this post was submitted on 10 Apr 2025
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Showerthoughts

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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The most popular seem to be lighthearted clever little truths, hidden in daily life.

Here are some examples to inspire your own showerthoughts:

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For example if the Betelgeuze system had a planet, with a theoretical large telescope on that planet and looked back at earth. It would see life and civilizations from the 15th century a.d. (~500 light years distance)

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 days ago

OP's criteria is for an equal (equivalent) alien civilization.

If they were to have what we have, they would be able to detect (infer) atmospheric composition filled with the byproducts of industrialization. It's not ideal, but IMO we're halfway there. I can't recall the system's designation, but there was some hubbub about one where the Sun's light was interrupted by some huge mass which seemed to not follow an irregular (hypothetically artificial and intelligently controlled) orbit. I can't wait for the tech to improve, this is exciting stuff.