A Simple Question...or 3!

[Aractus]

Upon what metrics have you deemed this magical explanation of the moon to be "entirely possible"? By any metrics that refer to the rate that magic occurs I think it's more like "patently impossible." Whats perfect about it's size, how it attempts to crush us? Hell, what's perfect about it's position...that it's escaping....? Yeah, some perfect moon, trying to smother it's only friend while it waits for the day to say "Fuck You Big Blue (and all your precious goddamned life)..I'm outta here".

The moon stabilizes our axis. It'll take some 4 billion years for it to drift far enough away not to do its job anymore. I'd say that makes its size and placement pretty much perfect for us.

[The Grand Nudger]

I'd say that makes us pretty much perfect (lulz, who am I kidding, we aren't anywhere near perfect for anything either) for the axis of the earth. Until that 4 billion years is up, of course. The moon still looks like a giant piece of shit. I could have done better with godly power, and I'm not a god. Even if the moon, and any other old thing you want to call perfect for whatever reason actually was -perfect-..magic still happens at a rate of exactly zilch.

[Aractus]

Don't create straw man arguments. I didn't say the moon is perfect - I said its size and position is perfect for us.

[The Grand Nudger]

But neither has actually been established. It's size could be larger or smaller...explain how that would be "less than perfect" for us. It's position is a demonstrable blunder. It's escaping (and if we are to even entertain the notion that it is somehow "for us" - for whatever hilarious reason you're likely to offer....that's a hell of an oversight). Wouldn't you like to dispute the rate of magic occurring while you're at it? May as well.

[Aractus]

But neither has actually been established. It's size could be larger or smaller...explain how that would be "less than perfect" for us. It's position is a demonstrable blunder. It's escaping (and if we are to even entertain the notion that it is somehow "for us" - for whatever hilarious reason you're likely to offer....that's a hell of an oversight). Wouldn't you like to dispute the rate of magic occurring while you're at it? May as well.

We're not going to be here in 4 billion years, so it won't matter anymore.

BTW I'm not saying that God specifically put the moon there, as you imply, all I said was that it's a possibility.

[Cyberman]

I made no strawmen. I responded to your assertion that the position of the Moon is perfect for conditions here on Earth; the size was not relevant to my point. I repeat: if the Moon's position is perfect, for us or at all, why should it be receding from Earth?

[Darkstar]

I think he is using a slightly lax definition for 'perfect'. Not as lax as the definition of a 'perfect' god, though.

[Aractus]

I made no strawmen. I responded to your assertion that the position of the Moon is perfect for conditions here on Earth; the size was not relevant to my point. I repeat: if the Moon's position is perfect, for us or at all, why should it be receding from Earth?

A misunderstanding, I didn't say you made a straw man - Rhythm did it.

I repeat. The moon's placement is just right for us in the here and now. In 4 billion years it will no longer stabilise our axis as it presently does, but we won't be here so it doesn't matter, does it?

I repeat. All I said was that it's possible. In my mind it's no more likely then if it did form naturally.

[The Grand Nudger]

We're not going to be here in 4 billion years, so it won't matter anymore.

Yet another horrendous oversight. I'll let the moon slide on that one though.

BTW I'm not saying that God specifically put the moon there, as you imply, all I said was that it's a possibility.

I'm not trying to imply anything...I had actually hoped that my responses where fairly explicit. I think you used the word possible where it does not apply...and proposed something ridiculous as possible...and then attempted to support that ridiculous "possibility" with thin air.

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A misunderstanding, I didn't say you made a straw man - Rhythm did it.

I repeat. The moon's placement is just right for us in the here and now. In 4 billion years it will no longer stabilise our axis as it presently does, but we won't be here so it doesn't matter, does it?

I repeat. All I said was that it's possible. In my mind it's no more likely then if it did form naturally.

So it wasn't "just right for us" at some point in the past was it? Just right for us how? What does our axis have to do with us? How would our disappearance change any of these nagging little problems with the moon? More broadly, what happens to all of these little tuning arguments if/when we cease to exist?

[Cyberman]

I think he is using a slightly lax definition for 'perfect'. Not as lax as the definition of a 'perfect' god, though.

More like an appeal to the anthropic principle, with a god smokescreen thrown in. We can account for the Moon's recession through tidal influences; at one time the Earth-Moon system was a great deal closer together than it is today, such that the days were on the order of a few hours and the tidal stress on our oceans would have been enormous. Over time the system transferred angular momentum from the Earth to the Moon, slowing our planet's rotation and causing the Moon to recede. Eventually it will reach a point of maximum recession, after which the system will reverse and the Moon will begin to approach. Once it enters the zone known as the Roche Limit, about nine and a half thousand kilometres from the surface of the Earth for a body of the Moon's mass, the satellite will disintegrate due to tidal stress and our Earth will have a lovely ring system - not as grand or as complex as Saturn's, but pretty all the same. Think of it as an IKEA version of what a ring system should be.

The scenario presented in recent exchnages, wherein the Moon's position is perfectly placed for life on Earth and for us in particular, only works if the setup is static; that the Moon is receding at a measurable rate throws a rather hefty spanner smack in the middle of it. Unless we're to be treated to some appeal to mystery or similar?