Concept explainers
Computer Life. Although scientists have already developed computer programs capable of reproducing themselves and evolving, few people consider such programs to be alive. But consider future developments in computing and robotic technology. Do you think we’ll ever make something based on electronics that is truly alive? Could it also be intelligent? If so, what civil rights should we give to such “artificial” intelligent life?
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Life in the Universe, Books a la Carte Plus Mastering Astronomy with Pearson eText -- Access Card Package (4th Edition)
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- Suppose astronomers discover a radio message from a civilization whose planet orbits a star 35 lightyears away. Their message encourages us to send a radio answer, which we decide to do. Suppose our governing bodies take 2 years to decide whether and how to answer. When our answer arrives there, their governing bodies also take two of our years to frame an answer to us. How long after we get their first message can we hope to get their reply to ours? (A question for further thinking: Once communication gets going, should we continue to wait for a reply before we send the next message?)arrow_forwardHow Do We know? How would you respond to someone who said, about biological evolution, “Oh, that’s only a theory.?arrow_forwardHow robotics changed the world?arrow_forward
- Think of our Milky Way Galaxy as a flat disk of diameter 100,000 light-years. Suppose we are one of 1000 civilizations, randomly distributed through the disk, interested in communicating via radio waves. How far away would the nearest such civilization be from us (on average)?arrow_forwardWhat is the difference between chemical evolution and biological evolution?arrow_forwardIf life is based on information, what is that information?arrow_forward
- If you represent Earths history by a line that is 1 m long, how long a segment would represent the 400 million years since life first moved onto the land? How long a segment would represent the 4-millionyear history of humanoid life?arrow_forwardThe Drake equation In 1961 astronomer Frank Drakedeveloped an equation to try to estimate the number ofextraterrestrial civilizations in our galaxy that might be able to communicate with us via radio transmissions. Nowlargely accepted by the scientific community, the Drakeequation has helped spur efforts by radio astronomers tosearch for extraterrestrial intelligence. Here is the equation: NC = N # fp # ne # fl# fi# fc # fLOK, it looks a little messy, but here’s what it means:So, how many ETs are out there? That depends; valueschosen for the many factors in the equation depend onever-evolving scientific knowledge and one’s personalguesses. But now, some questions.a) What quantity is calculated by the first product, N # fp?b) What quantity is calculated by the product, N # fp # ne # fl?c) What probability is calculated by the product fl# fi?d) Which of the factors in the formula are conditionalprobabilities? Restate each in a way that makes thecondition clear.arrow_forwardExplain how astrobiology is a science and not a pseudoscience. (Hint: Refer back to Chapter 2 for the definition of pseudoscience.)arrow_forward
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