Any advanced civilization out there would not want us to know about them and with good reason. Just look at what we did to the native americans, to the Africans, and to each other. And if we had the technology to go to their planet, what would we do, build a Berlin wall around their equator?
My theory of comics continuity is that each strip is of a parallel universe of the previous ones, offset by time or slightly different history. That’s why characters often age slowly or not at all, and past events are sometimes undone. I think today’s strip is in a universe where aliens have stayed away.
This one is more like a Sunday strip where they take time away from the comic strip and address a real life actual issue, like here, why seti has been a total failure after several decades of searching for alien radio signals.
Given the size of the universe and our limitations in seeing clearly for very far, isn’t it a bit premature to conclude there’s no other intelligent life out there? That’s like peeking into a department store without actually entering, and then declaring, “Nope, they don’t have the sweater I’m looking for.”
You’d be right if they were beaming a tremendously huge signal directly at us.But “everyday” radio signals? Nah, not enough power, and we haven’t had “ears” sufficiently sensitive enough until the last few decades.
With a billion stars in our galaxy, and a billion galaxies of which we are aware, the odds are strongly in favor of a lot of life out there. Not as we know it, maybe forms of which we can’t conceive. Now, Earth may have developed life very quickly, but there are older galaxies, and they are unimaginably far, even for the speed of light. Let’s face it, with life spans of under a hundred years, and decent technology only in the last few decades, we don’t see more than a snapshot of the Universe.
Just maybe they would use something other than mere radio waves to communicate. For all we know several super civilizations have risen and fallen while life was just a soup in our waters. Many more who never went that far and died out due to their machinations of war.
I’d like to look at Newenglandah’s comment from the opposite perspective. Our planet has had the capability of transmitting radio signals for just shy of 150 years. Traveling at the speed of light, these signals (assuming the transmitter was powerful enough to beam a signal into space) will have only gone a distance of 150 light years. Given that the galaxy is thousands of light years across, this is not a great distance. Anything further out than 150 light years will not even know we’re here. They will not yet have heard a peep out of us.
Flash Gordon about 8 years ago
Any advanced civilization out there would not want us to know about them and with good reason. Just look at what we did to the native americans, to the Africans, and to each other. And if we had the technology to go to their planet, what would we do, build a Berlin wall around their equator?
Coyoty Premium Member about 8 years ago
My theory of comics continuity is that each strip is of a parallel universe of the previous ones, offset by time or slightly different history. That’s why characters often age slowly or not at all, and past events are sometimes undone. I think today’s strip is in a universe where aliens have stayed away.
Kroykali about 8 years ago
This one is more like a Sunday strip where they take time away from the comic strip and address a real life actual issue, like here, why seti has been a total failure after several decades of searching for alien radio signals.
cdward about 8 years ago
Given the size of the universe and our limitations in seeing clearly for very far, isn’t it a bit premature to conclude there’s no other intelligent life out there? That’s like peeking into a department store without actually entering, and then declaring, “Nope, they don’t have the sweater I’m looking for.”
Packratjohn Premium Member about 8 years ago
You’d be right if they were beaming a tremendously huge signal directly at us.But “everyday” radio signals? Nah, not enough power, and we haven’t had “ears” sufficiently sensitive enough until the last few decades.
Packratjohn Premium Member about 8 years ago
Circle, circle.Dot, dot…..Now I can go vote.
kaffekup about 8 years ago
With a billion stars in our galaxy, and a billion galaxies of which we are aware, the odds are strongly in favor of a lot of life out there. Not as we know it, maybe forms of which we can’t conceive. Now, Earth may have developed life very quickly, but there are older galaxies, and they are unimaginably far, even for the speed of light. Let’s face it, with life spans of under a hundred years, and decent technology only in the last few decades, we don’t see more than a snapshot of the Universe.
Night-Gaunt49[Bozo is Boffo] about 8 years ago
Just maybe they would use something other than mere radio waves to communicate. For all we know several super civilizations have risen and fallen while life was just a soup in our waters. Many more who never went that far and died out due to their machinations of war.
Spider-UK about 8 years ago
To quote Calvin and Hobbes “The surest sign that there is intelligent life out there is that none of it has tried to contact us”
gantech about 8 years ago
I’d like to look at Newenglandah’s comment from the opposite perspective. Our planet has had the capability of transmitting radio signals for just shy of 150 years. Traveling at the speed of light, these signals (assuming the transmitter was powerful enough to beam a signal into space) will have only gone a distance of 150 light years. Given that the galaxy is thousands of light years across, this is not a great distance. Anything further out than 150 light years will not even know we’re here. They will not yet have heard a peep out of us.
ChessPirate about 8 years ago
Like I’ve always said, “The best chance you have that a politician will tell the truth is when it’s talking about its opponent…”