Posted on 02/19/2017 4:12:06 PM PST by RoosterRedux
A fascinating essay that lay hidden for decades reveals Winston Churchill’s views on alien life.
The never-published essay has been in the archive of the National Churchill Museum in Fulton, Missouri since the 1980s, when it was given to the museum by the wife of Churchill’s publisher, who had died. Last year the museum invited Israeli astrophysicist Mario Livio to review the essay, which he discusses in an article published in the science journal Nature.
Livio notes the British wartime leader’s passion for science and technology in the 1939 essay, as well as Churchill’s thoughts on extraterrestrials.
Apparently influenced by events unfolding at the time, Churchill voices his concern about human progress and describes the possibility of aliens. “I, for one, am not so immensely impressed by the success we are making of our civilization here that I am prepared to think we are the only spot in this immense universe which contains living, thinking creatures, or that we are the highest type of mental and physical development which has ever appeared in the vast compass of space and time,” he wrote.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Quix had a major issue with Catholicism and was quite pointed and controversial in his voluminous and very colorful criticism, which is why he was unfortunately invited to leave. I miss characters like that here, even though he could be nasty at times, and was always obsessive. Very entertaining, or at least I thought so. I recall an argument I had with him, about a UFO he was freaking out about at the time. I pointed out that it wasn’t a UFO, since it had NASA markings, regardless of whether he knew the type of craft or not. I’m sure there are many experimental craft that we don’t know about, but it wasn’t unidentified.
It’s more of how many suitable planets are there for intelligent life to exist in our galaxy for a sufficient time to come and see us.
The Milky Way galaxy has 100-400 billion stars, but the much higher density of stars as one approaches the center of the galaxy would be more disruptive of a star’s solar system not to mention a greater probability of a nearby supernova damaging the planet. And stars too far from the center or the arms are not likely to have a sufficient supply of heavier elements to have rocky planets. Only those stars of a size similar to that of our sun and in one of the arms, but not too close to the center, might have a planet orbiting its sun not so close for a moderate temperature that it’s tidally locked to its orbit around the star.
And then there is the need to have larger gas planets in the solar system suburbs to suck up loose asteroids. Of course having a moon of the right size at the right distance is also important. And then there are a slew of planet parameters that are fairly tight to allow for Earth-like conditions.
Only if there is but one alien species out there and it's not curious. If there are several or many alien species, only one (besides us) has to be curious enough to explore the galaxy.
And if an intelligent life is not curious, it's questionable if it could be intelligent.
“And if an intelligent life is not curious, it’s questionable if it could be intelligent.”
It’s questionable to us, sure. Very hard to imagine even. But we are just going by the one example we have to guide us: us. We have a hard time imagining it because it’s not what we would do. But it’s yet to be proven what anyone else would do or not do.
Another possibility is the berserker scenario, where if we are detected moving things and being loud, something comes and squashes us. So new intelligences could be common, but after they reach a certain stage inevitably they are detected by something older and more powerful and eradicated.
Freegards
The theory of multi-verse is not that unbelievable and unless proofed and proven it remains a theory. As do all theories which remain unproven. People seem willing to overlook the proven aspect of theory vs fact.
Read the “Three Body Problem/Dark Forrest” trilogy. You will understand “where is everybody” better.
The universe is what, about 13 or 14 billion years old (+/- 50 million?). The earth, about 4-1/2 billion years? Man figured out how to fly just 114 years ago and is relatively VERY new to the game, first crudely reaching space a mere 56 years ago. Patience is a virtue. Besides, from what I've seen, there appears to be plenty of evidence that has been published or otherwise put out over the years. Ancient cave paintings depicting flying beings for example. But skepticism calls for first-hand proof. Everything else can be recreated with modern technology (photoshop, CGI, etc...) Seeing is believing.
But... just supposin' what if other intelligent life forms have time clocks with hands that move in the other direction? Or maybe their eyes face inward?...
Churchill ETI essay bump for later....
Note: this topic is from . Thanks RoosterRedux.
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