• A pre-print paper “A Statistical Estimation of the Occurrence of Extraterrestrial Intelligence in the Milky Way Galaxy” (arXiv:2012.07902) was circulated, prompting discussion that advanced civilizations may have self-destructed and that any surviving aliens could be deliberately integrating into human society to avoid culture shock, echoing themes from Babylon 5 and Star Trek.

• Participants debated the perceptual bias that makes humans anthropomorphize alien intelligence, suggesting our layered metaphors and analogies inevitably force us to see non-human minds as human-like.

• Concerns were raised about the nootropic fasoracetam after anecdotal reports of severe, lasting neurological injury; a Reddit thread documenting persistent side-effects and a PubMed paper on the “vitamin B6 paradox” (PMID 28716455) were shared as cautionary references.

• Ripple’s IOU-based architecture was criticized for lacking real collateral; it was noted that hyper-inflation of the underlying fiat currency would actually ease repayment of Ripple-denominated debts.

• A Spectator article asking whether an extraordinarily ancient, unknown civilization lies buried under eastern Turkey was linked, sparking brief speculation about lost pre-history.

• An internship offer from SpaceX was discussed, with the observation that compensation is low relative to industry norms, attributed to the company’s ability to attract mission-driven applicants.