I came across this issue today, while reading bbc news. I’ve always been enthusiastic about science and space. I think it’s both the ultimate unknown and the ultimate high we can ever hope to achieve, while at the same time remaining conscious and rational. It just overwhelms us with all its potential. It also serves as perfect escapism from these difficult times we’re living. I’ve commented before with some colleagues of mine, that a sure way to solve all our world problems would be to make contact. I think people would just change if they came under the gazing eye of an alien culture! Surely that change would be for ego/vanity reasons, in the hopes of gaining some “galactic respect”, but nevertheless it would be good for us. But the odds seem to be against us. I have no doubt that the Universe is probably teaming with life! Albeit, mostly microbial! If even a very small percentage of star systems harbor planets with complex life, for them to evolve intelligent life, requires a long evolutionary leap and huge degree of chance! And of those few evolved civilizations, most have probably gone extinct! In a game of technology vs. society, the odds of achieving social and ecological sustainability in any home planet are thin! Unless they’re able to terraform/harvest other planets before reaching their tipping point, and even then peace probably doesn’t happen. I hope I’m wrong but I’m guessing things based on what I see in Nature and us.

I’m also guessing that only a handful of intelligent species may exist now in the Universe, but living in different and unreachable space/time. I also think these species won’t resemble anything we can imagine. The more evolved would be hybrids of technology and various species or individuals. They’ll could probably amount to just a cerebral cortex or an evolved amount enhanced cells. Their shapes would quickly and greatly vary, depending on their environment and I seriously doubt they will perceive things in the same way we do, given our specific sensorial ranges and earthly perception of time. Their purpose or state of awareness in the Universe is the great unknown and would condition their level of involvement with us. Despite these odds, my money would be in analyzing gamma ray bursts for hints of intelligent communication and also searching for planets orbiting red dwarfs, as they last for trillions of years and allow for even the “slowest evolving life” to develop.

Also worth mentioning is that we can’t really analyze radio transmissions from over 2 light years away and that seems to foil SETI’s purposes. We currently just don’t have sufficient technological resolution for thorough analysis of any radio wave! As they travel, they lose intensity and drop below interstellar background noise, rendering them unusable. The same goes for what we send out. And that can be a good thing! I’m against sending gold records and stupid emo garbage in the name of the human race. If we are to send something, don’t send Beatles songs or whale cries. Send math, physics and basic biochemical stuff first. Who’s to say the whale cries won’t be interpreted as insults (we don’t know what’re saying and they could be just having a bad reaction to the ships propellers that create unbearable noises for any sea mammal). Or perhaps the Beatles songs they’ve recently beamed out can be considered as a declaration of war, or maybe just a declaration of stupidity. We should think carefully before hitting send button. The worst thing that can happen is making contact with a warmongering and overall shallow civilization such as our own.

Despite the difficulty of all these tasks, most people have little or no idea on how important space missions really are, especially to a largely populated planet like ours. They can one day save us from extinction or self-annihilation.

The science behind any discoveries made in these fields can be applied to many areas and uses. And it does wonders for the human imagination and global unity… The never ending search for life is the very essence of being Human, for we are a generational nomadic species! This drive is something that unites us all under a same goal, and that is quite rare nowadays. Does this sound cheesy? Yes! But it is one of those few scenarios we all stand to benefit from, despite the many social inequalities we have.

image by hubble