Sunday, June 22, 2014

Neil DeGrasse Tyson: "I worry aliens have already decided we're stupid" (video)

It's haunting enough that we're now, apparently, in the post, post-PC era.

But could it be that we're also in the post-alien era?

We always assume that alien contact is yet to be made, that the next frontier -- which might be the final one -- is out in space.

Yet astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson worries that this frontier has come and gone. Speaking to MSNBC's Chris Hayes, the "Cosmos" presenter talked about his hopes and fears.

In the latter category, he placed this idea: "The audacity of us to even claim we can define intelligence."
All too often, and I'm not specifically referring to Google engineers here, humans can behave as if we're the repository of all knowledge.

"My great fear is that we've in fact been visited by intelligent aliens, but they chose not to make contact, on the conclusion that there's no sign of intelligent life on Earth" he said.

DeGrasse Tyson went on to explain that there's plenty of organic matter in the Universe. What we don't know if how often such organic matter is turned into self-replicating life.

Read Full Story: CNET

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