Where the search space Analogy Breaks
A search-space metaphor can suggest that life is a known object hidden somewhere in a finite database. We do not yet know which features of terrestrial life are…
Cosmos & Universe
Cosmic scale, astrobiology and the place of life and intelligence in the universe.
How We Learned to See the Cosmos and Life Beyond Earth
Astronomy displaced Earth from the center of cosmic geography, while evolution connected humans to the rest of terrestrial life. Sagan made the human consequence of those scale changes…
The Cosmos and Life Beyond Earth Through a Systems Architect's Eyes
A systems architect sees a severe observability problem: humanity has one confirmed biosphere, sparse measurements of other worlds and instruments that sample only selected…
What the Search for Life Beyond Earth Can Tell Us
Astrobiology studies the origin, evolution and possible distribution of life by combining planetary science, chemistry, geology, astronomy and biology. It asks where habitable environments exist and what observations…
The Philosophical Problem Hidden Inside the Search for Life Beyond Earth
The cosmic perspective does not make human meaning disappear; it locates meaning inside a universe far older and larger than the organisms capable of asking about…