Oct 062006
I’m feeling contemplative on this Friday evening, so cue up Monty Python’s “Galaxy Song” as I share with you a story about scientific estimates that there are likely billions of planets in our galaxy alone. I wonder if the undiscovered denizens of these undiscovered worlds stop to think about the vastness of the universe. I wonder if, after a moment, they shrug their shoulders (or tentacles or pseudopods or similarly analogous appendages) and switch on the television. What if other intelligent species have similarly short attention spans and share our affections for fattening foods and movies with lots of explosions? Should we find that depressing or reassuring?
Considering the vastness of the universe, even the vastness of our own galaxy, it seems arrogant beyond reason that anyone would think that life is unique to Earth. If there are billions of planets, it stands to reason that at least a few million are suitable for life. It further seems likely that at least a few thousand harbor life as advanced as we on Earth, and maybe a few hundred have evolved vastly more advanced life forms.
Consider the speed at which we are presently developing technology and information processing. Extend this for a thousand years or a million years and it becomes mind boggling.