LIVE SOON: On The Line with Jen Gerson and Avi Loeb
Space rocks, aliens, and the value of experts keeping an open mind.
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In this episode of On The Line, join Jen Gerson as she delves into a fascinating conversation with Professor Avi Loeb, a renowned astrophysicist at Harvard University. They talk about the mysteries of interstellar objects and the possibility of extraterrestrial intelligence, as another such object rapidly approaches our inner solar system.
Leob is best known for his work arguing for the possibility that many recently discovered interstellar objects, like the famous Oumuamua, may, in fact, be extraterrestrial in origin. That can mean different things — the objects could be space trash from a distant civilization or even an intelligent probe. Loeb has been outspoken with his thoughts about a recently discovered object now heading toward our sun, known as 3I/ATLAS. The object has thus far shown some unusual characteristics that raise the intriguing possibility that it’s more than just a space rock.
Oh, and he has some things to say about academia and the general incuriosity of the scientific establishment.
Insights into the scientific community's approach to anomalies, the potential of alien technology, the importance of maintaining curiosity in the face of skepticism … all that and more on On The Line.
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Avi Loeb is fresh, enervating stuff for my brain, and my esteem for Jenn hosting him is greatly expanded.
"Given that we're only allowed to see rocks in space, I say we're living in the stone age" (my paraphrase) Genius.
His description of academia as a cabal of egos preserving their turf, unjustified intellectual hubris, a bubble that believes it owns the truth, religiously faithful to materialism, is apt. Academia in BC has more in common with Catholicism and the Inquisition than Avi's dream of a place to develop and exercise curiosity. I'm lucky to have a good brain, but academia has nothing for new ideas but limitations, restraints, and friction created by weak-minded people, nothing for me.
(Read the Martlett (UVIC) and ask yourself if these scary people would jail and torture people for "wrong-think" if they could get away with it.)
Aside from the overwhelming probability that we're not unique on this plane, there are many questions about existence outside the constructs of time and space. Then there's the electromagnetic spectrum, of which we can experience approximately 0.035% with our tools (senses.) And so much data and evidence we don't understand (gravity, magnetism, most of the mass and energy in the universe) that should help us with our egos.
I am not my thoughts, but we're not certain of what I am, so who are we to dismiss... anything we can't prove. Are we still so unimproved that we ostracize (jail) folks proposing an ontological shift? That's sad and hilarious at the same time.
It would be wonderful and just if, after he shuffles off, Avi's self visits with Galileo, Copernicus (so many), to have a brewski and laugh and laugh...
Anyone else have “The Chase” earwig going through their head? I nearly lost it when Professor Loeb said he’d been on Coast to Coast. That said, I still really enjoyed this interview. He is clearly an interesting guy and a very compelling speaker and Jen did a superb job bringing out important angles of his position.