Thoughts on the Evolution of Consciousness
£5.00
B. Parkinson (2004), JBIS, 57, 60-66
Refcode: 2004.57.60
Keywords: SETI, interstellar flight, Fermi paradox, virtual reality, remote experience, consciousness
Abstract:
If we are not unique in the galaxy, Fermi’s question, “Where is everybody?” together with calculations of timescales and probabilities, implies that our solar system should long ago have been colonized by extra- terrestrials. One solution to this paradox is that “galaxy conquering” species are stopped early by faster radio- communication between less aggressive species. Consideration of probable (short term) developments in remote experience technology and the relative hostility of our own solar system to human settlement suggest that the need for physical travel may be less important than the need for shared experience. In the longer term the survival and evolution of consciousness may seem more important than any local, physical manifestation of it.
