SCIENCE6 - Reflections on the Search for Intelligent Extraterrestrial Life
My usual reason to write these blog articles is to learn something. I love to research a subject, synthesize material from numerous sources, and produce a comprehensible story, particularly for complex subjects. Well, I’ve really chosen a complex (and mind-boggling) subject this time, reflecting on the prospects of finding intelligent extraterrestrial life. I’ll start with a review of the history of UFOs, unidentified flying objects. Perhaps we’ve already met up with intelligent aliens. Then, I’ll step back and summarize what we know about the universe in terms of formation, evolution, and content, and try to put into perspective its vast scale in terms of time and distance, leading to the tantalizing prospects of other worlds like ours. Then, I’ll cover our efforts to date in searching for intelligent extraterrestrial life, followed by what we’re doing in the near future. Next, I’ll consider whether there are issues that may be show stoppers in our quest to locate and in