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The Eerie Silence: Renewing Our Search For Alien Intelligence (2010)

by Paul Davies(Favorite Author)

3.95 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0547133243 (ISBN13: 9780547133249)

languge

English

genre

Science Fiction

publisher

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

review 1: Author Paul Davies is a world-renowned physicist and astrobiologist with a special talent for making complicated ideas accessible to the nonexpert. Davies is the head of the “Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence” (SETI) “Post-Detection Science and Technology Taskgroup” – a sitting committee that determines what to do if contact is made with an alien intelligence. Remember the guys in E.T. that come to Elliot’s house and put it in shrink-wrap? That’s him, kind of. Except he is one of the good guys.For around fifty years, scientists at SETI have been scanning the sky using radio telescopes hoping for a signal from E.T. This book is partly a history of that endeavor, but in larger part, it is a critique of the search criteria we human beings use to sear... morech for alien intelligence. Davies, through equal parts analysis and intelligent speculation, seeks to avoid excessive “anthropocentrism” an instead takes the reader through a wonderfully exciting array of other possibilities. What would a truly alien entity be like?We live in a world where the existence of E.T. is virtually a given. Science fiction books, movies and television shows depict a universe teeming with life. Humanoid aliens exist in nearly every solar system and at roughly the same stage of development as the earthly explorers. This makes for a great story but it is probably far from reality.Davies states instead that it is far more likely that a truly spacefaring alien intelligence would, 1) be far different in appearance than anything on this earth; and 2) be so stupendously far advance in technology and evolution that they would seem more like angels than humans. Depending on their disposition, such a civilization could have as much in common with humans as humans do with ants.The journey into what these highly developed creatures might be like is where the book engages in the well-reasoned speculation mentioned above. Davies examines the only sample from which to gauge what life may be like in the future: earthly life. As Davies projects what advance alien life and technology might be like, it is equally exciting to speculate that we humans (or our post-biological counterparts) might one day achieve the same capabilities. These projections must be read and I’m not going to spoil them here, but it will suffice to say that they are perfectly reasoned and equally spectacular.But one thing remains certain. The night sky is awfully quiet. Eerily silent. The fact is – and this is very important – that even traveling at speeds slower than the speed of light, given the age of the universe and the distances involved, if intelligent life were even remotely possible, earth should have been visited many times over by now. So this begs the famous question, “Where is everybody?” That is the very question that Davies tackles masterfully. Why the eerie silence?We tend to take life and our existence for granted just by virtue of living out our day-to-day lives. We get complacent. But challenge yourself to take a few moments to really look at what is happening all around you. If you can, remove yourself from your experience and look at it as if for the first time. The gnat and the cat become marvels of creation. Intelligent life? A miracle beyond conception. There are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on all of the beaches on all of the earth. In all that space and material, Davies believes that we are likely the only intelligent entity. Behold the universe’s greatest creation: you.Minor Spoiler Alert: I can’t end without giving my favorite quote from the book. What advice would Davies give E.T. if SETI made contact? He states:“Humans have fought each other for millennia over tiny differences in race, religion or culture. Imagine how most people would react to beings that were truly alien. My personal message to E. T. would be to ‘Keep well clear and defend yourself, before stepping into the hornets’ nest of our militaristic society.’”
review 2: A fantastic take on the subject! Dr Davies has aroused my interest in a way I thought no author would be able to. A well-crafted combination of physics, philosophy, biology, astronomy and the rest. Davies is extremely thorough with his thought process, every argument is presented alongside with a fact or if not, he certainly acknowledges this. By far the most important book that addresses the question "are we alone" that I have read. less

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