To expect alien technology to be just a few decades ahead of ours is too incredible to be taken seriously.
To expect alien technology to be just a few decades ahead of ours is too incredible to be taken seriously.
Author: Paul Davies
The birth of science as we know it arguably began with Isaac Newton's formulation of the laws of gravitation and motion. It is no exaggeration to say that physics was reborn in the early 20th-century with the twin revolutions of quantum mechanics and the theory of relativity.
The birth of science as we know it arguably began with Isaac Newton's formulation of the laws of gravitation and motion. It is no exaggeration to say that physics was reborn in the early 20th-century with the twin revolutions of quantum mechanics and the theory of relativity.
Cosmologists have attempted to account for the day-to-day laws you find in textbooks in terms of fundamental 'superlaws' but the superlaws themselves must still be accepted as brute facts. So maybe the ultimate laws of nature will always be off-limits to science.
Cosmologists have attempted to account for the day-to-day laws you find in textbooks in terms of fundamental 'superlaws' but the superlaws themselves must still be accepted as brute facts. So maybe the ultimate laws of nature will always be off-limits to science.
Traditionally scientists have treated the laws of physics as simply 'given' elegant mathematical relationships that were somehow imprinted on the universe at its birth and fixed thereafter. Inquiry into the origin and nature of the laws was not regarded as a proper part of science.
Traditionally scientists have treated the laws of physics as simply 'given' elegant mathematical relationships that were somehow imprinted on the universe at its birth and fixed thereafter. Inquiry into the origin and nature of the laws was not regarded as a proper part of science.
A permanent base on Mars would have a number of advantages beyond being a bonanza for planetary science and geology. If as some evidence suggests exotic micro-organisms have arisen independently of terrestrial life studying them could revolutionise biology medicine and biotechnology.
A permanent base on Mars would have a number of advantages beyond being a bonanza for planetary science and geology. If as some evidence suggests exotic micro-organisms have arisen independently of terrestrial life studying them could revolutionise biology medicine and biotechnology.
For me science is already fantastical enough. Unlocking the secrets of nature with fundamental physics or cosmology or astrobiology leads you into a wonderland compared with which beliefs in things like alien abductions pale into insignificance.
For me science is already fantastical enough. Unlocking the secrets of nature with fundamental physics or cosmology or astrobiology leads you into a wonderland compared with which beliefs in things like alien abductions pale into insignificance.
The origin of life is one of the great outstanding mysteries of science.
The origin of life is one of the great outstanding mysteries of science.
In science a healthy skepticism is a professional necessity whereas in religion having belief without evidence is regarded as a virtue.
In science a healthy skepticism is a professional necessity whereas in religion having belief without evidence is regarded as a virtue.
Imagine a civilisation that's way in advance of us wants to communicate with us and assist us in our development. The information we provide to them must reflect our highest aspirations and ideals and not just be some crazy person's bizarre politics or religion.
Imagine a civilisation that's way in advance of us wants to communicate with us and assist us in our development. The information we provide to them must reflect our highest aspirations and ideals and not just be some crazy person's bizarre politics or religion.
Is there anything science should not try to explain? Science is knowledge and knowledge is power – power to do good or evil. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.
Is there anything science should not try to explain? Science is knowledge and knowledge is power – power to do good or evil. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.
Clearly some creative thinking is badly needed if humans are to have a future beyond Earth. Returning to the Moon may be worthy and attainable but it fails to capture the public's imagination. What does get people excited is the prospect of a mission to Mars.
Clearly some creative thinking is badly needed if humans are to have a future beyond Earth. Returning to the Moon may be worthy and attainable but it fails to capture the public's imagination. What does get people excited is the prospect of a mission to Mars.
We will never fully explain the world by appealing to something outside it that must simply be accepted on faith be it an unexplained God or an unexplained set of mathematical laws.
We will never fully explain the world by appealing to something outside it that must simply be accepted on faith be it an unexplained God or an unexplained set of mathematical laws.