Authors make realistic case for extraterrestrial life
Published: Saturday, January 31, 2004 at 6:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, January 29, 2004 at 11:43 a.m.
In this book, "What Does a Martian Look Like? The Science of the Extraterrestrial Life," the authors, Jack Cohen and Ian Stewart, undertake a sober scientific consideration of the topic of extraterrestrial life. This subject presents several problems to the sensible investigator. For one thing, xenoscience, the study of extraterrestrial life is at present a science without a subject. That is, no specimens of such beings are currently available except in the fevered dreams of UFO cultists.
This points to another major obstacle to a responsible discussion of the topic, which has been made to seem inherently ridiculous by the antics of charlatans, fanatics and cranks. This has frightened away reputable scientists. However, Cohen and Stewart make a case for the scientific plausibility of extraterrestrial life and discuss some of the main questions raised by this line of inquiry.
The authors argue that the existence of extraterrestrial life is far more probable than many scientists have been willing to concede. They devote several pages to a well-considered demolition of one of the most prominent books arguing the contrary position, "Rare Earth," by Peter Ward and Donald Brownlee. To simplify, they contend that Ward and Brownlee have rigged the game to "prove" that extraterrestrial life is impossible, except in a planetary environment suitable for the current land-dwelling inhabitants of Earth, such as us.
Cohen and Stewart point out that early Earth was not at all like the planet we know; for one thing, we could not have breathed its atmosphere. Earth became as it is now by its interaction with the evolving life forms that inhabited it. In addition, there currently exist life forms in "unsuitable" environments, the so-called "extremeophiles," "bacteria-like organisms that live in boiling water or Antarctic cold. " If Earth could be so different in the past and harbor such exotic creatures now, how much more outlandish would be the inhabitants of extraterrestrial worlds? A major point of the authors' is that alien life forms will be truly alien, utterly unlike humans or any other earthly creatures.
They will have evolved on a completely different world under completely different conditions and so will not resemble us in the slightest. Thus, aliens like Mr. Spock and the big-eyed "grays" are ruled out as much too human-like.
"What Does a Martian Look Like" is a good introduction to xenoscience and the principles that underlie it. The authors base their speculation firmly on scientific fact, their presentation is clear and not too technical for the non-scientist and the book is fascinating and entertaining.
Mark Bahm is a reference librarian with the Terrebonne Parish Library System.
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