According to astronomer Adam Frank from the University of Rochester, one of the problems with the Drake equation is that it incorporates the hypothetical length of time advanced civilisations exist for – something we're perhaps not well equipped to be speculating about.
"The fact that humans have had rudimentary technology for roughly 10,000 years doesn't really tell us if other societies would last that long or perhaps much longer," says Frank.
But by reformulating the equation to look at the history of the whole Universe instead, the team argues that they can avoid the ambiguity of longevity estimates.
"Rather than asking how many civilisations may exist now, we ask 'Are we the only technological species that has ever arisen?'" said fellow researcher Woodruff Sullivan from the University of Washington. "This shifted focus eliminates the uncertainty of the civilisation lifetime question and allows us to address what we call the 'cosmic archaeological question' – how often in the history of the universe has life evolved to an advanced state?" (read more)
Related: Universe Likely Has Many Extinct Civilizations
Related: Universe Likely Has Many Extinct Civilizations
3 comments:
Our species should be well on its way to colonizing our solar system by now - which would make longtime survival much more likely - but isn't because of massive diversion of money from space exploration to baby mamas.
I would tie this in w/ Chip's good post this morning. We have become insular. Lazy. Fat. I mean much of the world is not obese like the US. But, like ricpic says, we Americans are the ones who should be leading the planet. Instead we're being led by our noses by corrupt politicians, clowns, court jesters, spinners, propagandists. They have split us into hateful groups that hate those other guys. They tax the shit out of the producers, make the losers envious, and control via fear. I have long thought it arrogant to believe we are the only ones on the planet. The science money that should have us exploring and colonizing the universe is being spent on a scam, Global Warming. Tomorrow, a flick called Climate Hustle is being released. It will be destroyed by the media.
Meanwhile, here on planet Earth...
Post a Comment