Stephen Hawking: Alien but primitive life likely

[Chris OConnor]

Stephen Hawking: Alien but primitive life likely
By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080421/ap_ ... en_hawking

WASHINGTON - Famed astrophysicist Stephen Hawking has been thinking a lot about the cosmic question, "Are we alone?" The answer is probably not, he says.

If there is life elsewhere in the universe, Hawking asks why haven't we stumbled onto some alien broadcasts in space, maybe something like "alien quiz shows?"

Hawking's comments were part of a lecture at George Washington University on Monday in honor of NASA's 50th anniversary. He theorized that there are possible answers to whether there is extraterrestrial life.

One option is that there likely isn't life elsewhere. Or maybe there is intelligent life elsewhere, but when it gets smart enough to send signals into space, it also is smart enough to make destructive nuclear weapons.

Hawking said he prefers the third option:

"Primitive life is very common and intelligent life is fairly rare," he then quickly added: "Some would say it has yet to occur on earth."

So should you worry about aliens? Alien abduction claims come from "weirdos" and are unlikely. However, because alien life might not have DNA like us, Hawking warned: "Watch out if you would meet an alien. You could be infected with a disease with which you have no resistance."

The 66-year-old British cosmologist, who suffers from ALS and must speak through a mechanical device, believes "if the human race is to continue for another million years, we will have to boldly go where no one has gone before."

Hawking compared people who don't want to spend money on human space exploration to those who opposed the journey of Christopher Columbus in 1492.

"The discovery of the New World made a profound difference to the old. Just think we wouldn't have had a Big Mac or KFC."

On the Net:

Stephen Hawking's web site: http://www.hawking.org.uk/home/hindex.html

[Theomanic]

Something not mentioned in the article, but perhaps he mentioned it in his speech, is that the universe is vast. Even if there is another form of intelligent life out there, it's probably so far away that its existence is meaningless to us.

I think it's pretty crazy to think there is no other life in the universe. But I also think, as Hawking said, intelligent life is rare. I expect in our explorations we'll find a lot of bacteria and other things. But actual mammals or creatures of a similarly complex nature? Again, I bet they're pretty far away.

I like his comparison of people who don't want to fund space exploration. It is very close-minded, and a limited sort of thinking. Especially considering how fast we're using up the planet we're on. We need a new host!

[bolsen1]

I agree with Stephen Hawking. I would only add that due to the nearly impossible journey between solar systems, the likelihood of an in-person meeting between a human and an "intelligient" life form is virtually nil...

[Robert Tulip]

Something not mentioned in the article, but perhaps he mentioned it in his speech, is that the universe is vast. Even if there is another form of intelligent life out there, it's probably so far away that its existence is meaningless to us. I think it's pretty crazy to think there is no other life in the universe. But I also think, as Hawking said, intelligent life is rare. I expect in our explorations we'll find a lot of bacteria and other things. But actual mammals or creatures of a similarly complex nature? Again, I bet they're pretty far away. I like his comparison of people who don't want to fund space exploration. It is very close-minded, and a limited sort of thinking. Especially considering how fast we're using up the planet we're on. We need a new host!

Hi Chris & Theomanic, this is interesting. One of my favourite books is Rare Earth

[dbooks]

Carl Sagan believed in other forms of intelligent life in the universe. The SETI program aims to detect radio signals from space. Unsuccessful so far to record anything significant, but who knows? I would like to think that there is intelligent life elsewhere...

[Chris OConnor]

We need a new host!

I strongly agree with you. Right now all our eggs are in one basket - planet Earth. It is inevitable that we will one day exceed the carrying capacity of this rock and will need to find new worlds to terraform (if need be) and colonize. And there is nothing wrong with this either.

We're conditioned by the environmentalists to believe that this planet is all we've got and that we better treat it right. Well, to an extent this is true. We're not going anywhere anytime soon, but there are definitely lots of other worlds out there. And the only way we're ever going to find them, reach them and populate them is if we develop a better appreciation for science, discovery and adventure.

[psyops]

SETI: A subject dear to my heart. As to finding a "new host", if it comes down to that, and I don't think it will, it's going to have to be right here in the solar system until we circumvent some major laws of physics, especially those propagated by that party-pooper, Einstein.

So far, close to 300 exoplanets have been discovered, yet the one that might be most earth-like is 20,000 light years away. Today's fastest spacecraft travel at 42,000 mph. Do the math. If it's simply a matter of maintaining the existence of the human species, self-sustaining colonies of humans could be established on the moon and on Mars over the next 200 years, and then eventually, further out in the solar system (a recurring theme in Ben Bova's novels).

As to intelligent aliens, I spotted one at the Allen SETI array awhile back. I live relatively close to Hat Creek so I go there often. No species has yet been discovered in the universe with the common sense of this wonderful alien critter: http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l36/e ... vatory.jpg