{"id":88079,"date":"2020-09-14T16:39:17","date_gmt":"2020-09-14T22:39:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=88079"},"modified":"2020-09-15T21:52:19","modified_gmt":"2020-09-16T03:52:19","slug":"life-on-venus-intelligent-life-on-earth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/09\/life-on-venus-intelligent-life-on-earth.html","title":{"rendered":"Life on Venus? Intelligent Life on Earth?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Gender<\/a>
The blue needs to be somewhat darker if we\u2019re thinking seriously about making this a new BYU logo.
(Wikimedia Commons public domain image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now this<\/em> is interesting:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPhosphine gas found in Venus\u2019 atmosphere may be \u2018a possible sign of life\u2019: Astronomers detected signs of a smelly, toxic gas that microbes can make in the planet\u2019s clouds\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I began this Fall term at BYU teaching three classes, two of them online and one in person.\u00a0 I\u2019m still teaching three classes.\u00a0 Today, however, I informed the students in the in-person class that, for minimally the next two weeks, it too will be conducted online.\u00a0 The reason for this is that at least one of the students in it has been exposed to the coronavirus and, being now under quarantine, cannot currently attend class.\u00a0 Here, though, are a few links regarding what some who write to me like to call our current \u201cscamdemic,\u201d the worldwide coronavirus hoax that has evidently been hatched by the Deep State in order to interfere with Mr. Donald J. Trump\u2019s otherwise inevitable and unstoppable cruise to the first of his many destined reelections:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve received some quite impassioned, irate, and indignant responses to my recent expression of displeasure with the Young\/Dumb parties lately held here in Utah Valley<\/a>, which almost certainly involve a number of BYU students.\u00a0 Young people need to be permitted to live their lives without being dragged down by selfish old geezers such as I.\u00a0\u00a0Many young folks would rather die, I\u2019m told, than give up maskless partying for a few months.\u00a0 And if that puts other people at greater risk of dying, it seems that they had better do it, and\u00a0decrease the surplus population.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Who cares?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHealth official calls out BYU, UVU students for rise in case counts: New Salt Lake study finds even asymptomatic children can transmit the disease to others\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some may begin<\/em> to care, though, if irresponsible behavior and youthful immaturity put BYU\u2019s sacred\u00a0football season<\/em> at risk:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAnalysis: BYU football is facing difficult questions after Army game postponed: What was Army athletic director Mike Buddie trying to say when he tweeted about trying to find a new opponent for Saturday?\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The coronavirus is not, I\u2019ve been assured, anywhere near as serious as the common flu:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cRedefining Covid-19: Months after infection, patients report breathing difficulty, excessive fatigue\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cA sobering breakdown of severe COVID-19 cases shows young adults can\u2019t dismiss it: A new study underscores the fact that people ages 18 to 34 can still get severely sick\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cCollege athletes show signs of possible heart injury after COVID-19: A small study found indicators of inflammation in images of some athletes\u2019 hearts\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

From, arguably, one of the two most prestigious journals of general science in the English language:\u00a0 \u201cTrump lied about science\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite all of the idiocy and mendacity out there, though, we may yet survive:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cTreatments that target the coronavirus in the nose might help prevent COVID-19: Scientists and doctors want to interrupt the virus before it settles in\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNew treatments aim to treat COVID-19 early, before it gets serious: Some promising treatments may block the coronavirus from entering cells or from multiplying\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cA COVID-19 Vaccine May Be Only 50% Effective. Is That Good Enough?\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSeven in 10 Americans willing to get COVID-19 vaccine, survey finds: Race, politics linked to lower interest among participants\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Interpreter Foundation\u2019s own Dr. Gregory L. Smith<\/a>, up in Alberta, Canada, has posted some very sane and useful items on the coronavirus pandemic.\u00a0 Here is one of them:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHow effective a COVID-19 vaccine do we\u00a0need?\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

But, for some relief, let\u2019s move on to different subjects:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDrones find signs of a Native American \u2018Great Settlement\u2019 beneath a Kansas pasture: The sprawling town may have been home to thousands before Spanish explorers arrived\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cTrove of 2,500-Year-Old Sealed Coffins Unearthed in Egypt: Authorities say the wooden sarcophagi, found during excavations at the Saqqara necropolis, have likely remained unopened for millennia\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAncient Earthquake May Have Caused Destruction of Canaanite Palace at Tel Kabri\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 Now this is interesting: \u00a0 \u201cPhosphine gas found in Venus\u2019 atmosphere may be \u2018a possible sign of life\u2019: Astronomers detected signs of a smelly, toxic gas that microbes can make in the planet\u2019s clouds\u201d \u00a0 *** \u00a0 I began this Fall term at BYU teaching three classes, two of them online and one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[5328,16294,1152,1149,11830,9264,16297,8031,13514,9108,5421,9101,5886,9104,16303,16121,2454,782,16300,8978,1531],"class_list":["post-88079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-atmosphere","tag-atmospheric","tag-brigham-young-university","tag-byu","tag-college","tag-contagion","tag-contagiousness","tag-coronavirus","tag-covid","tag-covid-19","tag-disease","tag-epidemic","tag-gas","tag-pandemic","tag-phosphine","tag-spread","tag-university","tag-utah","tag-utah-county","tag-utah-valley","tag-venus"],"yoast_head":"\nLife on Venus? Intelligent Life on Earth?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    Now this is interesting:   "Phosphine gas found in Venus\u2019 atmosphere may be \u2018a possible sign of life\u2019: Astronomers detected signs of a\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/09\/life-on-venus-intelligent-life-on-earth.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Life on Venus? Intelligent Life on Earth?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"    Now this is interesting:   "Phosphine gas found in Venus\u2019 atmosphere may be \u2018a possible sign of life\u2019: Astronomers detected signs of a\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/09\/life-on-venus-intelligent-life-on-earth.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sic et Non\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-09-14T22:39:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-09-16T03:52:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2020\/09\/Lendrem_et_al.-2014-Figure_1-The_Darwin_Awards_sex_differences_in_idiotic_behavior.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/09\/life-on-venus-intelligent-life-on-earth.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/09\/life-on-venus-intelligent-life-on-earth.html\",\"name\":\"Life on Venus? Intelligent Life on Earth?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-09-14T22:39:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-09-16T03:52:19+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\"},\"description\":\"    Now this is interesting:   \\\"Phosphine gas found in Venus\u2019 atmosphere may be \u2018a possible sign of life\u2019: Astronomers detected signs of a\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/09\/life-on-venus-intelligent-life-on-earth.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/09\/life-on-venus-intelligent-life-on-earth.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/09\/life-on-venus-intelligent-life-on-earth.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Life on Venus? Intelligent Life on Earth?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/\",\"name\":\"Sic et Non\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\",\"name\":\"Dan Peterson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dan Peterson\"},\"description\":\"\\\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\\\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Life on Venus? Intelligent Life on Earth?","description":"    Now this is interesting:   \"Phosphine gas found in Venus\u2019 atmosphere may be \u2018a possible sign of life\u2019: Astronomers detected signs of a","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/09\/life-on-venus-intelligent-life-on-earth.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Life on Venus? Intelligent Life on Earth?","og_description":"    Now this is interesting:   \"Phosphine gas found in Venus\u2019 atmosphere may be \u2018a possible sign of life\u2019: Astronomers detected signs of a","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/09\/life-on-venus-intelligent-life-on-earth.html","og_site_name":"Sic et Non","article_published_time":"2020-09-14T22:39:17+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-09-16T03:52:19+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2020\/09\/Lendrem_et_al.-2014-Figure_1-The_Darwin_Awards_sex_differences_in_idiotic_behavior.jpg"}],"author":"Dan Peterson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dan Peterson","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/09\/life-on-venus-intelligent-life-on-earth.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/09\/life-on-venus-intelligent-life-on-earth.html","name":"Life on Venus? Intelligent Life on Earth?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website"},"datePublished":"2020-09-14T22:39:17+00:00","dateModified":"2020-09-16T03:52:19+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045"},"description":"    Now this is interesting:   \"Phosphine gas found in Venus\u2019 atmosphere may be \u2018a possible sign of life\u2019: Astronomers detected signs of a","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/09\/life-on-venus-intelligent-life-on-earth.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/09\/life-on-venus-intelligent-life-on-earth.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/09\/life-on-venus-intelligent-life-on-earth.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Life on Venus? Intelligent Life on Earth?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/","name":"Sic et Non","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045","name":"Dan Peterson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dan Peterson"},"description":"\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1019"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88079"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88079\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}