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Are ETs really advanced? + When reporting news about space aliens, caution Is advised

#1
C C Offline
Are Alien Civilizations Technologically Advanced?
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/obs...-advanced/

EXCERPT:. . . Based on our own experience, we expect that civilizations much older than ours will be scientifically savvy and hence technologically advanced. But it is also possible that a simpler lifestyle rather than scientific prosperity has dominated the political landscape on other planets, leading to old civilizations that are nevertheless technologically primitive.

[...] Civilizations on other worlds might mesh seamlessly with their natural environment for a variety of reasons. At a minimum, camouflage is a natural survival tactic, so alien civilizations might prefer to appear indistinguishable from other forms of life, such as vegetation. One could also imagine a civilization so intelligent that it deliberately keeps a low-key technological profile to sustain its biosphere, maintaining a lifestyle reminiscent of Henry Thoreau on Walden Pond. The only way to find these extraterrestrials would be to send probes that visit their planets and report back.

[...] Visiting the surface of another planet therefore requires slower speeds and longer travel times. For example, conventional rockets would bring us to the nearest stars within hundreds of thousands of years. This might still be appealing from a theoretical perspective, since this timescale is tens of thousands times shorter than the age of the Universe. Over the billions of years available to our technological civilization to explore the Milky Way, we could compile a sociological census of billions of exoplanets. And even if we find mostly faith-based alien cultures instead of advanced infrastructure that would accelerate our own technological development, it would be fascinating to explore the diversity of galactic interpretations of the concept of God.

MORE: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/obs...-advanced/



When Reporting News About Aliens, Caution Is Advised
https://www.airspacemag.com/daily-planet...180967777/

EXCERPT: . . . “Currently, most SETI-related news seems to be interfering with conventional scientific discoveries, stealing the limelight—without following basic rules of science,” wrote Dutch exoplanet researcher Ignas Snellen of Leiden Observatory, on a Facebook exoplanets discussion group for professional astronomers.

Although he has “great respect for SETI scientists,” Leiden wrote, “there is no place for alien civilizations in a scientific discussion on new astrophysical phenomena, in the same way as there is no place for divine intervention as a possible solution. One may view it as harmless fun, but I see parallels in athletes taking banned substances. It may lead to short-term fame and medals, but in the long run it harms the sport. Same for astronomy: we should be very careful not to be ridiculed. I really hope we can stop mentioning SETI for every unexplained phenomenon.”

Such worries aren’t new. [...] In recognition of the sensitivity around alien signal detection, SETI has a voluntary list of protocols to follow when something interesting is found. The first principle urges researchers to “verify that the most plausible explanation for the evidence is the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence, rather than some other natural phenomenon or anthropogenic phenomenon, before making any public announcement.”

MORE: https://www.airspacemag.com/daily-planet...180967777/
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#2
Magical Realist Offline
Quote:Same for astronomy: we should be very careful not to be ridiculed.

Sounds like someone has a Galileo complex.
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#3
Syne Offline
(Jan 10, 2018 11:31 PM)Magical Realist Wrote:
Quote:Same for astronomy: we should be very careful not to be ridiculed.

Sounds like someone has a Galileo complex.

Yeah, those who posit extraterrestrial intelligence. You know, since the Galileo complex (gambit) is an association fallacy about those would claim established, mainstream ridicule somehow implies their claims are valid.
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