In this Scientific American article, “Debate Erupts Over Strange New Human Species,” scientists express extreme skepticism over the notion that small-brained human ancestor Homo naledi could have deliberately disposed of its dead (as proposed by researchers Paul Dirks et al. of James Cook University). My question is, why? Why is it so difficult to believe early hominids with smaller brains than ours could have deliberately interred their dead? Elephants are well-known to mourn their dead, sometimes carrying or regularly visiting their bones for many years, and similar behavior has been recorded if not yet verified in many other non-human species with brains much smaller proportionately than our own. Our disproportionately large brains certainly convey their advantages, but a basic ability to miss the departed and want to ritualize their passing may not be one of them. In fact, the more I learn about animal intelligence, the more I wonder if the main perk of modern humans’ brain size is simply raw processing power, enhancing basic abilities inherited from our ancestors but not necessarily adding anything fundamentally new to our cognitive toolbox.
]]>Shortly after Beyond Human publicly debuted online in May 2015, I was interviewed by the online popular science magazine Red Orbit. They published the interview as a two-part article, “Intelligent Life-forms Already Among Us: How Should We Treat Them?” I have Dr. David Weintraub, my Astronomy adviser at Vanderbilt, to thank for sending my exhibit to Red Orbit’s writers. Hopefully it will bring in more traffic from science enthusiasts!
]]>If the Alcubierre warp drive, which would enable “faster than light” travel by warping spacetime around a starship, ever turns out to be possible, it may come with the side effect of generating cataclysmic explosions whenever it’s used. Could we use this as a “technosignature” for detecting advanced alien civilizations? If we could theoretically determine the properties of a warp drive-generated explosion, we could then monitor for such phenomena in deep space. If we ever detected them, it would imply both that warp drive technology is possible and that intelligent extraterrestrials exist to use it – an Earth-shattering discovery on both counts (forgive the pun).
Check out Extreme Tech’s article on warp drives and their (hypothetical) destructive effects at: http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/140635-the-downside-of-warp-drives-annihilating-whole-star-systems-when-you-arrive
]]>My parents founded Animal People, Inc. when I was two, and so I grew up within the animal rights movement. I was raised vegetarian, and have spent my entire life surrounded by animals, including dogs, cats, donkeys, a chicken, and various woodland creatures. From an early age, I was fascinated by science, especially zoology, paleontology, and astronomy. I have always loved science fiction as well, especially the Star Trek franchise, whose provocative futuristic dilemmas I enjoyed discussing with my mother.
During my undergrad at Vanderbilt University, where I earned my BA in Religious Studies with minors in Astronomy and Film Studies, I began to pursue my childhood interests as serious topics of research. With the guidance of astronomer Dr. David Weintraub, I researched Buddhist and Confucian perspectives on extraterrestrial life, using those religions’ attitudes toward animals as precedents for how they might inform human behavior toward alien beings. These interdisciplinary research projects helped direct me toward the University of Washington, where I am currently pursuing an MA in Museology (Museum Studies) and Graduate Certificate in Astrobiology. I created this online exhibit on behalf of Animal People, Inc. as my thesis project, and hope to graduate in June 2015.
Having grown up in the company of animals, I have never doubted the intelligence of other species or the importance of treating them compassionately. My views on consciousness are influenced both by science and by my spiritual beliefs, which draw from Buddhist, Hindu, and Confucian teachings. I believe that all but perhaps the simplest animals are conscious, and am open to the possibility of consciousness in plants and more primitive organisms as well. Although I recognize there is no such thing as a completely harmless lifestyle, I strive to minimize the suffering I cause other creatures by eating a vegetarian diet. Even if it’s eventually discovered that plants can suffer, eating them directly still harms far fewer than using them to fatten animals (which I am certain do suffer).
Unless human civilization destroys itself in the near future, I think it’s almost inevitable we will discover extraterrestrial life-forms and sentient machines within the next century. Whether that’s a good thing or not is another matter, about which I have conflicted feelings. Consider that we have known how to build Orion-type nuclear starships since the 1960s, but that no space agency has ever attempted to do so. Instead, the world’s nations use atomic weapons to threaten each other with annihilation. I think the fact that we’d sooner use nuclear technology to destroy the world than explore the universe speaks volumes as to why we aren’t ready for the latter. Humans have a dismal track record when it comes to respecting the welfare of other species (or members of our own for that matter), and we may well enslave, exploit, or exterminate any aliens or AIs we should encounter. The reverse is also possible; that by recklessness, karma, or plain bad luck, we may attract or create malevolent beings who will treat us the same way.
On the other hand, it’s also possible that ETs and AIs, or the search for them, could be what ultimately saves human civilization! For one, space exploration is so costly and difficult that reaching other worlds may first require establishing peace on our own. Project Orion was shelved partly because of an international ban on above-ground nuclear tests. Imagine what a breakthrough it would be if the Earth’s nations could trust each other enough to allow the development and launch of a nuclear starship!
If we ever make contact with more advanced alien civilizations, or create AIs smarter and more compassionate than ourselves, such beings could help us to develop a more enlightened society. If through cybernetic technology, we’re ever able to upload our own minds to computers, it may become possible to improve human nature by rewriting our most problematic instincts! And even if our own species is doomed to extinction, that doesn’t rule out the possibility of a positive legacy, if we are outlived by our artificially intelligent progeny or, by colonizing uninhabited worlds, serve to “seed” the universe with life, ensuring its continued evolution and spread for billions more years!
Which scenarios will come to pass? Only time will tell. But I hope that by encouraging visitors to consider their relationships with non-human beings, this exhibit might help make a brighter future just a little bit more likely.
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