The What If Machine - Re-creating Skyrim
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- July 16, 2012
- Re-creating Skyrim
- Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
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- July 9, 2012
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- Jul 16, 2012
Cam investigates whether modern science could help make our boring Mammoth-free world more like Skyrim.
52 comments
1 Like The real world is crazy enough as it is.Scientists will eventually end up destroying the world trying to play God. This cloning extinct species shit is retarded. What's the point in cloning a wild animal mammoth that would probably go nuts and kill whoever gets in it's way? Those animals went extinct for a reason.
@HipHopBeats Yeah well that prick hasn't turned up yet so I guess we are going to have to step up and do the lazy asses job for him. It is easier to reproduce something that already exists or has existed than to make something entirely new. Like he said the DNA is already there all they have to do is get the eggs to work. If they can't do the simpler tasks how can they do the harder things, you know like curing cancer, which is all about genetic mutations, or is it too unethical to want such a thing? You have to walk before you can run but how can they even crawl if imaginary gods keep getting in the way of progress?
one thing you got wrong was there is and has been evidence of dragons. they did once exsit just not all fanciful as we make them out to be. they where more dino like but with wings and could spit fire from glands in there mouth. like the bombidear deetal.
3 Like Games are generally set in worlds where bad things happen and the heroes have to save the world or at least survive it. Rather than trying to make our world like those game worlds, I think it's better we use that as a precaution to avoid turning our worlds into a game world.
wtf no, why would anyone want a bunch of fire breathing hell lizards flying around burning cites to the ground. Why would I want to walk around and see ugly ass Orcs or having crazy giants walking around hitting people with their clubs and making them blast off into the sky. And im pretty sure if a huge asteriod hit the moon and all those changes to our climate would DRASTICALLY change our environment in a negative way, I doubt it would be as simple as just seasons like the game of thrones, it would probably mean the end of the world. no i enjoy being in fantasy land on the video games but in real life im perfectly ok with earth. and if anyone disagrees their full of shit because the minute ur toe to toe with a 40 foot dragon that about to swallow u whole, ull be singing a different tune, remember in real life WE DONT HAVE HEALTH BARS, WE GET HIT ONCE WITH SOMETHING SERIOUS WE DIE, WE DONT JUST EAT A SWEET ROLL AND REGAIN 20 POINTS OF HEALTH.
I always thought it was strange how they're called woolly mammoths.
I mean, all mammoths are supposed to look like that, so shouldn't they be called woolly elephants?
And it's not even wool, it's thick hair so "hairy elephant" would make far more sense than "woolly mammoth".
@naryanrobinson 1) They are a seperate species from elephants, so the name is irrelevant. You don't call a buffalo a cow or a chimp a human.
2) The term woolly is in lay speak, so isn't strictly part of the name. But in any case, consider that wool is made from sheep hair. So you can see how a thick coat of hair on the mammoths could be considered as "wool".
@jas_skywalker 1. I didn't say they should be called "hairy elephants" I just said it makes more sense than woolly mammoth.
2. I don't consider that wool is made from sheep hair, I consider that wool is wool. The same way you wouldn't call a wool fur or a hand a paw.
1 Like I actually used to like spiders (mostly because I wanted to be bitten by one) but years of playing games like this and dragon age I actually enjoy killing the little f***kers now
1 Like I'd like to see an episode on magic and other related concepts like Chakra and Ki.
1 Like The earth also has a wobble, but it's kept in check by the gravitational pull of the moon. But as the moon is distancing itself from the earth (it used to be much closer), it will eventually loose it's hold on us. Which will result in Game of Thrones like seasons, followed by the same violent weather patterns that Jupiter has (making the planet unlivable for us in about two billion years from now).
In only 1 billion years the sun is predicted to have such an increased energy output that the surface will be uninhabitable anyway, and winters of any sort a memory 100's of millions of years old...
1 Like @ShadowsDemon let me get this straight.. you wish that you'd like to be part of a world that you'd be a farmer and get torn apart by trolls and dragons? Or been slaughtered by a dragonborn who simply slaughters you because he run out of quests??? : P
@Fowsed @causeofchaos @ShadowsDemon
True!
The farmers are the working class , the economy is the Dragon and the politicians are the stormcloacks and imperials, All we are missing is a dragonborn !:D
Its all a matter of perspective!
Cloning Extinct animals seems like a very, very bad idea. Really cool, but a terrible idea. These creatures became extinct for a reason. Since they don't currently exist, it is incredibly unlikely that they will be able to simply fit easily into any current environment. Environments have changed a lot since they became extinct and have adapted to exist without them. Introducing them suddenly could be disastrous. I know this well as an australian... ever heard of Bufo Marinus(Cane Toads) anyone? Or Rabbits, foxes... the list goes on. Human meddling have had devastating effects on a number of environments around the world.
A B A C A B B, then you hear scorpions voice say GET OVER HERE and you know you got blood enabled in mk1 baby!!! that was so kool as a kid seeing blood in games for the first time.
Why would I want variable seasons? Even the guys in the fantasy worlds hate it.
I'd like a stable, full year, unique season, so I'd know what to wear all year etc. Now, that can't happen in a three and a half billion years life evolving planet.
I thought dragons evolved from depictions of large serpents? Small legs were added (coming to the eastern dragon's "modern" depiction) and later larger legs and bat-like wings were added on (western-style dragons). They always seemed to be an amalgam of creatures humanity feared had larger counterparts out in the wild. Giant, village-eating snakes. Huge blood-sucking bats. Dinosaur-sized ravenous lizards. Then we added fire for good measure 'cause, you know, who wants to burn to death?
Any form of scientific research can be a good thing, as long as it doesnt endanger anyone or anything. The things we have discovered throughout human history have come from research, innovation, and imagination. If we didnt explore new possibilities and what-not, then we as humans would have a very drull existence.
3 Like I think it would be much more believable to say our idea of a dragon came from Dinosaurs than some weird combination of cats, eagles and snakes.
@superdav42 Dragons do not originate from Dinosaurs as Dinosaurs are a 20th century discovery, I believe.
Dragons originate from early Greek and Middle Eastern Mythology, and later on in the Eastern Asiasn Mythology. The two are different depictions of dragons, yet both are stemmed from ancients folklore legends.
The first dragon wasn't actually a flying fire-spitting lizard, it was the Basilisk, essentially the same as a Dragon, only it's a hen instead of a lizard.
We do have dragons nowadays, but like Cam said, it's no a real "Dragon". I know of another race of dragons, only they are just really small lizards that can run on water.
I'm still amazed how easily misled people are.
Most of the Skyrim fans are incredibly misinformed, and apparently Todd Howard lacks common knowledge of fantasy dragons.
The Skyrim 'Dragon' is not an actual Dragon. It's a wyvern. Wyverns are the lesser cousins of Dragons, they are not nearly as mighty and proud, but the biggest difference between a dragon and a wyvern is that a dragon has four legs and wings, while a wyvern only has two legs and wings.
The Elder Scrolls dragons have only tw legs, therefore they are wyverns.
@TohouAsura That's closer to monster hunter term cause in the Elder Scroll they still tall me that's a dragon instead of a wyvern........
And I never seen a wyverns in Skyrim....... most dragons are on four legs and chat fire or ice........can you show me that wyverns?
@WillyChong "they still tall me that's a dragon instead of a wyvern........" That's why I said Todd Howards screwed this up.
You don't see Wyverns in Skyrim because if Bethesda would've thought of Wyverns they would've seen their mistake.
The Dragons in Skyrim walk on two and rely on their wings as ground support, plus they are pretty small for actual Dragons, only Alduin is really "dragon-big".
Here's a Wyvern:
Looks surprisingly similiar to a Skyrim dragon, right?
Now here's a real Dragon:
http://www.google.co.il/imgres?hl=iw&tbm=isch&tbnid=8yQm2DbwtKVWqM:&imgrefurl=http://www.freewebs.com/dragonint/dragonbiology.htm&docid=s4NviXc3QRbrKM&imgurl=http://www.freewebs.com/dragonint/dragonskin.jpg&w=1024&h=768&ei=7csSUKtLx_KyBsfOgKgC&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=1205&vpy=361&dur=178&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=162&ty=97&sig=100128566270286285477&page=1&tbnh=138&tbnw=184&start=0&ndsp=44&ved=1t:429,r:20,s:0,i:173&biw=1680&bih=949
AS you can see, FOUR legs.
Do you see now?
The sizes vary between different artists and writers, but there are agreed upon rules. Dragons are giant lizards walking on FOUR. Wyverns are lesser lizards walking on TWO, similiar to a lizard/bird hybrid.
1 Like so there are a whole host of ethical problems creating other humanoid species - but that's not so when trying to breed mammoths? i know it isn't cam projecting his own feelings on this, but understanding the public perception. still, this just makes me feel less about our species.
4 Like @waltzink Okay, so I'm not trying to blame anyone here, I just wanna make some things clear.
Here I go: The whole ethics-thing mostly comes from church (and there mostly the Christian one). According to them, humans are the supperior race on earth and therefore deserve the most respect. Also god created man and "thou shouldn't mess with gaud's creation, dawg!".
So: Cloning humans: "How dare thee!"
But: Cloning Animals: Meh...
Just explainin'
@Kaeniar Well kinda right but it doesn't really come from Chrisianity ( I am an atheist myself but schools are trying to make us all christians) It comes from common opinion. It's just like arguing with your grandmother whether technology is good for us or not, in my point of view she would be like: Nah, don't use that stuff, I don't like any machines in my house etc. It is also accociated with the denial of change in humans. How would it sound to you if you move out of your family's house/parent's house and live on your own. It would be weird for you, a whole new thing to experience and live to, you don't know if it's better or worse until you experience it but just like you, people - the ethical community fears of the worst. I hope I was helpful :)
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