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| Hidden oases of the great cosmic desert |
Perhaps like a person who survives youthful accidents but still has to grow old, intelligent species that survive environmental disasters may still follow a natural life cycle that ends in demographic old age and extinction. And jaded old aliens, much like the ones in your family, may not be that curious about the cosmos.
From the Guardian, "Can we talk to aliens? And should we colonise space? We ask the expert":
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Maybe they’re observing us, too. Maybe they don’t like what they hear. War. Hunger. Mumford & Sons.
There’s a theory that the reason we don’t know of other advanced civilisations is because they don’t stick around. A natural outcome is that they become destructive and disappear. Maybe aliens see us and think: “They won’t last long,” and keep away. Or they’re waiting to discover who else is out there before they make themselves known.
I feel seen – I also quietly wait to see who else is going before accepting an invitation.
It’s good to be cautious. We know from Earth exploration that there are risks – from aggressive migration, or carrying diseases into new countries.
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I read an article on the Washington Post, "China's Demographics Spell Decline NOT Domination" by Niall Ferguson (Aug. 14, 2022).
ReplyDeleteI commented: Maybe the problem is bigger than China, the USA, or Planet Earth. Read The Demogra-fate Hypothesis by Nguyen Ba Thanh. As technology advances, people on Earth, as well as little green people on another planet, buy into the consumer society and prefer fun to making babies. That's why we have not heard from ET yet. A short, interesting book!