Aliens

The World's Leading Scientists on the Search for Extraterrestrial Life

By: Jim Al-Khalili

Narrated by: Nicholas Guy Smith, Bruce Mann, Katharine Lee McEwan, Paul Michael, Kimberly Farr

Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

In these lively and fascinating essays, scientists from around the world weigh in on the latest advances in the search for intelligent life in the universe and discuss just what that might look like. Since 2000, science has seen a surge in data and interest on several fronts related to ET (extraterrestrials); AI (artificial intelligence); and SETI (search for extraterrestrial intelligence). The debate has intensified over whether life exists outside our solar system, what that life would look like, and whether we'll ever make contact.

Included in this audiobook are essays from a broad spectrum of the scientific community: cosmologists, astrophysicists, NASA planetary scientists, and geneticists, to name just a few, discussing the latest research and theories relating to alien life. Some of the topics include: If life exists somewhere in space, what are the odds that it evolves into something we would recognize as intelligent? What will space travel look like in the future, and will it all be done by cyborg technology? How long until we are ruled by robot overlords? (This is actually a serious consideration.) Are we simply a simulation in the mind of some supreme being acting out a virtual reality game?

For those who have ever wondered, Is there anybody out there? here are the latest theories and evidence that move us closer to answering that question.

©2017 Jim Al-Khalili (P)2017 Random House Audio

a good collection on alien subject matter

I was expecting much more from this collection which left me somewhat let down hence the three stars instead of four. The material covered is informative and engaging. The short by Davies was nowhere nearly as good as his full length books but it was a nice little read. I was really annoyed by the author that dogged Prometheus because I loved the film and found it very entertaining. There wasn't any new ideas that I picked up from this book that I hadn't picked up in other books I've already read. If you are not that well informed on the subject matter then this book may be right for you but if you already have an intermediate level of competency on the subject then there will be nothing new here for you.

Great.

Best thing I've listened to on audible 👍you wont be dissapointed if you are into SPACE STUFF

If we were the aliens, could we find ourselves?

When we invented radio and television, we used brute force, 50,000 watt transmitters, That only lasted seventy years or so. Now, we broadcast into cable systems that don't re-radiate into space. Our cellphones only reach about a mile before the transmissions enter another network of non-radiating cables. We wonder where are all the aliens? Why can't we hear their radio and TV transmissions? They are most likely doing what we are doing... making their transmissions more efficient... and more quiet. This is an interesting book, but out of date. Arecibo was a working facility when it was written. Now, Arecibo is collapsed rubble in an overgrown, Puerto Rican valley. Like NASA, American Government Funded Science quit working 30 years ago. We better reboot and retool, or the next aliens will find us, and they will be from an unfriendly country on this Earth.

Paradigm Shift towards "We Are Alone"

Any additional comments?

.. a nice potpourri of ideas & approaches towards a the topic of "ALIENS" ( and LIFE in general !!! ) One Chapter ( I think it is #14) just killed it for me. I couldn't believe what I read /heard and after some fact checking I am convinced more than ever that we are alone.

Space...................lots of space in space

Good info and solid science, gets you thinking about how small we really are in this universe....a spec on a rock circling a star in a sea of other stars with their circling rocks all rotating around a black hole, but wait...there are billions and billions more all doing the same thing too?!?! What a sick joke...space has too much space in between for us to travel or even try to communicate with any other life.
The big question is...where did this all come from, smart people back track things using evidence dug up along with some smart science but what was here before the Big Bang and what made the Big Bang happen!?!? Who or what made space and everything in it!?!?

Major Al-Khalili fan

Loved the chapters and the explanations. Works like these make one sit and reflect upon human nature and inquire more.

Uneven

I was excited to learn the latest and greatest astrobiology from this collection, but disappointed because many of the contributions were about science fiction, and I found them uninteresting. Also I felt several of the readers were very inappropriate for the material. There were a few good contributions reviewing current understanding of the origins of life, and the extra-terrestrial environments that are most likely to exist.

Great overview of scientific opinion on alien life

This collection of essays presents a range of opinions of scientists from different areas of expertise, each commenting on the state of both research and theory regarding some aspect of life elsewhere in the universe, from ideas about the requirements of life, methods it's detection, what it might be like, likelihoods for finding life, and thinking about life that might be fundamentally different from us.

I enjoyed the breadth of discussion that this variety of different voices brought to it, which brought to light aspects of the question that we often miss. There's lots of good science in it, presented in a way that an average person interested in this subject can easily grasp.

I also liked that there was not uniform agreement among the writers on every subject. These are real, working scientists, working through the issues they are presented with. These items are good pointers to where future research will be fruitful.

I would highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in science or wants to know more about what might be out there.

science rocks

I have always be interested in space and the ufo question. So this book combined two of my interests and I feel it did not disappoint. If you want to hear both sides of the ufo debate this book brings to forefront the science i the debate.

What science thinks of extraterrestrials

Don't be deceived by the title. This book is the science of detecting life in other planets. It does touch on some science fiction and our fantastic imaginations, but very quickly quells any proof of "aliens" as depicted by movies, books, and conspiracy theories.

Saying all the above, this is still one of the most fascinating collections of scientific thinking on what might be out there and possibilities of life in other planets.

It takes an Al-Khalili to bring those true scientists to talk about this subject as most have shunned away from the subject and for good reason. We cannot identify something that we can't define, and believe it or not, life is defined differently by many in science. In fact if there is one thing in common, it is that life cannot be defined.

Still, this book better than many others gives the perspective of many scientists, and gives a good foundation where the reader can make his own decision. Like consciousness, unfortunately there aren't many ways that can decisively prove that life exists beyond earth, and those nay sayers will always have the upper hand.

I would like to think we are progressive and open minded to understand that we may not be so special, and other life exists. Or that life is beyond our narrow interpretation of it, and this book brings hope.

Excellent collection of scientific thoughts on the subject. Highly recommended to anyone interested in science and too fixated on everyday chores.