On Earth, we're divided. Maybe this could help unite us.
| November 18, 2024 
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 | By Neel V. Patel Staff Editor, Opinion | |
In Liu Cixin's novel "The Three-Body Problem," an alien civilization receives an interstellar radio message from Earth and decides to reach back out. The ensuing response from Earth allows the aliens to deduce the location of the planet, and they prepare to invade. For most readers, the lesson was clear: Our species should avoid telegraphing its presence, lest we invite a threat to our doorstep. What a cynical way to think about life in this universe. Douglas Vakoch agrees. A researcher who specializes in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, he believes any intelligent aliens who might exist out there might be going through a similarly difficult adolescence as our species is. More likely, they are probably older — and have found a way to age out of that adolescence and mature into a civilization that is smarter and kinder. If we're able to establish contact with them, maybe we can learn a thing or two about how to better our own civilization. Yes, we're talking about phoning E.T. Fifty years ago, the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico fired off a radio message that acted as our species' introduction to the rest of the universe. In a guest essay for Opinion, Vakoch puts forth a case for why now is the perfect time to follow up on that message, and begin a serious effort to contact aliens. There's no question that it's a strange idea. But we're living in strange times. An eccentric science project would fit the vibes pretty well. Vakoch fully acknowledges there's no guarantee of success. Maybe we still lack the proper technology. Maybe we really are alone in the universe. But, he argues, such a project has the potential to unify us and make us think about our place in the universe in ways we very rarely contemplate. That's a huge part of adolescence — for an individual as well as for a civilization. Read the full essay here. |  | | Brittany Nelson |
Guest Essay Humans Are Divided and Unhappy. What Better Time to Contact Alien Life?Fifty years ago, the famed Arecibo message was fired into space to make contact with intelligent extraterrestrials. Now is the time to try again. By Douglas Vakoch |
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