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Alex Berezow - We Are Effectively Alone In The Universe
19 JUN 2023 · Alex Berezow - We Are Effectively Alone In The Universe
It does not matter if intelligent life exists elsewhere. We will never find each other. Key Takeaways
- The debate over extraterrestrial life has shifted from fringe to mainstream.
- The belief that humans eventually will encounter aliens is based on two assumptions: (1) life evolves easily, and (2) interstellar travel is possible and practical.
- Neither of these assumptions is likely to be true.
Adam Frank - Why Oxygen Isn’t Needed To Make Things Burn
19 JUN 2023 · Adam Frank - Why Oxygen Isn’t Needed To Make Things Burn
Oxygen isn't strictly necessary for combustion, but it is ideal. Any advanced (alien) civilization probably uses oxygen to burn things.
Key Takeaways
- Would combustion always be a potential energy source on any planet capable of incubating a technological civilization? That simple question has led to an examination of an essential chemical process.
- Combustion reactions transfer electrons from a fuel to an oxidizer. But there are a number of elements capable of being the oxidizer. So does our hypothetical planet really need oxygen itself?
- Oxygen is indeed the perfect element for carrying out combustion, and for a very good reason.
Tim Brinkhof - Did Ancient Greek Philosophers Believe In Aliens?
18 JUN 2023 · Tim Brinkhof - Did Ancient Greek Philosophers Believe In Aliens?
Speculation about the existence of aliens goes all the way back at least to the Greek philosophers. Their arguments will sound familiar.
Key Takeaways
- Speculation about alien life dates back to the ancient Greeks, and perhaps even further.
- The Scientific Revolution expanded our vision of the Universe and revived our belief in the possibility of extraterrestrial life.
- Unfortunately, the lack of convincing evidence has ushered in a new age of cosmological pessimism.
Dirk Schulze-Makuch - How The “Face On Mars” And Other False Positives Impact The Search For Alien Life
18 JUN 2023 · Dirk Schulze-Makuch - How The “Face On Mars” And Other False Positives Impact The Search For Alien Life
We may have discovered alien life already but rejected the evidence too quickly because it seemed false at first glance.
Key Takeaways
- Perhaps the most famous "evidence" of life on Mars came from a photograph that supposedly depicted a face on the Red Planet. It was subsequently shown to be nothing but a mountain.
- The Viking Life Detection experiments and Martian meteorite ALH84001 were both thought to prove the existence of life on Mars, but these were also false positives.
- Once a claim is judged to be a false positive, it’s difficult to change people’s minds, even if new evidence comes along.
Ethan Siegel - Why Scientists Can’t Give Up The Hunt For Alien Life
18 JUN 2023 · Ethan Siegel - Why Scientists Can’t Give Up The Hunt For Alien Life
There will always be "wolf-criers" whose claims wither under scrutiny. But aliens are certainly out there, if science dares to find them.
Key Takeaways
- All throughout human history, we've gazed up at the stars and wondered if we're truly alone in the Universe, or if other life — possibly even intelligent life — is out there for us to find.
- Although there have been many who claim that aliens exist and that we've already contacted them, those claims have all withered under scrutiny, with their claimants having cried "wolf" with insufficient evidence.
- Nevertheless, the scientific case remains extremely compelling for suspecting that life, and possibly even intelligent life, is out there somewhere. Here's why we must keep looking.
Louis Rosenberg - Mind Of Its Own : Will “General AI” Be Like An Alien Invasion?
18 JUN 2023 · Louis Rosenberg - Mind Of Its Own : Will “General AI” Be Like An Alien Invasion?
According to surveys, approximately half of artificial intelligence experts believe that general AI will emerge by 2060.
Key Takeaways
- According to surveys, approximately half of artificial intelligence experts believe that general artificial intelligence will emerge by 2060.
- General artificial intelligence (also called AGI) describes an artificial intelligence that's able to understand or learn any intellectual task that a human being can perform.
- Such an intelligence would be unlike anything humans have ever encountered, and it may pose significant dangers.
Marcelo Gleiser - Alien Abductions : What Are We To Make Of These Bizarre Stories?
18 JUN 2023 · Alien Abductions : What Are We To Make Of These Bizarre Stories?
From succubi to aliens, stories of abductions or other unsettling encounters have been with us for millennia. What explains them?
Key Takeaways
- Accounts of strange and inexplicable encounters with beings — including sexual encounters — go back millennia.
- Widespread fascination with alien abductions began in the 1950s and continues to this day.
- The most likely explanations for this phenomenon include self-hypnotic trances, false-memory syndrome, sleep paralysis, or posttraumatic stress.
Elizabeth Fernandez - We May Not Be Alone In The Universe. Should We Reach Out?
17 JUN 2023 · We May Not Be Alone In The Universe. Should We Reach Out?
A conversation with an advanced alien species is likely to be simple and to take 1,000 years. It might also be dangerous.
Key Takeaways
- We have sent messages into space before, hoping to reach out to any interstellar intelligences. Such a message is challenging to compose.
- Some argue that maybe it’s better not to send an intentional message at all.
- In any case, any message we send is likely to be a simple, “We’re here."
Dirk Schulze-Makuch - Where Is Everybody - A New Hope For Solving The Fermi Paradox?
17 JUN 2023 · Where Is Everybody? A New Hope For Solving The Fermi Paradox?
If life is common in the Universe, then where is everybody? Known as the Fermi Paradox, a new project may help solve the riddle.
Key Takeaways
- The Fermi Paradox refers to the puzzling observation that we have as yet seen no clear evidence for the existence of extraterrestrial intelligent life, despite the vast number of stars out there and the expectation that most of them have planets and moons.
- Entire books have been written that propose a variety of solutions to the paradox.
- The Square Kilometer Array (SKA), which will be the world’s largest radio astronomy observatory when it is completed in 2028, might get us closer to a resolution.
Adam Frank - Is Your Mind Just A Parasite On Your Physical Body?
17 JUN 2023 · Is Your Mind Just A Parasite On Your Physical Body?
What if intelligence can thrive without consciousness?
Key Takeaways
- Blindsight is a unique kind of first-contact novel. Its focus is not on humanity's first meeting with an alien civilization, but rather that this civilization is highly intelligent, yet lacks consciousness.
- What if there is nothing special about self-awareness? What if it is just evolutionary dead weight, bound to disappear soon?
- The idea rests on machine metaphors for life and mind, which strike this columnist as profoundly mistaken.
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