The Secret Of Our Success On Planet

So How Can We Test The Idea That The Transition From Nonlife To Life Is Simple Enough To Happen Repeatedly? The Most Obvious And Straightforward Way Is To Search For A Second Form Of Life On Earth. No Planet Is More Earth-like Than Earth Itself, So If The Path To Life Is Easy, Then Life Should Have Started Up Many Times Over Right Here.

The Universe Contains Vastly More Order Than Earth-life Could Ever Demand. All Those Distant Galaxies, Irrelevant For Our Existence, Seem As Equally Well Ordered As Our Own.

It's Worth Remembering That All Technology Leaves A Footprint. For Example, Our Own Technology Is Leaving A Footprint In Terms Of Global Warming, Which Could Be Detected From A Long Way Away. One Assumes That A Very Advanced Civilization That Has Been Around Maybe Millions And Millions Of Years Would Have An Even Bigger Footprint That Might Extend Beyond Its Planet To Its Immediate Astronomical Environment.

If We're Thinking About Old Civilizations, Those That Formed A Long Time Ago And There Were Stars And Planets Around Long Before Earth Even Existed, Then These Are Going To Be Towards The Center Of The Galaxy. That Is The Place To Look If You Think There Are Ancient Civilizations That Have Made Beacons Or Some Other Way Of Attracting Our Attention.

The Secret Of Life Does Not Lie In Its Chemical Basis . . . Life Succeeds Precisely Because It Evades Chemical Imperatives.