No idea...
Posted on 04/30/2009 9:43:31 AM PDT by anniegetyourgun
If you'd asked 20 years ago the question he's heard over and over -- whether humanity will discover extraterrestrial intelligence in his lifetime -- Frank Drake would have shrugged and said, "sure."
Today, the renowned astronomer, who turns 79 next month, admits the chances are slimming.
"It's going to be a close call," he said.
But even if Drake, professor emeritus of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of California at Santa Cruz, doesn't see the day we learn we're not alone, he knows it's coming. To him, it's a mathematical inevitability.
He should know. He wrote the formula. And in a decade when scientists are discovering more extraterrestrial oceans, far away solar systems and Earth-like masses around the galaxy, it's being taken more seriously than ever before
(Excerpt) Read more at seattlepi.com ...
frell, frell, frack!
Frank’s my neighbor! He’s a very cool guy, and extremely intelligent.
Ping.
I would say this is a given considering the astronomical number number of galaxies. Whether one is close enough for visitation is another matter. Highly unlikely.
Bookmark
Farscape and Battlestar.
Why do they all have to begin "F"?
Really? Thats neat!
One of my favorite equations is the Drake equation.
mathematical inevitability just like the lottery.
I’m still looking for intelligent life on earth...
Please shake his hand for me.
N=R*fp* ne* fl *fi *fc *fl
Where
N is the number of civilizations in our galaxy with which communication might be possible
R is the number of stars in the Milky Way Galaxy
fp is the number of planets per star capable of supporting life
fl is the fraction of planets where life evolves
fc is the fraction that communicates
fl is the fraction of the planet’s life during which the communicating civilizations live
This serious looking equation is JUNK SCIENCE. The problem is that none of the terms can be known, and most cannot even be estimated. The only way to work the equation is to fill it in with guesses. As a result, the Drake equation can have any value from “Billions and billions” to zero. An expression that can mean anything means NOTHING! The Drake equation is literally meaningless, and has nothing to do with science. It is religion.
But it did lay the groundwork for the religion of Global Warming.
Yup. Obama's gotta be from another world. I believe it's called "Kum Baya".
Too many zeros after the decimal before the first significant digit.
You beat me to it.
Is that how we’re explaining the new President?
No idea...
Seth Shostak and the Allen Array is on the doorstep of detecting an artificial radio signal from “out there”. Just stay tuned.
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