Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Dec 1980
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1980amsci..68..656b&link_type=abstract
American Scientist, vol. 68, Nov.-Dec. 1980, p. 656-663.
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Extraterrestrial Intelligence, Interstellar Communication, Space Exploration
Scientific paper
Consideration is given to possible explanations for the failure of humanity to obtain evidence for the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI). The three premises on which discussions of the nature of ETI are usually based are examined, including the necessity of the evolution of life under the proper conditions, the formation of planets and the unavailability of evidence of ETI. The evolution of civilizations is then discussed in terms of the growth, stagnation or decline of the total information content of the ecosystem, and predictions about the possible future of mankind and, by analogy, ETI, are presented. The relationship of mankind with ETI is then considered in terms of an analogy with the relationship of mankind to primitive earth organisms. Possible types of answers to the question of the location of presumed ETI are then examined, including the absence of ETI, our inability to find intelligent extraterrestrials, their lack of knowledge or interest in us, and the zoo hypothesis, according to which advanced civilizations are observing earth but do not make their presence known. Implications of the various explanations for the detection of advanced civilizations are considered, and it is concluded that the search for ETI is worth pursuing as part of a program of astronomical exploration.
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