Say you are thinking about editing Wikipedia. Now you come to this thread (or any other recent thread about Wikipedia). Do you still want to edit?
Yes. This wouldn't change my opinion of Wikipedia, rather this would make me think that a lot of slashdot posters have an over-inflated view of their own writing abilities.
Except for me, of course. [citation needed]
You can take anything to extremes and make it silly.
Indeed - but a reductio ad absurdam is most effective when the initial premise (in this case that more heat is good) is false. I'm not disputing that life could exist on Venus though since it also has usable temperature gradients, as evidenced by its weather. However we're better off looking for life on a planet or moon that doesn't destroy spacecraft within an hour of their landing on the surface, which Venus does.
You don't need a high temperature to drive the chemistry of life - you need a temperature gradient so that work can be done by transferring heat energy from one location to another. Titan has this due to internal heating from tidal forces, as has Europa. Life may operate at a slower pace in a cold environment, but the right catalysts could improve this.
New York... when civilization falls apart, remember, we were way ahead of you. - David Letterman
