Ep 85: Seth Shostak on Extraterrestrial Life

Does life exist outside our planet? Are we alone in the universe? Seth Shostak joins Vasant Dhar in episode 85 of Brave New World to describe his search for the answers. Useful resources: 1. Seth Shostak at The Seti Institute, Wikipedia, TED, Amazon and his own website. 2. Life in the Universe -- Jeffrey Bennett, Seth Shostak, Nicholas Schneider and Meredith MacGregor. 3. Sharing the Universe: Perspectives on Extraterrestrial Life -- Seth Shostak. 4. Confessions of an Alien Hunter -- Seth Shostak. 5. The Copernican Revolution -- Thomas Kuhn. 6. Peter Ward on Life on Earth -- Episode 76 of Brave New World. 7. Rare Earth: Why Complex Life is Uncommon in the Universe -- Peter Ward and Donald Brownlee. 8. The Drake Equation. 9. The Gaia Hypothesis. 10. Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth -- James Lovelock. 11. Kevin Mitchell Makes a Case for Free Will -- Episode 80 of Brave New World. 12. The Kessler Syndrome. Check out Vasant Dhar’s newsletter on Substack. Subscription is free!

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In regards to the Abiogenesis factor in the Drake Equation it is possible to determine that probability and it is indistinguishable from zero, whereas the probability of the origin of civilization that is one species out of 100 million or otherwise 100 years divided by 4.5 billion, in either case the factor is so small as to indicate that technological civilization is a once in a Universe event.

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The Principle of Mediocrity isn't actually a law of science, by the way. The biggest problem is that it presumes that there is a necessity for life to exist in the Universe, such a necessity implying that the Universe has an authentic purpose for existing.