Monday, November 24, 2008

Percolation theory and could humanity ever relate to an alien species

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here's today's news:
g Message - What if we approached the Fermi paradox — the absence of such extraterrestrial civilizations visiting Earth — using percolation theory? Geoffrey A. Landis explains.
g Cosmicus - Researchers are developing new technology to aid future human explorers on the moon and Mars - by taking out the trash. A new waste system will help astronauts recycle resources, like water, before deposal. It was also help prevent forward contamination of locations like the Martian surface. See article.
g Learning - Here’s a neat primer to telescopes for backyard viewing of the night sky, brought to up by a facility that has been involved in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
g Aftermath - Could humanity ever relate to an alien species? Consider the questioning context of these online speculations about why "Star Trek is human centered?" The latter is an interesting question, possibly creating a situation dealing with a prejudice on the behalf of the writers and producers. However, would a series completely dedicated to another species, such as the Romulans, be successful in a television market? Is it possible that the reasons it wouldn’t be might indicate humanity might care little about an alien species other than as a potential threat? See article.

Honoring the Past, Inspiring the Future


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