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The discovery of life on other planets would
perhaps be the most momentous revelation in human history,
more disorienting and more profound than either the Copernican
or Darwinian revolutions, which knocked the earth the center
of the universe and humankind from its position of lofty
self-regard. In Here Be Dragons, astronomer David
Koerner and neurobiologist Simon LeVay offer a scientifically
compelling and colourful account of the search for life
beyond Earth.
The authors survey the work of biologists,
cosmologists, computer theorists, NASA engineers, SETI researchers,
roboticists, and UFO enthusiasts and debunkers as they attempt
to answer the greatest remaining question facing humankind:
Are we alone? From their "safe haven of skepticism"
the authors venture into the "rough seas of speculation,"
where theory and evidence run the gamut from hard science
to hocus pocus. Arguing that the universe is spectacularly
suited for the evolution of living creatures, Koerner and
LeVay give us ringside seats at the great debate of Big
Science. The contentious arguments about what really happens
in evolution, the acrimonious UFO controversy, and the debate
over intelligence versus artificial intelligence shed new
light on the widely divergent claims about the universe
and life's place in it. The authors argue that while no
direct evidence of extraterrestrial life yet exists, habitats
and chemical building blocks for life abound in the universe.
A wealth of new astronomical techniques and space missions
may provide this evidence early in the next century.
Lucidly written and scientifically rigorous,
Here Be Dragons presents everything we know thus
far about the emergence of intelligent life here on earth
and, perhaps, beyond.
David Koerner is an Assistant Professor
of Astronomy at the University of Pennsylvania. Simon LeVay
is an Independent Consultant and former Associate Professor
at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.
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