Abraham Loeb

Maybe some of us (yer news writer, for one) have been unkind to Avi Loeb, the Harvard astronomer who continues to insist that space debris Oumuamua is an extraterrestrial lightsail. Anyway, at 29:06 in this vid, Loeb says “nature does not produce such things.” We’re told Loeb is using a design filter like design theorist William Dembski’s explanatory filter. Interesting use of design detection. Anyway, Loeb has a book coming out, in which he makes his case: Obviously, if you believe that there are many extraterrestrials out there, it makes much more sense to believe that the universe is fine-tuned for life than that it is all just a big cosmic accident. Are we being too hard on the guy? Read More ›

Remember the astronomer who thought that space detritus Oumuamua might be an extraterrestrial lightsail? He’s back: Harvard professor Avi Loeb thinks humans should be on the hunt for signs of alien life and alien death. During a recent presentation at the The Humans to Mars Summit, Loeb argued that the discovery of a dead alien civilization could serve as a sort of cautionary tale for humanity, letting us know what not to do if we want to survive. “The idea is we may learn something in the process,” he said. “We may learn to better behave with each other, not to initiate a nuclear war, or to monitor our planet and make sure that it’s habitable for as long as Read More ›