What is new, 2020th?
Events that will revolutionize science in 2020
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To believe that humans are the only intelligent life in the Universe is at least naive. About the life of other civilizations on our planet tells a lot of archaeological finds, and the possibility of the aliens presence, although not confirmed, but not refuted by science.
We are definitely not the first, but what happened to those who were before us? Perhaps they were moving the same destructive path along which humanity is walking, and eventually they died. So, maybe, the experience of the lost civilizations will be useful for us and will help to avoid our own catastrophe?
The fact that humanity is on the path of self-destruction, today is said at every corner. We, it seems, understand, we nod, we even arrange thematic actions ... but we continue to go there, accelerating and speeding up the step. Perhaps a living example of the bitter ending of such negligence would be the very tub of icy water that would make us stop. That is how Avi Loeb, the dean of astronomy at Harvard University, thinks.
Avi Loeb, dean of the Astronomy Faculty of Harvard University, photo WEB
Cruelty, idleness, greed, selfishness and recklessness are the main qualities of modern society. People have developed a weapon that can easily destroy all life on the planet. They relate to ecology and natural resources as if there is a spare somewhere in the pocket. Perhaps, our experience is not a debut for the Universe, and it has already witnessed the death of other, not especially far-sighted civilizations. Maybe this is why we have not yet come into contact with other sentient beings - they just destroyed themselves.
“The absence of the result of our attempts to contact extraterrestrial intelligence can be explained by the fact that other races, like us, did not think about the consequences of their actions. Then they could open those wounds that eventually destroyed them”, argues Loeb. Approaching this question from this point of view, he suggests looking for traces of life not where it seems possible, but vice versa. It is the planets, even uninhabited in theory, that can store artifacts of man-made disasters and nuclear wars. Such a discovery will prove valuable not only for history and science, but even more so for humanity as a whole. Perhaps, on another example, it finally understands how is impossible to live.
People have developed a weapon that can destroy all living things, photo WEB
Nevertheless, the scientist is confident that the search for living aliens should not be stopped. “Our advanced technologies are only a hundred years old, but among other, more advanced civilizations, they can be at a completely different level. Aliens could teach us”, Loeb suggests. On the other hand, he admits that the inhabitants of other galaxies simply have nothing to talk with us, because our race is too young. Maybe we will grow up in their eyes when we make some kind of scientific breakthrough ... That’s how the professor sees his own Breakthrough Starshot project, the goal of which is to create small fast space probes. Such space researchers will not only help to collect the most valuable information about the Universe, but also, possibly, will open humanity in a new light for aliens.
Межзвёздный объект, получивший название «Оумуамуа», фото WEB
Loeb believes that such probes have long been traveling through space, and earthlings have recently seen one of them. The interstellar object, called Oumuamua, is still a mystery to scientists. Most agree that this is just a comet, albeit unusual - tailless. However, Loeb is inclined to consider it a probe of other civilizations. Proof? Yes, there is no proof. However, it is foolish to deny a theory no less viable than any other theory, only because it seems fantastic.
The professor is sure that space exploration will provide answers, if not to all, then to many global questions. In the development of this particular area of science, he sees the future of humanity. “Having opened the lost civilization, we will know for sure where carelessness leads towards our own planet. And when we join forces and get out of the solar system, we find that the galaxy is a place that is much more populated than is commonly believed”.
Victoria Romanova, Russia, Moscow