A Parameter Space as an Improved Tool for Investigating Extraterrestrial Intelligence

£5.00

S. Ashworth (2014), JBIS67, pp.224-231

Refcode: 2014.67.224
Keywords: Extraterrestrial intelligence, Alien life, Alien civilisation, SETI, Drake Equation, Fermi Paradox, Interstellar spaceflight

Abstract:
For the past half century the Drake Equation and the Fermi Paradox have provided the intellectual foundation for investigating the possible existence of extraterrestrial intelligence. But both the Equation and the Paradox are flawed and of questionable scientific utility. A replacement needs to be found, based on a different principle, and a parameter space for extraterrestrial intelligence is proposed as an improved tool of thought. This generates six distinct scenarios, whose implications for SETI are discussed.