Studying ET

Two studies looking at the possibility of alien civilizations are out. One argues that either we are alone, because we've not yet found evidence of ET, or any intelligent aliens out there will pose a danger to us. They will have been shaped by the same laws of biological evolution that we were, the study says, and thus will be violent and greedy, as we are-- possibly roaming the galaxy in search of resources. Maybe they'd take our stuff.

Of course, even assuming there are universal laws of biological evolution, we don't yet have a grasp of the complete set, so predicting based on what we know may well get the wrong answer. It's also true that Darwin's theory contemplates cooperation as a driver of evolution, not just merciless competition. The fact also is that we know even less about the evolutionary pathways of civilizations than we know about those traveled by life, so presuming to know the primary urges of an advanced ET civilization likely says more about the leanings of those who did the study than it does about Them. We do know the universe is chock full of resources. The idea that ET would bother taking Earth's resources from us is a bit paranoid.

The other study takes a more optimistic view. The fact that we haven't found evidence for ET after only fifty years of looking means nothing. In those years, it points out, we have established the universe is friendlier to life than imagined before. Human societies in general, it notes, seem to be moving towards peaceful coexistence; an aggressive alien, star-hopping civilization is not the only possibility.

So, what do we really know about ET civilizations? As of yet, nothing at all.