unicellular life
consciousness
manipulation
intelligence
civilization
technology
space technology
For how long must energized complex molecules change randomly until one becomes self-replicating, i.e., unicellular life? After that, matter must evolve through seven further difficult stages before it can become a space-travelling civilization which spatiotemporal vastness might then prevent from meeting any other civilization.
Imagine a galactic history in which only a few of the many intelligent species imagined by Poul Anderson, Terrans, Ythrians, Merseians, Wodenites, Cynthians etc, exist and eventually achieve local interplanetary spaceflight: a separate history for each with no convergence. It is taking us longer to get into space than we had expected and we might destroy ourselves before we get much further.
Does this seem to resemble the universe that we inhabit?
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
Unlike some I am not so skeptical about the existence of intelligent life on other worlds. The most detailed treatment of that issue by Anderson can be found in his book IS THERE LIFE ON OTHER WORLDS? (1963). While admittedly old it's still an excellent discussion of the issues involved and could and should be supplemented by later works, such as Michael A.G. Michaud's CONTACT WITH ALIEN CIVILIZATIONS (2010). And Brother Guy Consolmagno's booklet INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE? (2005) could also be read with interest. By now a vast and serious literature devoted to the question of non-human ETIs has been written.
Ad astra! Sean
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