Summary: At the 2004 Astrobiology Science Conference, Vatican astronomer Dr. Guy Consolmagno discussed his research as curator of one of the world’s largest meteorite collections.
nterview with Brother Guy Consolmagno
Guy Consolmagno, who also curates one of the world’s largest meteorite collections. On the possibility of a non-terrestrial lifeform, he says initially ‘I don’t know’, followed by three scenarios. First, he argues: ‘We find an intelligent civilization and there’s no way in creation we can communicate with them because they’re so alien to us. We can’t talk to dolphins now. In which case, we’ll never know.’ Secondly, he suggests: ‘We find the intelligent civilization. We can communicate.’ As agents of free-will, the aliens are self-aware of good and evil, thus convertible to some terrestrial religion. Thirdly: ‘We find a dozen civilizations out there, and a bunch of Jehovah’s witnesses go up and convert them all.’ The question of whether an alien civilization might convert Earth to their religion, or become a religion unto themselves, is left unconsidered. This compares to the many reasons people give for hosting a SETI@home client, including that ET contact would unite humanity, challenge religion, or all of the above."
I came back to this thread with the idea of going through each of the points made by the esteemed Brother Guy Consolmagno. Upon rereading his statements I don’t know where I would begin. He states as fact a number of questionable points as fact and strings them together as if they somehow fit together.
Ok, I’ll take one. Why he mentions dolphins isn’t clear. We do, in fact, communicate with them. They can solve problems set out for them. They can do tricks using a complex set of commands. They can tell us stories by selecting pictures and symbols. They can’t talk as we do as they don’t have a voice box. Is he suggesting they can reason to the same degree humans can but we just can’t talk to them? The brain of a dolphin is nearly the size of a human’s. But, 2/3 of it is devoted to their sonar location and imaging system.
His suggestion of conversion to one of our (presumably Catholic) religions is difficult to follow. It does seem to read as if all of the worthwhile religions have already been developed here and an alien would have nothing to offer except their own ignorance and a receptivity to conversion.
It’s too bad so many valuable meteorites are in his care.
You take me wrong, O, clean shaven one. I am a Christian and, I feel, quite religious. Episcopalian actually. I don’t, however, feel my religion is the only path to a Godly life. I am sure many religions show the path to understand God. Such self centered thinking is hardly being tolerant to our fellow man (man being non gender specific). God does not preclude evolution, cosmology or string theories. I’m not arguing against religion, just this unscientific self centered fool.
bring religion into it, and surely the guy is more suited as an astrologer? i.e. a charlatan
LMAO
If we ever encounter an alien race surly it will be because they have a more advanced society than ours. Thinking that we have a good enough grasp on the universe as a whole to start converting them seems like thinking the earth is the centre of the universe. As everyone knows we live on the unfashonable western spiral arm of the galaxy and we really arent that important to the universe.
Perhaps that doesn’t make much sense, i have only just got up, leave me alone.
