We’re not alone. Deal with it.
I just read a report from NASA that there could be billions of other Earths out there in the known Universe — habitable planets that are not too hot, not too cold, and just about the right size to develop life forms.
According to this NASA report, one in five stars floating out there could possibly support life — something like 40 billion Earth-like planets in this galaxy alone.
All of a sudden being an Earthling doesn’t feel so special, does it?
This NASA news shouldn’t surprise us Earthlings, because for over a century, our science fiction entertainment has posited the very same thing: the idea that other life forms are out there, gazing back at us. And usually, they’re eager to conquer our planet. Because we’re so special.
Think of every Mars fantasy since HG Wells’ War of the Worlds, which opens with this: “No one would have believed in the last years of the 19th century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man’s and yet as mortal as his own.†Since then, most imaginary encounters with other worlds have been routinely hostile — think of Independence Day, or this year’s Pacific Rim, or the alien invasion/pub crawl comedy The World’s End. It’s like other life forms are supposed to be big playground bullies, just dying to steal our toys. We’ve come to believe “they†are always watching us. When in reality, it is probably just the NSA.
The news from NASA is exciting for those who have always believed that life is possible on other worlds. But notice how people will likely perceive this bit of news: they will immediately think a) Hey, we should go out there and explore some of that; or b) All those hillbillies who said they saw UFOS was right! If intelligent life is out there, the thinking goes, then naturally those intelligent beings would want to drop by periodically, to chat and ask about our exciting planet.
VISITING ALIEN LIFE FORMS (Knocking on closest Earth domicile’s door): Um… We were in the neighborhood? And we thought we’d stop by and observe how your people do things.
AVERAGE DUDE (Sitting on sofa with cellphone open): Really? That’s so cool! Hey, come on in... I’m just catching up on Parks and Recreation on TiVo. Let me just finish this… Facebook message thingy here… won’t be a second… got a lot of these things to answer… just a few more… seconds…
ALIEN LIFE FORM (After patiently waiting several minutes): Is this, uh… is this is a bad time for you? Perhaps we should come back at some later millennium?
AVERAGE DUDE: No, dude… I’m just chillin’. (Still looking at and thumbing his cellphone) So, uh… where, uh… where did you guys say you were from…? (Still thumbing his cellphone)
ALIEN LIFE FORM: We come from a planet much like your own within this very galaxy, one that goes by the name of Smerth, and supports various and abundant life forms, so we were naturally curious about how our sister planet embraces the miracle of life all around it.
AVERAGE DUDE (Still staring at and thumbing his cell phone): Uh-huh… Cool. And, uh… where did you guys say you were from? (Phone rings) Wait… I got to take this… (Places cell phone to his ear)
Why do we even assume that, if life exists out there in far greater numbers than we previously imagined, they would want to come visit us? We Earthlings are so far from even venturing out within our relatively tiny little solar system (a manned Mars flight might be doable in 20 or so years, maybe), let alone to other star systems within the galaxy. Yet we think other life forms out there are a) just dying to stop by and check us out, and b) possibly annihilate the planet.
Who else, in the Universe, has that level of self-centeredness?
Where did we get this huge, galactic-size ego?
And more to the point: Why do we need to be noticed so much?
Do we think that the Universe is like some huge Facebook page, and every time we do something we think is cute, the rest of the Universe should just sit up and take notice? That they should “Like†our post? Because we’re so awesome, and we’re on Earth, and we took a photo of a dewy white rose, damn it, and filtered the hell out of it on Instagram, so hey, Universe, check that out! Look what I did!
Yet the reality is, if NASA is right, then life is not only more cheap and abundant than previously thought, it’s actually pretty common. As in: we’re nothing special, guys. So deal with it.
That’s a harsh reality for the social media age to face. But think about it: sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are designed to perpetuate the idea that your curated “self†is a dewy, precious white rose, or a “beautiful and unique snowflake,†as Tyler Durden would put it. Out there in the endless ethernet of transmitted bits in space, you can somehow believe that your 140 characters or filtered picture of your cat sitting on the piano is “special,†because it’s hanging there on a virtual page, and people have virtually acknowledged its existence.
But what if there were a million Facebook systems out there — or 40 billion — and each one of them had its own millions and billions of users thinking that they’re something special? Can you see how that reduces the possibility that we actually matter much?
And here’s another scenario that might trouble people who think we’re the center of the Universe: if there are billions of other life forms out there, it’s very possible that they have evolved beyond the need to do a pop-in visit. They might have taken a good look around the Universe, or the local galaxy, and realized at some point that maybe, just maybe, taking a hike across millions of light years just to see how others conduct their version of life might be kind of intrusive. Maybe even selfish and rude. Conversely, they might not be that interested in a pop-in visit from us. They, like a lot of the less social media-inclined on Planet Earth, might just wish to be left alone.
Some people don’t really need to know what’s going on with the people next door. As Robert Frost once wrote, “Good fences make good neighbors.†He was right. Get over yourselves, Earthlings. Learn to take care of what you’ve got down here first.
