Where are the aliens
June 26th, 2009 by michael
If as I suspect, life is the rule rather than the exception, the galaxy should already be teaming with intelligent civilisations. So it does beg the question, where are the aliens?
Well, I can think of two answers to that.
- We can’t see them. By that I mean that they have developed so far that we have no concept of what they are any more, that they could be made of exotic materials floating just below the membrane of space aware of all the galaxy as if it was merely a back garden. So vast in intelligence and ethereal in nature that we can not possible hope to observe them… Until we are them. If this hypothesis holds true, then it does suggest that it is the fate of all civilisations to achieve this almost god like status eventually.
- Early on one civilisation decided that all others are a threat, and extinguishes them. So, what is a civilisation. Do they extinguish ants just because they show enough organisation to build a colony together, probably not. So where do they draw the line to say that a collection of life forms is now a civilisation and worthy of attention. Well, if you’ll forgive me dipping into sci-fi (ahem, sure, and the rest is fact!
), in Star Trek they decide that a civilisation is worthy of attention when it develops the technology for interstella travel…. Well, at the rate our space exploration is going, we may have another 300 years.
Of course, lets not forget the possibility that both are true. Or neither, and we really are unique.
If option one is true, then we need to stop looking and focus on developing our own technological futures. But then, that’s probably a good thing anyway.
