Last week, io9.com reported on the astounding confirmation that all solar systems in the Galaxy probably have planets, and that Earthlike planets are more common than previously thought. While this seems like good news for SETI-enthusiasts, the revelation is actually quite disturbing.
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Posted by
GamerFromJump on 06/25 at 09:14 AM
I notice that they didn’t mention the two potential causes for Filtration: putting off space travel to “fix the problems here first”, and continuing to put it off until the meteor comes; or alternatively, becoming so prosperous that they don’t even bother to reproduce, as is happening throughout the developed world. Of course, there’s the worst-case - their society’s version of Greens gain ascendancy and halt progress in the name of Gaiaist bullshit.Those are the most likely scenarios keeping humans out of space; who’s to say similar things didn’t happen elsewhere?
I still tend to think that any aliens we meet will be post biological, either cyborgs or infomorphs in robot bodies - closer to Optimus Prime than Mr. Spock. Space is just not a fun environment for organic intelligence.
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