[ExI] Where are they? was Re: 2^57885161-1

[Tomaz Kristan]

> Every time I close all my windows I am struck with this picture of one
tiny
patch of sky containing at least several hundred galaxies, each with
billions of stars.  I just can't get my head around the notion that
intelligence came together only once with all that out there.  There must be
something fundamental we are missing or still haven't discovered.

It is just not enough of galaxies that a coin could land 200 times head up,
if one was tossed every second on every plane.

Or just about once. The same holds for life.


On Tue, Feb 19, 2013 at 4:04 PM, spike <spike66 at att.net> wrote:

>
> >... On Behalf Of BillK
> >...
>
>
> >...Well, we are faced with a lack of evidence of *any* intelligent
> civilisations out there. To the ends of the universe everything looks
> natural. The evidence says that we are alone. Or all intelligence remains
> at
> a low level with undetectable effects... BillK
>
> Ja, or intelligence remains at a high level with undetectable effects.
> Agreed it seems even if technology passes through a detectable phase only
> briefly, if intelligence is common we should have seen something somewhere
> by now.
>
> I am toying with the possibility that intelligence does self-limit, for
> reasons we don't yet understand.  If we have 100 billion people, would we
> eventually decide that's enough?  Is there any reason to think we would be
> better off with fewer, smarter brains than just in creating more and more
> like the current ones?
>
> In any case I have as a background on my computer one of NASA's deep space
> images, specifically this one:
>
>
> http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.californiaindianeducation.org
> /science_lab/pics/space_photos/Space_Deep.jpg&imgrefurl=
> http://www.californi
>
> aindianeducation.org/science_lab/deep_space.html&h=1280&w=1280&sz=313&tbnid=
>
> Ey0x065UfCHxiM:&tbnh=97&tbnw=97&zoom=1&usg=__RYOYXM71Q9zFv5qmKAmnoOuJJh0=&do
>
> cid=aMxpONmDhV5cKM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=85MjUc_FEobtiQKbgIEI&ved=0CDIQ9QEwAA&dur=90
> 5
>
> Every time I close all my windows I am struck with this picture of one tiny
> patch of sky containing at least several hundred galaxies, each with
> billions of stars.  I just can't get my head around the notion that
> intelligence came together only once with all that out there.  There must
> be
> something fundamental we are missing or still haven't discovered.
>
> spike
>
>
>
>
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>
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