The Inner Limits of Outer Space

by John C. Baird

Discusses how the biases of human psychology have shaped--and limited--scientific perceptions of the form that communication with extraterrestrial beings might take

240 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1987

Reviews

[Jonathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

After an odd introductory discussion of "ancient aliens" and UFO sightings, the rest of the book does ask some interesting questions about how equipped we are to make contact with extraterrestrials. And "equipped" here is less about our technological capacity (e.g., have we even discovered the forms of communication that aliens might be using) and more about our cognitive capacity--can we even imagine the values and interests that aliens might have, or the ways in which they represent and convey meaning? Would their "language" have even a remotely similar structure to ours, and would they communicate on timescales similar to our own?

All very interesting questions, but sadly the author writes in a very dry manner and often gets bogged down in various side discussions about the human brain (how *we* perceive the world and create language and assign meaning) which are sometimes helpful but come at a cost to the bigger picture. I guess it makes sense, since the author is a psychologist and much better versed in the social sciences than in the physical sciences (which is glaringly obvious at times when he attempts to explain astrophysical principles). In the end, this is a book that seems like it would be fascinating but proves surprisingly dull.

[Berend Vendel · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not that it's all plain, or not insightful, but conventional psychology just isn't very interesting even if it is mostly correct.

Also could've been like 150 pages shorter.

[Cynde Moya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Collection of scholarly essays on the question of extraterrestrial life and possibilities of our contact with such life.