Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site lsuc.UUCP Path: utzoo!lsuc!msb From: msb@lsuc.UUCP (Mark Brader) Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers Subject: Re: The Great Silence Message-ID: <749@lsuc.UUCP> Date: Sat, 10-Aug-85 17:04:06 EDT Article-I.D.: lsuc.749 Posted: Sat Aug 10 17:04:06 1985 Date-Received: Sat, 10-Aug-85 18:05:57 EDT References: <2944@topaz.ARPA> Reply-To: msb@lsuc.UUCP (Mark Brader) Organization: Law Society of Upper Canada, Toronto Lines: 31 Summary: Maybe we don't know how to listen I've cut down the included part as much as possible, but I thought the complete list was worth presenting again. Josh Susser writes: > ... Why haven't any aliens contacted Earth? > ... some of [David] Brin's hypotheses ... > > 1) We are truly alone. > 2) Sentient live is just appearing in the galaxy ... > 3) There is a galactic interdict ... > 4) We are fundamentally different from other sentients ... > 5) Interstellar travel and communication are impossible. > 6) Berserkers or other hostile galactics are killing off our > frindly neighbors. > 7) Civilizations with the agressive tendencies necessary to > drive one to interstellar expansion kill themselves off ... > and the surviving galactics are mellow enough to expand > slowly, so they just haven't found us yet. > 8) Most habitable worlds are water worlds, so most other > galactic sentients would be aquatic and incapable of > building spacecraft. I'm surprised not to have seen any followups to this item. Here's an obvious next one: 9) Interstellar travel is impractical, and we don't know how to listen to the communications method used by anyone else. For instance, maybe they modulate their star's neutrino flow. Mark Brader