SETI public: A novel solution to Fermi's Paradox

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One intriguing solution to the Fermi paradox appears in Karl Schroeder's
novel Permanence (New York: Tor Books, 2002). Using a hypothesis from
evolutionary biology called 'adaptationism,' Schroeder's protagonist argues
that consciousness is not necessarily required for toolmaking. "In fact,
consciousness appears to be a phase. No species we have studied has retained
what we could call self-awareness for its entire history. Certainly none has
evolved into some state above consciousness."

This view is so strikingly at variance with our conventional view of the
universe that it brings most readers (including this one) up short.
Astronomer Milan M. Æirkoviæ (Astronomical Observatory of Belgrade), who
discusses Schroeder's work in a recent issue of the Journal of the British
Interplanetary Society, puts the case this way: "...our estimates and
expectations of the phenomenon of intelligence...are wrong. Intelligence is
significant only insofar as it offers an evolutionary advantage, a
meaningful response to the selective pressure of the fluctuating
environment. Only so far, and no further is the 'selfish gene' willing to
carry that piece of luggage."

http://www.centauri-dreams.org/2005.08.07_arch.html#1123851983474

http://www.centauri-dreams.org/

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