Aliens

About the blog

   The subject of aliens is no longer a major cable TV program, thankfully.  Whether the aliens are ancient or youthful never seemed that important.  But scientists do run the numbers when new data is available.  Those numbers are sent through a particular equation to estimate how lonely the galaxy is.

   It's named after Frank Drake (Drake equation) and consists of 7 variables where anyone's guess can be used to calculate a result.

• Drake equation on Wikipedia

   Up until recently the only values used were ALL guesses.

   For something that looks like math that's considered backwards.

   Some might refer to those values as estimates.  But when any 2 estimates can differ by a factor of 1000 it's safer to just call them the guesses they are.  Here's the equation:

   The best way to summarize it goes something like (note the 'x' means multiply): "The number of advanced civilizations in our galaxy = a rough estimate x another estimate x a big guess x a bigger guess x the biggest guess x another guess".

   That's no fault of Drake himself.  It's due to missing or bad data.  It becomes an issue if data is "massaged" by someone to get an answer they want - point a finger if you feel it appropriate.

   You might be wondering when the aliens make an appearance.

   They already have.

   There's actually good reason for someone to think they've had an encounter with another being.  It probably happens often but any estimate of that would be a guess.  When you consider our minds are the result of a conscious mind and unconscious mind combined...  what might happen if a mind is undone?

   Dissociation is a normal part of our minds but that's as it appears and disappears.   If it occurs and takes hold then the conscious mind can find itself alongside an unconscious mind.

   What kind of perception does that lead to?

   Of a different mind with it's own strange, unrecognizable thoughts.

   We use the term "alien" in that context for a reason.  Even better there's no possible way to build closer quarters than where it happens.  So lets summarize the situation:

• Within the close confines of "somewhere" (the brain/head) we now have 2 minds.
• One of those (maybe the conscious mind) is us/it.
• The other (maybe the unconscious mind) is it/us.
• We probably recognize our own thoughts.
• We probably don't recognize the others.
• The last guess... there's a new awareness of another mind near us.
• It might go mind in mind with a presence or feeling of being watched

   Until we get better values for the Drake equation our own minds can be alien enough.