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CAVEAT: High-energy particles
are emerging from this screen at the speed of light.
It is highly probable that some of them may collide with subatomic particles in your Deoxyribonucleic Acid
chains, altering their physical properties and behavior, (energy levels, charge,
spin, etc.), and thus infusing you with the Kongaloid Essence forever. (This may
already have taken place.) Therefore, the actual definition of your cosmic reality phase state
is being systematically and irrevocably altered in proportion to the length of
your visit to this website.
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 March 2008
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Sometimes I think we're alone in the universe, and sometimes I think we're not. In either case, the idea is quite staggering.
—[ Arthur C. Clarke ]— 
I have been an enthusiastic member of the SETI@Home project from its beginning.
Recently, however, I have begun to wonder: What is the point? If we should encounter signals
from another cosmic civilization, it would be one, in all likelihood, very much like our own,
at least in technological terms. The reason I believe this is because I believe that the
evolutionary transcendence of our biological existence is very close at hand. Indeed, it is
very hard to seriously contemplate any civilization significantly more advanced than our
own AND that has not transcended into a post-biological reality.
I am talking about the Technological Singularity, of course. The more I think about it, the more I become convinced of its inevitability. To me, it now seems obvious that this is our destiny. In this frame of mind the only possible response to the idea of civilizations that are significantly beyond our own level of development, and which have NOT transcended into a post-biological existence is: "What's WRONG with them?" 
A good example of this sort of transcendence deficiency can be found in the novel
Childhood's End, by Arthur C. Clarke.
In it, the Overlords, a significantly more advanced civilization than our own, envy
our possession of a certain psychological quality that allows us to transcend into a
greater reality, while they, who lack *IT*, are condemned to spend
eternity in this reality (The Universe).
Technological civilizations beyond our own level of development would not only, (in all likelihood), be beyond our capacity to comprehend, but the cost-to-benefit ratio, (for them), in establishing some form of exchange with us would be, well, ludicrous. Such civilizations would have transcended into a post-biological reality. In which case the very nature of such an exalted state of existence means that they have no further need for radio transmissions of any kind, or any interest in sharing their thoughts with barbaric, unrealized entities such as ourselves. So that's out. What is left is technological civilizations at or near our own level of development, which would, by definition, be constrained by the same physical limitations as we are, (i.e. The Speed of Light), making any meaningful exchange academic at best. Their discovery would only be of real value to our philosophical interests in as far as a redefinition of our concept of self and our relationship to the Universe is concerned. Theists, I suspect, will really have a hard time grappling with that, but they are, in my view, a rather insignificant and unimpressive branch of philosophy. So, if transcendence into a post-biological evolutionary reality is the ultimate destiny of all Advanced Technological Civilizations (ATCs), and if, we ourselves are on the very threshold of such a transcendence, and given that the rate of accelerated evolution that is the LAW of such advancement, as we ourselves have experienced through our history, brings such civilizations to the threshold of transcendence in a relatively short while, then: The epoch of radio transmissions is a short-lived one. The Universe is possibly teeming with transcended civilizations and their consequently expanding, paper-thin shells of radio broadcasts. Some of these expanding, paper-thin shells of radio broadcasts may or may not have had time to reach us, as no doubt there are others that have indeed reached us and passed beyond into the post-biological silence of the technological-phase of their evolution. The likelihood that any SETI@Home-like effort would happen to capture the passing of such an expanding shell of radio broadcasts is about the same as that of the Earth crossing the path of an un-diffused Gamma-Ray Burst. Not impossible, to be sure, but such a discovery would tell us where they were, and perhaps even who they were, but Cosmic distances and the Speed of Light limitations mean that such a signal came from a civilization that has since passed-on to its own post-biological destiny. We would be listening to the echoes of its barbaric past. Any reply we send, (whenever it would reach them), would be ignored by its exalted present reality, no more than the buzzing of a passing insect, or perhaps, not even that. To be fair, I should mention that there is another possibility for the SETI failure: That the reason we cannot find any signs of ATCs is because there are none; that we are alone, or that we are the first to achieve such technological prowess. 
Ray Kurzweil seems to prefer this view, which is in keeping with his rather
dangerously optimistic views about the Technological Singularity. In spite of that,
his book, The Singularity Is Near,
is a fascinating romp through the many aspects of the period of transcendence and what
we might expect of it. I do not agree with Mr. Kurzweil that humanity will ultimately
act responsibly when experimenting with dangerous stuff. But like so many of my
thoughts in such matters: I do hope, most profoundly, that Mr. Kurzweil is correct.
Perhaps non-incidence of ATCs is more in keeping with the rule of Occam's Razor, if only for the perfect simplicity of the argument. But I don't know, it just doesn't get my juices flowing, and in my experience that's a good reason, if not to dismiss a theory, at least to give it a lower placing in my totem pole. I trust my instincts. I find the idea of post-biological evolution specially appealing, it seems to jive more with the macro-view of the Universe in as far as our expanding knowledge of it goes. (i.e. "Juices Flowing") A post-biological ATC would have the means of transmitting information without the wasteful bleeding of electrons (energy) that our current methods entail. In other words, no detectable transmissions, nothing for the SETI number-crunchers to chew on, negative results, The SETI Failure. What a delicious irony! The best evidence we have that other, more advanced civilizations exist is precisely the lack of evidence!
I admit that, for the sake of brevity, I have not sufficiently explained the premisses upon
which I base these assertions. However, all of them are already widely discussed elsewhere
in Cyberspace, and can be explored easily enough. One especially excellent paper written on
the subject by Milan M. Cirkovic of the Astronomical Observatory in Belgrade and
Robert J. Bradbury of the Aeiveos Corporation in Seattle, entitled
"Galactic Gradients, Postbiological Evolution and the Apparent Failure of SETI"
contains the basis for most of what I have presented here.
So, why am I bleeding two 3GHz processors on a 24-hour basis to crunch through mountains of recorded radio noise from outer-space? Because it would amuse me to no end to know for certain: Are we alone or not? Period! Even if such a hit on the figurative "Fermi-Scale" originates from an ATC that is unremarkably much like we are, it would still hold profound implications for the human race. It would be the catalyst that would ignite a whole new, (albeit short-lived), era of intellectual enlightenment. (See? I can be "dangerously optimistic" too!) I have no expectations of establishing a meaningful relationship with some betentacled beauty from Regulus-9 who can tweak my hypothalamic pleasure nodes with focused waves of neural pulse-packets. (Though I am not opposed to explore the possibilities, if such an opportunity presented itself.) What, however, I do look forward to is the stimulating debates that will ensue, and the realignment of our definitions, in almost every aspect of our perceptions, that will necessarily take place. My own ego hungers to know, how close to the truth my own theories and speculations have come. And I will personally enjoy, (Oh, my, yes!), the outrageous, existential discombobulations and consequently hallucinated justifications that the Theist branches will perform in a futile attempt to staunch the geometrically expanding exodus of their members into the secular population of humanity. ...and of course, being able to answer nonchalantly, "Oh, I'm looking for intelligent life in the Universe." every time someone asks me what my computer is doing, is always a righteous goosing of my hypothalamic pleasure nodes! SETI Links
[ My Team: SetiMexicano ] [ Join the SETI@Home project ] Further Reading: The Technological Singularity
[ The Law of Accelerating Returns by Ray Kurzweil ] [ SETI, the Fermi Paradox and The Singularity by John G. Faughnan ] [ What If the Singularity Does NOT Happen? by Vernor Vinge ]
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