The phrase "it takes one to know one" has traditionally guided the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), supported by numerous science fiction depictions of aliens as similar to humans. This raises the question: could cosmic evolution have favored bipedal forms with large heads, resembling us, and populating many Earth-like planets? If so, why haven't they reached out to us through electromagnetic communication, reducing our cosmic solitude? I explore these questions further in my latest book, *Cosmic Apprentice: Dispatches from the Edges of Science*.
The complexity of SETI lies in the multifaceted nature of intelligence and the notion that searching for extraterrestrial intelligence might substitute for religion in a secular time. Instead of believing in a deity that created us in his image, we hunt for aliens who have developed advanced, human-like technology.
Even eminent scientists can fall into the trap of imagining extraterrestrial intelligence as a distorted reflection of ourselves. For instance, Stephen Hawking cautions that aliens likely exist and might be dangerous if we draw their attention. But would aliens capable of interstellar travel need to consume us for food, given their likely ability to synthesize sustenance from space matter? This scenario seems as unreasonable as traveling supersonically to Morocco for just one chickpea. Meanwhile, Michio Kaku suggests that any alien encounter might not resemble Columbus's conquest of the Americas, but rather reflect America's experience in Vietnam: a fruitless conflict followed by withdrawal.
Both scenarios illustrate how difficult it is for humans to envision truly alien entities. They often appear as barely disguised versions of ourselves or slightly altered human subspecies. Part of this challenge lies in the difficulty of imagining communication with beings vastly different from us. In the end of *Contact*, written by my father Carl Sagan, aliens appear as humans to facilitate communication. In Stanislaw Lem's *Solaris*, a living ocean sends human images to an orbiting crew, highlighting the struggle of interspecies communication in science fiction.
While I admire science, I see it as a fallible human expression of a broader planetary intelligence—sometimes more alien to us than anything we might find in space. Most life forms, including our own bodies, regulate unchecked growth. Yet, the unrestrained progression and technological advancements of our civilization lead to global pollution, hunger, conflict, and climate change. Uncontrolled growth is unsustainable, be it spreading pathogens, stem cell growth, or our technoscientific society. Could a typical halt in growth for advanced civilizations, diverting focus from SETI to solve domestic issues, explain why we don't observe aliens? Josh Mitteldorf, a physicist-theoretical biologist, suggests aging could be an adaptation for regulating population sizes, preventing catastrophic booms from starvation and disease.
The quest for extraterrestrial life remains valuable, but perhaps the greatest benefits lie in a deeper understanding of intelligence on Earth.
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