# Question about the end of the movie "Avatar" (spoilers obviously) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 1, 2010, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-end-of-the-movie-avatar-spoilers-obviously/523346 "2010-01-01T23:51:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-end-of-the-movie-avatar-spoilers-obviously/523346/61 "2010-01-03T07:03:25Z")
As far as the idea of dropping asteroids goes; when you combine the likely political resistance to the idea, with the chance of scattering the unobtainium, and rendering the environment too dangerous to mine in I doubt it. As for nukes; against an entire planet you’d need an impractically large number of nukes; and even if you had them you’d just add radioactivity to the problems with using asteroids. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-end-of-the-movie-avatar-spoilers-obviously/523346/62 "2010-01-03T18:28:48Z")
> [@AndrewL](#): > > We already know about all the non-radioactive, naturally occurring elements, and since Unobtanium is sufficiently non-radioactive to safely have a chunk on a desk near people, and has a half-life long enough to be useful, it’s not one of those unknown heavy elements off the bottom of the periodic table. What about eka-lead or one of the other elements in the transuranic island of stability? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-end-of-the-movie-avatar-spoilers-obviously/523346/63 "2010-01-03T18:34:08Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Another thing someone raised: why aren’t the Na’vi six-limbed and four-eyed like the other large creatures? The lemur-analogues we see at the beginning have fused upper forelimbs (and only 1 pair of eyes), so they’re halfway there. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-end-of-the-movie-avatar-spoilers-obviously/523346/64 "2010-01-03T18:38:00Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Actually, they did at the beginning of the movie (on the expedition where Sully disturbs the hammerhead rhino), but they didn’t yet know what they were looking at. They just saw connections, not what was running on them. Given time, they would have made the link. And since the humans arrived, Eywa has learned what metallic technology can do in a more than theoretical way. She has felt it in her own body. I say she’ll raid the library on the base and then start thinking orbitally about Distant Early Warning systems. Could Eywa look collectively out of the eyes of a few dozen creatures scattered across a continent, and _synthesize_ a large-scale telescopic view? That’s not connecting, that’s merely observing. The telescopic view thing is interesting. But what I think is more interesting is the question of whether or not Eywa can simply build a giant eye that looks out into space. But your distributed idea is interesting. Perhaps radio waves echo into space and can be subconsciously interpreted by the megafauna while consciously interpreted by Eywa. > [@](#): > > We have no information about what orbital stations might be around Pandora; the shuttles were shown docking directly on the starship. But there’s got to be a refueling base or something in orbit. Why? Maybe their refuelling station was the Mother ship that brought them. Though it is made clear that there has been more than one ship to come to Pandora. It’s interesting if you think about it, Jake Sully would’ve had to arrive about ten years after his brother died at sublight. > [@](#): > > Another thing someone raised: why aren’t the Na’vi six-limbed and four-eyed like the other large creatures? How is it that they’re similar enough to humans to a) look attractive in a romantic sort of way, and b) have similar-enough DNA that avatars can be built that incorporate human DNA as well, and _still work_? Heh, I think that’s one of those things that doesn’t need to be explained. It’s just a conceit of the story. > [@](#): > > I think the Na’vi were _designed_. Although, not necessarily by Eywa. Maybe. We’ll see. I tend to think it’s just the desire of the filmmaker to have sexy anthroporphized smurf cats. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-end-of-the-movie-avatar-spoilers-obviously/523346/65 "2010-01-03T18:40:16Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I don’t think he had a lot of time to train his troops or convince them to use tactics which they were not used to, so I’d give him a pass on this one. Given twelve years or so, I think they’d make a much better army. They would have been there for quite a long time. Jake’s brother had time to time, and time for them to recruit Jake. > [@Voyager](#): > > Absolutely. It would be interesting if someone invented a two pronged animal, which allow more than one on one connections to be made. I’m not sure how active a mind Eywa is (active enough to send the beasts, obviously), but the entire population jacked together could do some real damage. Yeah. I kind of like the nodal structure though. Where they have to jack in for individual purposes. Though radio transmission jacks could be interesting too. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-end-of-the-movie-avatar-spoilers-obviously/523346/66 "2010-01-03T19:12:44Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Another thing someone raised: why aren’t the Na’vi six-limbed and four-eyed like the other large creatures? How is it that they’re similar enough to humans to a) look attractive in a romantic sort of way, and b) have similar-enough DNA that avatars can be built that incorporate human DNA as well, and _still work_? > > I think the Na’vi were _designed_. Although, not necessarily by Eywa. I think this is a very interesting point. As a biologist, I was very impressed by the effort that was made to have the larger animals look like they were the result of a common evolutionary origin: six limbs (four wings and two legs in the case of flying creatures), four eyes, thoracic spiracles for breathing, neck frills, scales/plates, and maybe some other elements. The fact that the Na’vi lack _all_ of these elements, but are instead very similar to humans in almost all significant anatomical respects (with the exception of the link tentacle and tail) suggests to me that they are not actually indigenous to the planet. I think the sequels will reveal some biological link of the Na’vi to Earth and to humans, perhaps through some other space-faring race. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-end-of-the-movie-avatar-spoilers-obviously/523346/67 "2010-01-05T06:58:07Z")
I thought it was the anthropologic\* principle often seen in Star Trek–that any sufficiently advanced species would eventually grow to be humanoid. (No, that one TNG episode doesn’t override it, as not all the races we saw were seeded.) \*might not be the right word ---
**Author:** ![Damfino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Damfino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damfino)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-end-of-the-movie-avatar-spoilers-obviously/523346/68 "2010-01-05T12:31:36Z")
Anthropomorphic? ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-end-of-the-movie-avatar-spoilers-obviously/523346/69 "2010-01-05T12:51:39Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I think this is a very interesting point. As a biologist, I was very impressed by the effort that was made to have the larger animals look like they were the result of a common evolutionary origin: six limbs (four wings and two legs in the case of flying creatures), four eyes, thoracic spiracles for breathing, neck frills, scales/plates, and maybe some other elements. The fact that the Na’vi lack _all_ of these elements, but are instead very similar to humans in almost all significant anatomical respects (with the exception of the link tentacle and tail) suggests to me that they are not actually indigenous to the planet. I think the sequels will reveal some biological link of the Na’vi to Earth and to humans, perhaps through some other space-faring race. Personally, I think it has more to do with audiences finding it easier to relate to what are essentially blue cat-people, than, say, the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal or something that looks like a grasshopper with too many eyes and fur. Also, it makes the inevitable love story a lot more “believable”, for want of a better word. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-end-of-the-movie-avatar-spoilers-obviously/523346/70 "2010-01-05T14:51:37Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I thought it was the anthropologic\* principle often seen in Star Trek–that any sufficiently advanced species would eventually grow to be humanoid. (No, that one TNG episode doesn’t override it, as not all the races we saw were seeded.) > > \*might not be the right word You may be misusing [the anthropic principle](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropic_principle)… otherwise maybe you mean convergent evolution, that the sort of role an intelligent species fills in an environment tends to lead to them having similar characteristics, but I don’t see a need for intelligent life to look like people. Nah, it’s just that the audience has an easier time relating to human-looking aliens. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-end-of-the-movie-avatar-spoilers-obviously/523346/71 "2010-01-05T15:41:54Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > Now, if Cameron doesn’t show Eywa building organic railguns to defend Pandora in the sequel, then it’s gonna be stupid. Like giant pillbugs that shit plasma to orbital velocities stupid? Or maybe create some neurotoxin that causes people to kill themselves stupid? I don’t really want to see Eywa bioengineering weapons or anything like that. > [@Martini Enfield](#): > > Personally, I think it has more to do with audiences finding it easier to relate to what are essentially blue cat-people, than, say, the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal or something that looks like a grasshopper with too many eyes and fur. Of course it is. We can relate to Jake Sully falling in love with a taller, skinnier, blue version of Zoe Saldana. We can’t relate to him falling in love with a six legged shaved gorilla covered in slime. > [@Martini Enfield](#): > > Quote: > Originally Posted by Diogenes the Cynic > I like the name “unobtanium,” by the way, it sounds like “unobtainable.” I wonder if that was intentional. > > IIRC, it’s an RL Engineering joke name used to refer to any metal or component that is ludicrously rare, really hard to get, and mind-bogglingly expensive. Or doesn’t exist but has properties that are required for some engineering thought experiment. Like creating a space elevator or mountains that float on the planet’s magnetic field. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-end-of-the-movie-avatar-spoilers-obviously/523346/72 "2010-01-05T15:58:46Z")
> [@astro](#): > > On a technical note the rotors of that huge gunship with the little nose really didn’t seem big enough to keep it airborne. Did it have lifting jets too? The serious answer is that ducted fan engines can produce a higher thrust to weight ration than conventional rotors. My answer is that in the future, ALL aircraft are tilt-wing VTOLS with ducted fans or jet engines because it looks more “futurey”. Remember the dropship from Aliens and the HKs from the Terminators films (all directed by Cameron). > [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > And if the stuff is worth $20,000,000 a kg (is that a lot of money in 2154? What is unobtanium even used for?) then I’m sure the company involved will have no qualms about doing exactly that. According to the film it’s used to make paperweights.😃 It’s also sometimes combined with Handwavium to form MacGuffinite. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-end-of-the-movie-avatar-spoilers-obviously/523346.md?page=3)