications and ramifications.
To grow up as a modern unified society, we must deal with it.
That no secrets about them (the UFOs) should be kept secret.

I absolutely agree. I think we should also recall that Woo Suk Huang
has recently falsified results on cloning. Science takes a very dim
view of this. If UFOs are military, and I feel that this is the only
possible explanation, then the military (and also NASA and SETI) are
guilty of falsifying their results. There is to me a question mark over
the integrity of the SETI team.

As I keep on saying the motivatrion for this falsification is the
preservation of a Cold War force structure. Aurora, a hypersonic
aircraft, is NOT going to help the effort in Iraq. Indeed it might even
get us into wars. The main Iraq lie is the lie that victory would be
easy.

Anyone looking at the history of UFOs - knows point blank,
that secrets are being kept, especially the US Government are involved.

And if you look at the types of UFOs seen over the years, certain
designs fall into the terrestrial earth variety, others noted for
their Pleiadian/Plejaren origin, etc etc.

And at the beginning of a certain UFO lecture concerning Billy Meier,
a Mr Green showed what he believed may be used in the Wedding Cake UFO -
a simple magnetic device capable of producing free energy.
Whether this is in fact used in that design, is a matter of debate
however.
Mr Green zipped on and then off, as a bonus for the audience. I don't
think that much of his free book, however - as regards an alternative
view of the world.

Harvey