Civilisations, 49 | 2009

Exoplanet Transits as the Foundation of an Interstellar Communications Network

Two fundamental problems for extraterrestrial intelligences (ETIs) attempting to establish interstellar communication are timing and energy consumption. Humanity’s study of exoplanets via their transit across the host star highlights a means of solving both problems. An ETI ’A’ can communicate with ETI ’B’ if B is observing transiting planets in A’s star system, either by building structures to...

Biology of man in history. Selections from the Annales Économies, Sociétés, Civilisations

SETI with SKA

SETI with SKA would be by far the most powerful SETI search ever undertaken, covering enough stars with enough sensitivity to probe significantly further towards those other Earth civilisations than previous ones. This paper discusses the rationale behind radio SETI searches, and explains why SKA will be such as big step forward and will make few demands on telescope time.

Indigenous Knowledge’s Systems in the African Century

It is remarkable that the founders of African nations lamented the destruction of African civilisations by slavery and colonisations and yearned for the rebirth of Africa. From the outset these African leaders though subscribing to foreign ideologies and religions recognised and acknowledged the distinctive features of the African personality and world-view and aspired to build a new Africa bas...

The Simulation Argument and the Self-Indication Assumption

I present in this paper a line of refutation of the Simulation Argument. I recall first Bostrom's Simulation Argument. I draw then a comparison between the Emerald Case and the core analogy underlying the Simulation Argument. I also discuss the justification of the Self-Indication Assumption and its relationship with the Simulation Argument. I show lastly that the Simulation Argument is a disgu...