MAKING CONTACT WITH AN ALIEN SPECIES
WILL BE THE MOST MIND-BLOWING EVENT
IN THE HISTORY OF HUMAN CIVILIZATION.
Dr. Kaku: YOU MIGHT CONSIDER IT A SCI-FI FANTASY.
I THINK ALIENS DO EXIST.
I MEAN, I'VE SEEN THEM.
THEY ARE OUT THERE, AND WE NEED TO MAKE CONTACT.
THESE GUYS HELP ME DECODE THE SIGNALS.
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT IN THE MATHEMATICS?
YES.
AMAZING.
COMMUNICATING WITH ALIENS COULDN'T BE CLOSER TO REALITY.
AND I'M GONNA SHOW YOU HOW TO DO IT.
I'M DR. MICHIO KAKU.
I'M A THEORETICAL PHYSICIST
AND A SCIENCE-FICTION [Echoing] FAN.
JOIN ME AS I SHOW YOU HOW TO MAKE SCI-FI [Echoing] SCIENCE.
-- Captions by VITAC -- www.vitac.com
IMAGINE A FUTURE
WHERE INTELLIGENT ALIENS HAVE MADE CONTACT WITH THE EARTH...
...SUPER-ADVANCED CREATURES
THAT HOLD THE KEY TO THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE,
SECRETS THEY COULD SHARE WITH US.
TELEPORTATION, IMMORTALITY, WARP DRIVE.
THEY COULD ALL BECOME A REALITY IN MY LIFETIME.
ARE THEY GONNA LOOK LIKE US EXCEPT GREEN?
I CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING MORE INCREDIBLE
THAN COMMUNICATING WITH A REAL-LIFE EXTRATERRESTRIAL.
AND MY FELLOW SCI-FI FANS SHARE MY ENTHUSIASM.
YOU KNOW, JUST EVEN THINKING ABOUT IT GIVES ME GOOSE BUMPS.
IT'S LIKE, "WOW, THERE'S ACTUALLY SOMETHING OUT THERE."
I THINK ALIENS DO EXIST. I MEAN, I'VE SEEN THEM.
I THINK WE'RE GONNA HEAR FROM THE ALIENS
WHEN THE ENTIRE CIVILIZATION IS IN THEIR HANDS.
JUST A MINUTE.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I THINK SOMETHING IS HAPPENING.
IF ALIENS MAKE CONTACT WITH OUR PLANET,
WE CAN'T LET THE OPPORTUNITY SLIP THROUGH OUR FINGERS.
WE NEED TO BE READY WITH A RESPONSE.
I NEED TO CREATE A SINGLE CLEAR MESSAGE
TO BE BEAMED INTO OUTER SPACE
THE MOMENT WE'RE CONTACTED BY AN ALIEN CIVILIZATION.
THE MESSAGE SHOULD BE IN A LANGUAGE THE ALIENS UNDERSTAND.
AND IT SHOULD INDICATE THAT WE ARE INTELLIGENT
AND WORTHY OF LEARNING THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE.
TRYING TO CONTACT ALIENS IN OUTER SPACE
IS A PRETTY BOLD STEP, EVEN FOR ME.
I NEED TO MAKE SURE I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE
WHO BELIEVES THERE ARE ALIENS OUT THERE.
IT'S STATISTICALLY JUST UTTERLY IMPROBABLE
THAT WE'RE THE ONLY INTELLIGENT SPECIES OUT THERE.
THERE'S NO LACK OF REAL ESTATE OUT THERE
WHERE THERE COULD BE LIFE --
A BILLION OR MORE EARTH-LIKE PLANETS IN OUR GALAXY ALONE,
I WOULD ESTIMATE.
I'M RATHER OPTIMISTIC, IN THE NEXT 20, 25 YEARS,
WE WILL PICK UP A SIGNAL.
IT'S GOOD TO KNOW I'M NOT ALONE
BECAUSE THIS IS A TRICKY SUBJECT.
THE PROBLEM WITH DOING ANY SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF E.T.
IS THAT YOU'D BE STICKING YOUR NECK OUT.
PEOPLE WILL THINK YOU'RE CRAZY.
ALIENS FROM OUTER SPACE? THAT'S SCIENCE FICTION.
BUT YOU AND I KNOW THAT IT'S JUST A MATTER OF PROBABILITY.
IT'S ALL IN THE MATHEMATICS.
THERE ARE AROUND 100 BILLION GALAXIES IN THE UNIVERSE.
AND IN A SINGLE GALAXY,
THERE ARE APPROXIMATELY 100 BILLION STARS.
ASTRONOMERS PREDICT THAT ABOUT 3/4 OF THESE STARS
WILL HAVE A CLUSTER OF PLANETS ORBITING.
THIS ADDS UP TO TEN SEXTILLION PLANETS IN THE UNIVERSE.
THAT'S ONE WITH 22 ZEROS AFTER IT.
THERE ARE MORE PLANETS
THAN ALL THE GRAINS OF SAND IN ALL THE BEACHES OF THE WORLD.
I THINK IT GOES AGAINST THE LAWS OF PROBABILITY
THAT WE ARE THE ONLY INTELLIGENT LIFE
IN THE UNIVERSE.
IF I'M GONNA MAKE CONTACT WITH ALIENS,
THE FIRST THING I NEED TO DO IS TO LOCATE THEM.
MY DAY JOB IS TO FIND E.T.
IT'S THAT STRAIGHTFORWARD.
SETH SHOSTAK IS SENIOR ASTRONOMER AT SETI,
THE SEARCH FOR EXTRATERRESTRIAL INTELLIGENCE.
THE RADIO TELESCOPE BEHIND ME
ACTUALLY WORKS PRETTY MUCH THE SAME WAY
AS THIS RATHER ORDINARY RADIO HERE DOES.
AND, IN FACT, LET ME DEMONSTRATE WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR
BECAUSE PEOPLE WONDER WHAT KIND OF SIGNAL ARE YOU SEEKING
COMING FROM E.T.
[ STATIC ]
YOU HEAR STATIC. HEAR THAT? STATIC EVERYWHERE.
AND THEN SUDDENLY THERE'S A BIT OF A SQUEAL
AND THEN BOINK, YOU GET A STATION.
SO THAT'S A SIGNAL THAT'S AT ONE SPOT ON THE DIAL.
THAT'S EXACTLY THE KIND OF THING WE'RE LOOKING FOR
IN OUR SETI SEARCHES -- A SIGNAL THAT'S AT ONE SPOT ON THE DIAL.
WE DON'T CARE IF ITS MUSIC, NEWS,
OR THE GALACTIC WEATHER REPORT.
WE'RE JUST TRYING TO FIND THAT NARROWBAND SIGNAL
THAT WOULD TELL US SOMEBODY HAS A TRANSMITTER.
BUT AFTER 50 YEARS OF LISTENING FOR RADIO SIGNALS,
SCIENTISTS LIKE SETH HAVEN'T HEARD ANYTHING.
IN THEORY, IT'S JUST A MATTER OF HARDWARE --
THE MORE RADIO TELESCOPES, THE SOONER WE CAN MAKE CONTACT
WITH AN ALIEN CIVILIZATION.
BUT THERE'S SO MUCH GALACTIC REAL ESTATE OUT THERE.
I'M BEGINNING TO DOUBT WHETHER IT'S EVEN POSSIBLE
THAT WE CAN FIND EACH OTHER.
I THINK THE SOLUTION
MIGHT BE TO WIDEN THE RANGE OF FREQUENCIES WE LISTEN TO.
Man: WE MUST MAKE IMMEDIATE CONTACT.
IMAGINE THAT THESE BALLS
REPRESENT ALL THE FREQUENCIES OF THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM.
WE HAVE RADIO, TELEVISION, RADAR, X-RAYS.
NOW, THE ALIENS COULD BE SENDING MESSAGES
ON ANY ONE OF THESE FREQUENCIES,
AND YET WE'RE FOCUSING MAINLY ON RADIO WAVES.
NOW, THAT'S CRAZY.
THAT'S LIKE LOOKING AT THE RED BALL
AND IGNORING ALL THE REST.
TO HAVE ANY HOPE OF PICKING UP A MESSAGE
FROM AN ALIEN CIVILIZATION,
I MUST DESIGN A SYSTEM
THAT CAN SCRUTINIZE ALL OF THESE FREQUENCIES.
BUT UNFORTUNATELY, THE MORE FREQUENCIES WE LOOK AT,
THE TRICKIER IT BECOMES TO SPOT THE MESSAGE.
HERE'S THE PROBLEM --
HOW CAN WE POSSIBLY IDENTIFY A SIGNAL FROM OUTER SPACE
WHEN THERE ARE SO MANY STARS, SO MUCH COSMIC REAL ESTATE,
SO MANY FREQUENCIES TO LISTEN TO.
LET'S SAY YOU'RE AN ANT IN THE FOREST,
AND SOMEBODY'S BUILDING A 10-LANE SUPERHIGHWAY NEXT DOOR.
HOW WOULD YOU KNOW WHAT FREQUENCIES
THE WORKERS WERE COMMUNICATING ON
OR WHAT THE WORKERS ARE EVEN SAYING?
CARL SAGAN ONCE ASKED THE QUESTION,
"IF A GALACTIC CIVILIZATION WERE RIGHT NEXT DOOR TO US,
WOULD WE BE SMART ENOUGH TO IDENTIFY THEM?"
AND THE ANSWER IS PROBABLY NO.
TO MAKE CONTACT,
I NEED TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO IDENTIFY THE ALIEN SIGNALS
THAT ARE BEING DROWNED OUT
BY THE VAST OCEAN OF NOISE IN SPACE.
COMING UP, I UNCOVER ASTONISHING SECRETS
ABOUT ANIMAL COMMUNICATION...
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT IN THE MATHEMATICS?
YEAH.
AMAZING.
...DESIGN A RADICAL TECHNIQUE TO IDENTIFY ALIEN SIGNALS,
AND CATCH A GLIMPSE OF WHAT ALIENS COULD REALLY LOOK LIKE.
[ DOLPHIN CLICKING ]
YOU KNOW, IT'S SO FRUSTRATING
TRYING TO PREDICT HOW ALIENS MAY COMMUNICATE.
THEY COULD USE LASERS, MICROWAVES, RADIO.
AND THERE'S SO MUCH NOISE OUT THERE IN OUTER SPACE.
THERE ARE BLACK HOLES, COLLIDING NEUTRON STARS,
AND SUPERNOVAE.
IT'S LIKE TRYING TO LISTEN TO A CONVERSATION
IN THE MIDDLE OF A ROCK CONCERT.
WHAT WE NEED IS A NEW METHOD TO CUT THROUGH ALL THIS NOISE.
THERE'S ONE RADICAL THEORY
THAT DOESN'T COME FROM THE WORLD OF PHYSICS
OR FROM STUDYING SPACE
BUT FROM RIGHT HERE ON OUR OWN PLANET.
HOW DO YOU THINK WE SHOULD SPEAK TO ALIENS?
[ DOLPHIN CLICKING ]
SO THIS IS THE HYDROPHONE.
OKAY.
THAT PICKS UP THE SOUND, I TAKE IT.
I'M HERE TO RECORD SOME DOLPHIN VOCALIZATIONS
FOR AN INCREDIBLE STUDY THAT COULD HOLD THE KEY
TO SPOTTING ALIEN MESSAGES IN SPACE.
BOY, THEY'RE SO FRIENDLY!
THEY ARE FRIENDLY.
DOLPHINS ARE INTELLIGENT SOCIAL ANIMALS.
HE'S HUNGRY, I TAKE IT.
THEY COMMUNICATE VIA COMPLEX REPETITIONS
OF CLICKS AND WHISTLES.
SORRY, NO LUNCH. JUST A HYDROPHONE.
NO FISH TODAY.
TO THE UNTRAINED EAR LIKE MINE,
IT SOUNDS RANDOM AND WITHOUT MEANING.
YOU COULD SAY IT SOUNDS ALIEN.
BUT I'M GONNA MEET A MAN
WHO HAS SPOTTED A HIDDEN PATTERN
IN THE DOLPHINS' CHATTER.
ASTRONOMER LAURANCE DOYLE BELIEVES THAT THIS PATTERN
COULD HELP IDENTIFY ALIEN MESSAGES
LOST IN THE NOISE OF OUTER SPACE.
SO, LARRY, YOU'VE ANALYZED THE DATA I TOOK
BY SWIMMING WITH THE DOLPHINS.
WHAT DID YOU FIND?
WELL, WE FOUND A NUMBER OF SIGNALS YOU HAVE HERE.
YOU HAVE WHISTLE TYPE 2s
AND YOU HAVE OTHER KINDS OF WHISTLES HERE.
OKAY, THAT'S A WHISTLE RIGHT HERE?
YEAH, THAT'S A WHISTLE 2.
IT GOES [WHISTLES IN INCREASING PITCH]
LIKE THAT.
BY COUNTING THE NUMBER OF REPETITIONS,
DOYLE MATHEMATICALLY ANALYZED THE DOLPHIN CHATTER.
HE THEN USED A GRAPH TO PLOT HOW MANY TIMES
EACH DIFFERENT WHISTLE OCCURRED.
THE RESULTS WERE BIZARRE.
THE POINTS ON THE GRAPH
COULD BE JOINED BY A PERFECTLY STRAIGHT LINE.
IT WAS COMPLETELY ONE OF THOSE MOMENTS YOU GO,
OH, MY GOSH, DOLPHINS -- THIS IS SOMETHING NEW.
DOYLE KNEW THAT WHEN THE REPETITION OF SOUNDS
IN OUR OWN SPEECH IS ANALYZED,
WE FIND THIS SAME STRAIGHT-LINE PATTERN.
SO UNCOVERING IT HIDDEN IN THE DOLPHIN CHATTER
WAS GROUNDBREAKING.
NOW, YOU'RE TELLING ME
THAT HUMAN SPEECH HAS SOME RELATIONSHIP TO DOLPHIN SPEECH?
YES. DOLPHINS...
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT IN THE MATHEMATICS?
YES.
AMAZING.
DOYLE SUSPECTS THAT THIS IDENTICAL PATTERN
WILL BE FOUND HIDDEN IN THE COMMUNICATIONS
OF ALL INTELLIGENT SPECIES, EVEN ALIENS.
IT'S A RADICAL IDEA.
BUT IF HE'S RIGHT, THEN I CAN USE THIS PATTERN
AS A QUICK AND EASY WAY
TO IDENTIFY ANY MESSAGE
THAT'S CURRENTLY LOST IN THE OCEAN OF SPACE.
FIRST, I'LL NEED AN ARRAY OF TELESCOPES
SENSITIVE TO EVERY FREQUENCY
OF THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM.
IF ALIENS ARE TRYING TO CONTACT US,
THIS SYSTEM WILL PICK IT UP.
BUT ANY SIGNAL WILL BE LOST
AMONGST INCREDIBLE AMOUNTS OF DATA.
SO I'LL NEED A POWERFUL NETWORK OF QUANTUM COMPUTERS
TO SEARCH FOR THE KEY PATTERN THAT INDICATES A MESSAGE.
HERE'S THE QUESTION --
WE'VE NOW RECEIVED A SIGNAL FROM OUTER SPACE,
BUT WE HAVEN'T DECODED IT YET.
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT IT SAYS.
ARE THEY BENEVOLENT? ARE THEY HOSTILE? WHO KNOWS?
BEFORE I FIGURE OUT HOW WE SHOULD REPLY,
I NEED TO FIND OUT EXACTLY WHAT WE COULD BE DEALING WITH HERE,
BECAUSE IF THERE'S ONE THING SCIENCE FICTION HAS TAUGHT ME,
IT'S THAT ALIENS ARE NOT ALWAYS FRIENDLY.
TO FIND OUT MORE, GO TO...
I THINK THAT IN THE COMING DECADES -- WHO KNOWS WHEN --
WE WILL PICK UP A MESSAGE FROM AN ALIEN CIVILIZATION.
AND AT THAT POINT, IT'S GONNA BE LIKE ELECTRICITY.
A SHOCKWAVE IS GONNA SPREAD OUT.
BUT AFTER THE EUPHORIA DIES DOWN,
PEOPLE ARE GONNA SAY,
"WELL, WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT IT?"
HOW WE RESPOND DEPENDS UPON WHO THEY ARE.
Man: FROM BEYOND SPACE!
WHEN I WAS A KID, I WATCHED A LOT OF OLD SCI-FI MOVIES,
SO I IMAGINED ALIENS WOULD BE EVIL HUMANOIDS.
TODAY'S SCI-FI FANS ARE A BIT MORE IMAGINATIVE.
THEY COULD HAVE 20 ARMS, YOU KNOW,
OR SOMETHING SMALL AND FUZZY AND CUTE LIKE AN EWOK.
IT COULD BE LIKE A BALLOON TYPE THING
THAT PULSES AND PUSHES THE GASES AWAY.
IT WOULD PROBABLY HAVE A LARGE HEAD AND MAYBE SOME TENTACLES.
WELL, I'VE GOT THE SCI-FI VIEW OF ALIENS,
BUT I NEED SOME SOLID SCIENCE.
I THINK MY BEST BET IS TO TALK TO AN ASTROBIOLOGIST.
BOB HAZEN IS SHOWING ME THE WEIRD CREATURES
THAT LIVED ON EARTH HALF A BILLION YEARS AGO
WHEN LIFE WAS AT ITS MOST DIVERSE.
I'M HOPING HE WILL SHED SOME LIGHT
ON THE POSSIBLE FORMS AN ALIEN COULD TAKE.
THIS CRAZY HALLUCIGENIA.
SOMETHING OUT OF AN LSD DREAM.
MY FAVORITE IS THE ANOMALOCARIS.
STRANGE CREATURE.
IT'S BILATERALLY SYMMETRIC,
IT'S GOT THE EYES AND THE MOUTH IN THE FRONT,
IT'S GOT SOME KIND OF FIN-LIKE STRUCTURE
WHICH ALLOWS IT TO MOVE THROUGH WATER.
LOOK AT THIS NOW.
THIS IS LIKE A PREDATOR.
IT MUNCHED ON STUFF LIKE THAT.
IT'S A SPECULATION, WHAT ALIEN LIFE'S GONNA LOOK LIKE,
BUT IF THERE'S LAND AND IF THERE'S GRAVITY,
THE ANIMAL'S GOING TO HAVE TO HAVE LEGS 'CAUSE IT HAS TO MOVE.
IT'S GOING TO HAVE SOME KIND OF HANDS WITH FINGERS
TO MAKE TECHNOLOGY.
IT'S GOING TO HAVE TO HAVE EYES TO SEE
AND IT'S GONNA HAVE A LARGE BRAIN WITH WHICH TO THINK.
THOSE ARE THINGS THAT ARE GONNA BE THE SAME
IN ANY INTELLIGENT ALIEN LIFE FORM.
I'VE GOT THE FUNDAMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ALIEN,
BUT IT'S NOT ENOUGH.
BEFORE I RESPOND TO ANY SIGNAL,
I WANT TO SEE WITH MY OWN EYES
WHAT A FULLY EVOLVED ALIEN COULD LOOK LIKE.
I'M GONNA MEET SOME SCI-FI ARTISTS WHO CAN SHOW ME.
WHAT IS THIS?
IT'S LIKE AN ATOMIC-ERA ALIEN,
LIKE ANDROID COMBINATION THING.
SO IT SWIMS IN THE OCEAN?
THIS IS PART OCTOPUS, PART FROG, AMPHIBIAN, PART SLUG?
YOU KNOW, THESE DESIGNS MAY HAVE SOME BASIS IN REALITY -
AQUATIC CREATURES LIKE THIS?
WE NOW REALIZE THAT MOONS OF JUPITER
COULD HAVE LIQUID OCEANS UNDER THE ICE COVER.
THEY COULD BE MORE PLENTIFUL THAN THE PLANET EARTH.
GET USED TO IT.
I THINK IT'S POSSIBLE THAT SOMEWHERE IN THE UNIVERSE,
ALIENS MIGHT HAVE LOOKED LIKE
ANY OF THE CREATURES I'VE SEEN TODAY
AT ONE POINT IN THEIR EVOLUTION.
HERE'S MY WORRY --
IT'S TAKEN US 4.5 BILLION YEARS TO RISE FROM THE SWAMP
TO BECOME AN INTELLIGENT SPECIES.
BUT THE UNIVERSE IS 13.7 BILLION YEARS OLD.
SO AN ADVANCED CIVILIZATION
COULD HAVE A 9.2-BILLION-YEAR HEAD START.
I FIND IT HARD TO IMAGINE WHAT LIFE COULD LOOK LIKE
AFTER SUCH A VAST AMOUNT OF TIME.
HOPEFULLY, THESE GUYS CAN HELP ME OUT.
Davies: THERE'S VERY LITTLE DOUBT
THAT IF WE MAKE CONTACT WITH AN ALIEN INTELLIGENCE,
IT'S GOING TO BE NOT JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE ADVANCED,
BUT STUPENDOUSLY FAR ADVANCED.
IT'S MUCH MORE LIKELY
THAT WHEN WE ENCOUNTER AN ALIEN CIVILIZATION
THAT THOSE ALIENS WON'T BE LIVING
IN FLESH-AND-BLOOD BODIES.
IF E.T. HAS THE CAPABILITY OF GOING ANYWHERE --
COMING HERE, FOR EXAMPLE -- IT'S MOST LIKELY GONNA BE
SOME SORT OF THINKING MACHINES.
I CAN HARDLY BELIEVE IT WILL BE BIOLOGICAL BEINGS.
I NEED TO ASSUME THAT ANY ALIEN THAT CONTACTS US
HAS EVOLVED BEYOND THE LIMITS OF BIOLOGY.
THEY WILL HAVE STARTED LIFE AS ALIEN FLESH AND BLOOD
AND COULD HAVE MANY OF THE WEIRD FEATURES
THAT WE'VE SEEN ON EARTH.
BUT THEY ALMOST CERTAINLY WON'T HAVE THEM ANYMORE.
AFTER BILLIONS OF YEARS OF EVOLUTION,
THEY COULD BE COMPLETELY MACHINE-LIKE,
PERHAPS EVEN WITH THE POWER OF QUANTUM COMPUTING
WITHIN THEIR OWN BODIES.
IT'S HARD ENOUGH GETTING YOUR POINT ACROSS
TO ANOTHER HUMAN BEING SOMETIMES,
SO CONVERSING WITH SOMETHING AS ADVANCED AS THESE ALIENS
COULD BE TOUGH.
SURE, MAKING CONTACT WITH AN ALIEN CIVILIZATION FROM SPACE
SOUNDS LIKE SCIENCE FICTION.
BUT, YOU KNOW, I BELIEVE IT'S GONNA HAPPEN.
THE CHANCES ARE HIGH
THAT ANY ALIEN MAKING CONTACT WITH OUR PLANET
WILL BE VASTLY MORE ADVANCED THAN US.
WITH SUCH INTELLECTUAL POWER, TO THEM, INTERSTELLAR TRAVEL
COULD BE AS SIMPLE AS TAKING A TAXI RIDE UPTOWN.
WHEN WE PICK UP THEIR SIGNAL,
THEY COULD ALREADY BE IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM,
WHICH, IN GALACTIC TERMS, IS PRACTICALLY ON OUR DOORSTEP.
IT'S VITAL THAT I HAVE A RESPONSE READY TO SEND OUT.
IT MUST CONVINCE A SUPER-INTELLIGENT CIVILIZATION
THAT HUMANS ARE WORTH MAKING CONTACT WITH.
BUT IT ALSO NEEDS TO BE IN A FORM THEY CAN UNDERSTAND.
THERE'S ONE THING THAT WE WILL HAVE IN COMMON
WITH ANY ALIEN SPECIES,
NO MATTER HOW ADVANCED OR WHERE THEY COME FROM --
WE'LL BOTH BE GOVERNED BY THE SAME LAWS OF PHYSICS.
IF I CAN DEVISE A WAY TO UNIFY THESE LAWS
INTO A SINGLE MASTER EQUATION,
THE ALIENS WILL HAVE TO RECOGNIZE IT.
BUT FIGURING THIS EQUATION OUT IS NOT GONNA BE EASY.
IN FACT, SOME SCIENTISTS THINK IT'S IMPOSSIBLE.
I DON'T AGREE.
IN FACT, I BELIEVE I'VE FOUND A WAY TO DO IT.
I THINK THE KEY TO SOLVING THE GREATEST CHALLENGE
IN THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE
IS TO RADICALLY CHANGE THE WAY WE VIEW THE UNIVERSE.
[ CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYS ]
WHEN WE LOOK AROUND US, WE SEE SOLID OBJECTS --
PEOPLE, BUILDINGS, PLANETS.
BUT I THINK THAT'S AN ILLUSION.
I BELIEVE EVERYTHING IN THE UNIVERSE
IS MADE FROM TINY STRINGS,
AND IT'S THE VIBRATIONS ON THESE STRINGS
THAT GIVE THE WORLD ITS CHARACTERISTICS.
A SINGLE NOTE CORRESPONDS TO A SINGLE PARTICLE.
A MELODY OF NOTES CAN CORRESPOND TO A HUMAN BODY,
AND THE UNIVERSE ITSELF IS A POWERFUL SYMPHONY.
THE EQUATION OF THE SUPERSTRING
WOULD BE THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING,
THE CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT OF SCIENCE.
THAT'S ALSO THE BASIS OF MY LIFE'S WORK.
THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING --
THAT'S THE MESSAGE WE SEND TO THE ALIENS.
IT'S TIME TO REVEAL MY PLANS TO THE SCIENCE-FICTION FANS.
IN MY DESIGN,
I'VE ASSUMED THAT THE MESSAGE WE INTERCEPT FROM THE ALIENS
SHOWS THAT THEY'RE BENEVOLENT,
THAT IT'S OKAY TO ADVERTISE OUR EXISTENCE.
BUT IF SOMEBODY ASKED ME THE QUESTION,
"WHAT HAPPENS IF THE MESSAGE WAS AMBIGUOUS?"
AT THAT POINT I SHOULD SAY, "LET'S KEEP OUR MOUTHS SHUT."
[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ]
LET ME ASK YOU A QUESTION --
HOW MANY OF YOU BELIEVE THAT IN YOUR LIFETIME,
WE'LL MAKE CONTACT WITH AN ALIEN CIVILIZATION?
[ CROWD CHEERS ]
AND HOW MANY OF YOU ARE ALIENS FROM OUTER SPACE?
[ CROWD CHEERS ]
WELL, TODAY I'M GONNA GIVE YOU MY DESIGN
FOR MAKING CONTACT WITH AN ALIEN CIVILIZATION.
I BELIEVE AN ADVANCED ALIEN SPECIES
WILL HAVE THE POWER OF INTERSTELLAR TRAVEL.
AS THEY SEARCH THE UNIVERSE FOR SIGNS OF LIFE,
THEY COULD ALREADY BE SOMEWHERE IN OUR OWN SOLAR SYSTEM.
TO PICK UP THEIR SIGNAL...
WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO HAVE NOT JUST RADIO TELESCOPES
ON ONE FREQUENCY BUT ALL FREQUENCIES.
THIS MEANS TELESCOPES, INFRARED DETECTORS, X-RAY DETECTORS,
GAMMA RAY DETECTORS.
THE DATA COLLECTED WILL BE PROCESSED
BY VAST NETWORKS OF QUANTUM COMPUTERS.
THEY'LL BE PROGRAMMED TO LOOK FOR A PATTERN
WHICH INDICATES A GENUINE SIGNAL
AND MAKES SURE THAT THE MESSAGE IS NOT A THREAT.
ONCE WE GET THE MESSAGE, HOW DO WE REPLY?
THINK ABOUT IT.
HERE'S YOUR CHANCE TO MAKE HISTORY,
TO CHANGE WORLD CIVILIZATION.
WHAT MESSAGE WOULD YOU SEND?
I THINK THE SIGNAL WE SEND BACK SHOULD BE THE EQUATION
THAT REPRESENTS THE LAWS OF OUR ENTIRE UNIVERSE --
THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING.
THE EQUATION WILL SHOW THE ALIENS THAT WE ARE INTELLIGENT
AND, HOPEFULLY, WORTH VISITING.
AND THAT'S HOW WE'RE GONNA MAKE CONTACT WITH THE ALIENS.
[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ]
OH, WOW, THAT WAS PRETTY COOL.
I MEAN, THE IDEA OF ALIENS --
I MEAN THE IDEA OF COMMUNICATING WITH ALIENS
AND BEING ABLE TO UNDERSTAND THEM.
I THINK IT'S DEFINITELY THE NEXT LOGICAL STEP,
TRYING TO FIND OTHER SIGNALS OUT THERE.
IT'S ALWAYS BEEN HUMAN'S QUESTION.
ARE WE ALONE?
HIS IDEAS ARE RIGHT ON THE MONEY.
WE'RE LISTENING, BUT WE'RE NOT LISTENING WELL ENOUGH.
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