Extraterrestrial Intelligence

by James L. Christian, Isaac Asimov (Contribution by), Leonard Nimoy (Contribution by)

For centuries, from the earliest legends of the man on the moon, mankind has fantasized and speculated about other life in the universe. With the discovery of biochemical evolution - which showed how life could evolve out of simple compounds - those speculations took on a new dimension. Most scientists now believe that it is possible that there is other intelligent life in the universe.

What are the possibilities of our making contact with ETIs in the profound vastness of space (a problem, as Isaac Asimov notes, too easily dismissed by cultists)? What will be the consequences to our images of ourselves and our world of the first proven contact with beings from another planet, since they are likely to be of superior intelligence? Could we still believe in the value of life as we live it? How would it affect mankind's religions, both Western and Eastern? Would it in fact mean, as Arthur C. Clarke has said, an end to mankind's childhood?

These and other questions are explored in Extraterrestrial Intelligence - from the most practical issues, such as how the news of contact should be handled, to the most exciting and troubling questions of philosophy, religion, and science.

Extraterrestrial Intelligence begins the search for a cosmic context for mankind. It leads the way in reflecting on the next stage in our gradual self-discovery.

Genres: Nonfiction

317 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1976

Reviews

[elsalmon L · Rating 3 out of 5]

Notable essays that ponder a cosmos where life-forms are an inevitable part of cosmic evolution.

[bird · Rating 3 out of 5]

kind of cute to read a cluster of optimistic like, 1970s biocosmic atheist californians who are all friends with each other and eager for earth to be a little kid in a benevolent galactic club. oh, besties. 0 stars to the vacant short story at the end, 5 stars to the philosophers' imaginings, 1000 stars to leonard nimoy's essay about humanity's love of spock, 100 stars to the fact that i was reading this on the beach when biden dropped out.

this would be marginally funnier if i allocated more stars to my reading experience than to leonard nimoy but that's not my heart.

[Bev · Rating 2 out of 5]

Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence: The First Encounter is a collection of articles and essays edited by James L. Christian and published in 1976. The articles were drafted in the shadow of the lunar landings and while the preparations for the Viking mission to Mars were well under way. People had long looked up at the sky at night and wondered what was out there--but now astronauts were making the first steps into space to find out. So, of course, speculation on what kind of life might exist on other worlds began to grow...particularly speculation about the possibility of intelligent life. These articles from eminent scientists and science fiction writers (and some, like Isaac Asimov, who were both) consider what the discover of intelligent interstellar life might mean to the human race--in philosophy and in practice; to our thoughts on religion and science. We even have a word from one of science fiction's favorite aliens--Mr. Spock of Vulcan.

Some of these essays are quite good and interesting--those by Asimov, Ray Bradbury, James L Christian, Kendrick Frazier, and Michael Tooley are all thought-provoking and written in terms that a layperson can understand. The "conversation" between Leonard Nimoy and his alter-ego Mr. Spock is charming and allows questions about interaction with aliens to be addressed in an entertaining way. The rest of the book goes quite over my head--lots of detailed scientific discussion about the probability of life-supporting planets and how many of those might generate intelligent life and the odds of that life trying to contact us (or sitting out there listening to our efforts to contact them)...it all makes my head spin. And, of course, this bit of non-fiction from 1976 is sadly out of date and out of touch. Unfortunately, our space program hasn't really progressed in the ways predicted by the scientists and science fiction writers of the '70s. We're not colonizing space; we're not making great efforts to explore much further than our backyard in the solar system. And if there are intelligent civilizations out there...I wouldn't be surprised if they have marked our planet as the insane asylum of the galaxy. We seem rather intent on doing ourselves in--if not through wars, then through pollution or disastrous climate or environmental effects. Why would they want to get in touch with those crazy Terrans?

An interesting read--if only for Asimov, Bradbury, and Nimoy--but not quite the stuff that three star books are made of. Two and a half stars.

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