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← There are far fewer alien civilizations than people would like to…
17 connected korrents · 12 moments from 4 Mar 2021 to 18 Aug 2026.
Everything filed under space
space
Everything filed under evolutionary biology
evolutionary biology
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religion
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energy Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Read this korrent: There are far fewer alien civilizations than people would like to believe, because the road from bacteria to humans has huge gaps in it. There are far fewer alien civilizations than people would like to believe, because the road from bacteria to humans has huge gaps in it. Last stated 4 years ago
7 Sept 2022
NL
Nick Lane — holds since 2022-09-07 — tap for who they are
Same subject: The simplest explanation for why we have never noticed an alien civilization is that there are none out there. — tap to centre the map on it The simplest explanation for why we have never noticed an alien civilization is that there are none out there. Last stated 2 years ago
22 Apr 2024
SC
Sean Carroll — holds since 2024-04-22 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Bacteria never became complex because the barrier is structure, not information — they explored genetic space far more thoroughly than eukaryotes and still got stuck. — tap to centre the map on it Bacteria never became complex because the barrier is structure, not information — they explored genetic space far more thoroughly than eukaryotes and still got stuck. Last stated 4 years ago
7 Sept 2022
NL
Nick Lane — holds since 2022-09-07 — tap for who they are
Same subject: There is no necessary trajectory from simple life to complexity: without photosynthesis or eukaryotes, the planet could have stayed bacteria and nothing else. — tap to centre the map on it There is no necessary trajectory from simple life to complexity: without photosynthesis or eukaryotes, the planet could have stayed bacteria and nothing else. Last stated 4 years ago
7 Sept 2022
NL
Nick Lane — holds since 2022-09-07 — tap for who they are
Same subject: The universe has run ten billion trillion habitable-zone experiments, so we are the first technological civilisation only if every single one of them failed. — tap to centre the map on it The universe has run ten billion trillion habitable-zone experiments, so we are the first technological civilisation only if every single one of them failed. Last stated 2 years ago
22 Dec 2024
AF
Adam Frank — holds since 2024-12-22 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Life probably arose only once on Earth, and the deep split between bacteria and archaea is the evidence for it. — tap to centre the map on it Life probably arose only once on Earth, and the deep split between bacteria and archaea is the evidence for it. Last stated 4 years ago
7 Sept 2022
NL
Nick Lane — holds since 2022-09-07 — tap for who they are
Same subject: The same afterlife journey along the Milky Way turns up in cultures too distant in space and time to have shared it, so it is an inheritance from one remote common source rather than a coincidence. — tap to centre the map on it The same afterlife journey along the Milky Way turns up in cultures too distant in space and time to have shared it, so it is an inheritance from one remote common source rather than a coincidence. Last stated 2 years ago
16 Oct 2024
GH
Graham Hancock — holds since 2024-10-16 — tap for who they are
Same subject: The visiting-aliens story is incoherent: a civilisation with the technology to stay hidden would not keep being spotted. — tap to centre the map on it The visiting-aliens story is incoherent: a civilisation with the technology to stay hidden would not keep being spotted. Last stated 2 years ago
22 Dec 2024
AF
Adam Frank — holds since 2024-12-22 — tap for who they are
Same subject: The surprise is not that most of the universe is invisible to us, but that the matter we can see makes up as large a fraction as it does. — tap to centre the map on it The surprise is not that most of the universe is invisible to us, but that the matter we can see makes up as large a fraction as it does. Last stated 3 years ago
3 Dec 2023
LR
Lisa Randall — holds since 2023-12-03 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A language model's apparent mind is mostly our own bias: it predicts text, and leverages our evolved habit of attributing intentionality to anything that acts human. — tap to centre the map on it A language model's apparent mind is mostly our own bias: it predicts text, and leverages our evolved habit of attributing intentionality to anything that acts human. Last stated 2 years ago
22 Apr 2024
SC
Sean Carroll — holds since 2024-04-22 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A selection signal can be validated without a significance threshold, by measuring how far it is enriched for mutations an entirely independent study says affect a trait. — tap to centre the map on it A selection signal can be validated without a significance threshold, by measuring how far it is enriched for mutations an entirely independent study says affect a trait. Last stated 5 months ago
8 May 2026
DR
David Reich — holds since 2026-05-08 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Adaptive evolution tends to achieve even a simple, fixed objective through complicated behavior. — tap to centre the map on it Adaptive evolution tends to achieve even a simple, fixed objective through complicated behavior. Last stated 5 months ago
4 Jun 2026
SW
Stephen Wolfram — holds since 2026-06-04 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A Chinese crewed landing on the Moon before America returns would be a defeat for the free world. — tap to centre the map on it A Chinese crewed landing on the Moon before America returns would be a defeat for the free world. Last stated 2 months ago
18 Aug 2026
CH
Casey Handmer — holds since 2025-10-31 — tap for who they are
EB
Eric Berger — holds since 2026-08-18 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A crewed spacecraft does no work: putting people aboard is what stops a mission getting anything done. — tap to centre the map on it A crewed spacecraft does no work: putting people aboard is what stops a mission getting anything done. Last stated 4 years ago
1 Jan 2023
MC
Maciej Cegłowski — holds since 2023-01-01 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A great filter is a weak explanation for the silence, because it would have to work every single time — one civilization with self-replicating probes could fill the galaxy. — tap to centre the map on it A great filter is a weak explanation for the silence, because it would have to work every single time — one civilization with self-replicating probes could fill the galaxy. Last stated 2 years ago
22 Apr 2024
SC
Sean Carroll — holds since 2024-04-22 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Finding no selection in African-Americans over 300 years is not evidence against selection: five generations is simply too short a time to compound. — tap to centre the map on it Finding no selection in African-Americans over 300 years is not evidence against selection: five generations is simply too short a time to compound. Last stated 5 months ago
8 May 2026
DR
David Reich — holds since 2026-05-08 — tap for who they are
Same subject: NASA can still be reorganised into an agency that exploits cheap heavy lift, and the next administrator will decide whether it is. — tap to centre the map on it NASA can still be reorganised into an agency that exploits cheap heavy lift, and the next administrator will decide whether it is. Last stated 2 years ago
2 Oct 2024
CH
Casey Handmer — holds since 2021-03-04 — tap for who they are
CH
Casey Handmer — no longer holds since 2024-10-02 — tap for who they are
Same subject: NASA's flagship programmes eat the budget of the robotic science missions that actually make the discoveries. — tap to centre the map on it NASA's flagship programmes eat the budget of the robotic science missions that actually make the discoveries. Last stated 2 years ago
2 Oct 2024
CH
Casey Handmer — holds since 2024-10-02 — tap for who they are
At the centre
There are far fewer alien civilizations than people would like to believe, because the road from bacteria to humans has huge gaps in it.
Holds Read this korrent →
The simplest explanation for why we have never noticed an alien civilization is that there are none out there.
Holds
Bacteria never became complex because the barrier is structure, not information — they explored genetic space far more thoroughly than eukaryotes and still got stuck.
Holds
There is no necessary trajectory from simple life to complexity: without photosynthesis or eukaryotes, the planet could have stayed bacteria and nothing else.
Holds
The universe has run ten billion trillion habitable-zone experiments, so we are the first technological civilisation only if every single one of them failed.
Holds
Life probably arose only once on Earth, and the deep split between bacteria and archaea is the evidence for it.
Holds
The same afterlife journey along the Milky Way turns up in cultures too distant in space and time to have shared it, so it is an inheritance from one remote common source rather than a coincidence.
Holds
The visiting-aliens story is incoherent: a civilisation with the technology to stay hidden would not keep being spotted.
Holds
The surprise is not that most of the universe is invisible to us, but that the matter we can see makes up as large a fraction as it does.
Holds
A language model's apparent mind is mostly our own bias: it predicts text, and leverages our evolved habit of attributing intentionality to anything that acts human.
Holds
A selection signal can be validated without a significance threshold, by measuring how far it is enriched for mutations an entirely independent study says affect a trait.
Holds
Adaptive evolution tends to achieve even a simple, fixed objective through complicated behavior.
Holds
A Chinese crewed landing on the Moon before America returns would be a defeat for the free world.
Holds
A crewed spacecraft does no work: putting people aboard is what stops a mission getting anything done.
Holds
A great filter is a weak explanation for the silence, because it would have to work every single time — one civilization with self-replicating probes could fill the galaxy.
Holds
Finding no selection in African-Americans over 300 years is not evidence against selection: five generations is simply too short a time to compound.
Holds
NASA can still be reorganised into an agency that exploits cheap heavy lift, and the next administrator will decide whether it is.
No longer holds
NASA's flagship programmes eat the budget of the robotic science missions that actually make the discoveries.
Holds