Review of "The Eerie Silence: Renewing Our Search for Alien Intelligence," by Paul Davies

 Review of

The Eerie Silence: Renewing Our Search for Alien Intelligence, by Paul Davies, ISBN 9780547133249

Five out of five stars

Plausible answers to the basic questions regarding life outside Earth

 Decades ago, I graduated with majors in biology, chemistry and mathematics. Since that time, I have read and understood many books and articles about life and intelligence outside Earth. It is a rare occasion when I encounter anything that presents a previously unencountered perspective on alien life.

 Davies opens with the rather unintuitive thread that the search for alien life should begin on Earth. He is correct in stating that most microscopic species have not been identified and catalogued, so there is a significant possibility that species could be discovered whose metabolic pathways place them outside what is considered the standard zoological tree of Earth based organisms. For example, carbohydrates and proteins with a structure different from the fundamental handedness of terrestrial organisms.

 This is an approach that has real possibilities and that can be done without leaving Earth and is something that I have not seen so logically put forward before. A concerted effort to identify and categorize microorganisms found throughout the Earth will have strong scientific and commercial value, even if no unusual results are discovered.

 Another thread that Davies covers in detail is the reality that carbon-based intelligence may only be a transient phenomenon. There are strong reasons to believe that humans will soon create machines with high intelligence and the ability to expand and reproduce, quickly rendering humans obsolete and uncompetitive. A plausible case can be made for the premise that such machines are the logical end result of natural selection. With the ability to intellectually grow and adapt, have nearly unlimited memory, and the ability to grow replacement parts for every component, such machines could be considered the pinnacle of the evolutionary tree. Furthermore, such societies may exist throughout the galaxy.

 I enjoyed this book immensely. Without having to postulate any technology such as warp speed or matter transporters, Davies develops arguments regarding why societies with large sizes could be created and continue to expand. If these machines could function for tens of thousands of years, then sub-light speeds become less of an obstacle in the management of a civilization. While it is clear that not all of what Davies postulates is true, it is a good bet that some of it either exists or will someday.