Quartz had a
recent interesting article that talks to the popularity of the science of searching for extraterrestrial life. Their initial example of the media sensation regarding Oumaumau, the unusual object that was observed within the Solar System, is revealing on how scientific information along with speculation can be distorted. Sutter and Siegel calling
Bialy and Loeb's paper (2018) insulting and/or sensationalist was too extreme in my opinion (deGrasse Tyson as well). The authors were clearly speculating which warrants more investigation rather than anger. The paper is well structured, scientific and worth a look.
The more significant problem is that scientific speculation gets mixed with popular extraterrestrial theories and UFOs by those with what the article calls 'cognitive dissonance'. This mix can be easily remedied by clear, logical scientific defense of evidential speculation. Academic institutions are going to have to give in sooner or later to this as younger scientists enter the mainstream.
No comments