RE: Reaction to extra-terrestial life.
August 19, 2014 at 12:20 pm
(This post was last modified: August 19, 2014 at 12:34 pm by Anomalocaris.)
It seems extraordinarily improbable to me that having only started on our evolutionary tree 5-6 billion years after much of the universe attained a state capable of forming earth like planets and begin separate lines of biological evolution, we could be the first to reach technological civilization.
We've had technology for a few tens thousand years in a universe a dozen billion years old, I think the median level of development amongst currently existent technological civilizations in the universe would be several billion years ahead of us, and possess technological powers to effect changes to the observable universe which we would be totally incapable of discerning from cosmological processes. To most technological civilization that had reached technological thresholds, Our. technology, a few thousand years out of the gate, would be barely discernible from no technology at all, so early it is in the billions year long course of technological development likely already experience by many others.
We've had technology for a few tens thousand years in a universe a dozen billion years old, I think the median level of development amongst currently existent technological civilizations in the universe would be several billion years ahead of us, and possess technological powers to effect changes to the observable universe which we would be totally incapable of discerning from cosmological processes. To most technological civilization that had reached technological thresholds, Our. technology, a few thousand years out of the gate, would be barely discernible from no technology at all, so early it is in the billions year long course of technological development likely already experience by many others.
