We are told that “We need to tread lightly if we encounter alien ecosystems”:
Well, failing to do that is one sin we can safely say we haven’t committed; we have never encountered an alien ecosystem.
At the same time, it is important to keep in mind that nothing done by humans really matters in the big scheme of the universe. Humans have access to an extremely limited fraction of the cosmic reservoirs of energy and mass, and to potential places for life; there are 10^20 habitable Earth-like planets in the observable volume of the universe, so the human imprint on the cosmic stage is destined to remain negligible. Perhaps we should limit our cosmic ambitions in light of this perspective.Abraham Loeb, “Be Kind to Extraterrestrials” at Scientific America
Loeb? Name rings a bell. Oh yes, he identified that object that entered the solar system, Oumuamua, as an “extraterrestrial light sail.”
It’s interesting that Scientific American makes space for this. It’s fine, really, as long as we acknowledge that it is a religion.
See also: Tales of an Invented God The most important characteristic of an AI cult is that its gods (Godbots?) will be created by the AI developers and not the other way around. They will mesh with ET, an eternal cyborg who is always Out There.
and
Astronomers: Solar System Object In Transit, Oumuamua, Might Be A “extraterrestrial light sail.”” target=”another”>“Light Sail Of Extra-Terrestrial Origin”
Follow UD News at Twitter!