RIP. Somehow I still find this song in my head from time to time.
http://www.setileague.org/songbook/equation.htm http://www.avsport.org/drseti/audio/equation.mp3
Frank Drake, astronomer famed for contributions to SETI, has died
21–28 of 28 posts
Re: Frank Drake, astronomer famed for contributions to SETI, has died
#22There’s a fairly obscure video of a symposium that Drake participated in back some time ago, maybe in the 2010s, that was uploaded to YouTube. I think it might have taken place in Mountain View. I just went back to look and link to it but I couldn’t find it. Anyway, what’s surprising about the symposium is how much of a skeptical pessimist he is. He was speaking extemporaneously in response to questions, and he basically said, in realist terms, that due to various constraints, we will probably never leave the Solar System as a species, or if we manage to actually do it, we’re not going to get far. The video is kind of sad. I think he also said or implied that something like the Alcubierre drive is never going to happen and we’re basically not going anywhere. I’m probably misstating some of what he said, but that’s the general idea. It’s always stuck with me. It’s certainly possible that he was just having a bad day and woke up on the wrong side of the bed. After all, he has probably been asked these same questions thousands of times, and that might get a bit frustrating.
Re: Frank Drake, astronomer famed for contributions to SETI, has died
#23There’s a fairly obscure video of a symposium that Drake participated in back some time ago, maybe in the 2010s, that was uploaded to YouTube. I think it might have taken place in Mountain View. I just went back to look and link to it but I couldn’t find it. Anyway, what’s surprising about the symposium is how much of a skeptical pessimist he is. He was speaking extemporaneously in response to questions, and he basic…
I think he was just being a realist. FTL travel is essentially just fantasy at this point. Pragmatically we don’t know of any way to make the physics of the Alcubierre drive possible, and there’s nothing to suggest we will.
Even getting something like a working generational ship up to say 10% light speed would require technology and levels of cooperation unknown to humanity at this point.
Re: Frank Drake, astronomer famed for contributions to SETI, has died
#24There’s a fairly obscure video of a symposium that Drake participated in back some time ago, maybe in the 2010s, that was uploaded to YouTube. I think it might have taken place in Mountain View. I just went back to look and link to it but I couldn’t find it. Anyway, what’s surprising about the symposium is how much of a skeptical pessimist he is. He was speaking extemporaneously in response to questions, and he basic…
I think he was just being a realist. FTL travel is essentially just fantasy at this point. Pragmatically we don’t know of any way to make the physics of the Alcubierre drive possible, and there’s nothing to suggest we will. Even getting something like a working generational ship up to say 10% light speed would require technology and levels of cooperation unknown to humanity at this point.
I’m sure you’re right, but I couldn’t help but think of Clarke’s first law:
> When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.
Re: Frank Drake, astronomer famed for contributions to SETI, has died
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm sure he's much more known for this than for SETI contributions.
FWIW, I hadn't heard about Frank Drake before, nor of "Drake equation", but I do know what SETI is since before.
I had heard of both but hadn’t realized how directly they were connected.
Re: Frank Drake, astronomer famed for contributions to SETI, has died
#26His book is very approachable. It's wild, but apparently he just started writing the Drake Equation out at a (the first?) SETI discussion/meeting without much prior deliberation. The world definitely needs more Frank Drakes. He will be missed.
The man was equally approachable. I wrote to him in 1961 with some questions I had while building my radio telescope. His prompt reply to an unknown high school student was an unexpected kindness that surprised and encouraged me.
Re: Frank Drake, astronomer famed for contributions to SETI, has died
#27There’s a fairly obscure video of a symposium that Drake participated in back some time ago, maybe in the 2010s, that was uploaded to YouTube. I think it might have taken place in Mountain View. I just went back to look and link to it but I couldn’t find it. Anyway, what’s surprising about the symposium is how much of a skeptical pessimist he is. He was speaking extemporaneously in response to questions, and he basic…
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Re: Frank Drake, astronomer famed for contributions to SETI, has died
#28RIP. Some may see the Drake Equation as reductive, and that's kind of the point. Its simplicity makes it compelling: presenting the enormousness and diversity of the universe as a near infinitude that seems incapable of supporting only one planet full of life. It's also easily understood by anybody who can do basic math, with a 30-second explanation. You can make anyone think and make an informed guess on one of the…
I think the criticisms aren't that the Drake equation is reductive, so much as that it's packed with unspoken assumptions and that it's not actually helpful.
https://futuristspeaker.com/futurist-thomas-frey-insights/ar...
And for inspiration to search for extraterrestrial life? I think Star Trek has done that job better.
https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/news/1385/to-boldly-go-how-star-...
Failure is useful if we can learn from it. If we keep treating the Drake equation as meaningful, we're not learning.