Mindscape 131 | Avi Loeb on Taking Aliens Seriously

Patreon: / seanmcarroll
The possible existence of technologically advanced extraterrestrial civilizations - not just alien microbes, but cultures as advanced (or much more) than our own - is one of the most provocative questions in modern science. So provocative that it’s difficult to talk about the idea in a rational, dispassionate way; there are those who loudly insist that the probability of advanced alien cultures existing is essentially one, even without direct evidence, and others are so exhausted by overblown claims in popular media that they want to squelch any such talk. Astronomer Avi Loeb thinks we should be taking this possibility seriously, so much so that he suggested that the recent interstellar interloper `Oumuamua might be a spaceship built by aliens. That got him in a lot of trouble. We talk about the trouble, about `Oumuamua, and the attitude scientists should take toward provocative ideas.
Abraham (Avi) Loeb received his Ph.D. in plasma physics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is currently the Frank B. Baird Jr. professor of science at Harvard University. He served as the Chair of Harvard’s Astronomy department from 2011-2020. He is Director of the Institute for Theory and Computation of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and Founding Director of Harvard’s Black Hole Initiative. He is chair of the Advisory Committee for the Breakthrough Starshot Initiative. His new book is Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth.
Blog post with audio player, show notes, and transcript: www.preposterousuniverse.com/...
Mindscape Podcast playlist: • Mindscape Podcast
#podcast #ideas #science #philosophy #culture

[@Frost-kh9mg]

Sean Carroll and Aliens on the title; instant like

[@dmeemd7787]

I just recently listened to Avi Loeb on Event Horizon and Sean Carroll is one of my favorite physicists and person in general to listen to of all time

[@dmeemd7787]

🤣 EXACTLY! 😊

[@frankkockritz5441]

Wrong. Sean Carroll refuses to look at the evidence for "Von Neuman" probes, that he even suggests, and the alien life from which they came. DOD released videos, he refuses to acknowledge. That's the disappointing title.

[@geoden]

@Jesus Urbina Sean Carroll is an excellent physicist, but he does NOT espouse aliens. Check some more of his serious physics articles.

[@mikevance4968]

I heard once if aliens exist and had thousands even millions of years head start their ability would be so far out of our understanding “it would be like seeing magic”? Well ummm what these pilots are reporting are objects that appear to have magical properties, wtf? It’s exactly what science said it would be!! Wake up guys open your minds .

[@leftblank6036]

This interview is better than all the others , from an intellectual standpoint , Sean C has conducted his questioning and arguments perfectly . It’s the most satisfying interview for Avi Loeb in comparison to ‘JRE’, ‘ Lex Fridman’, ‘ Event Horizon’ and others . Enthralling!

[@Dylan-zm3ht]

I think the event horizon one is very good as well.

[@raidermaxx2324]

event horizon a close second, followed by lex, and then JRE rounding it out with the low bar bringing up the rear, imo

[@MrOreo76]

Keating, Lex, Rogan now Carroll. Avi is tearing it up!

[@Hashishin13]

Who is keating?

[@zoranvelickovic8814]

you forgot Event Horizon

[@lynxnathan]

@@Hashishin13 kzbin.info/door/mXH_moPhfkqCk6S3b9RWuw

[@emrazum]

In Rogan's recent pod with Lex, Joe mentions that Lex was the one who recommended Avi. So maybe all of these appearances are connected

[@czerskip]

@@zoranvelickovic8814 Event Horizon has become irrelevant. Sadly, as I used to support JMG on Patreon when he still created original and interesting content. (Unless you're paraphrasing "you forgot Poland" which would actually be fitting the context ;)

[@AtypicalPaul]

Love to listen to Avi. He has a childlike curiosity with the intelligence of a professor yet possess the humble nature of a monk.

[@geoden]

Avi ''tickles'' the fancy of the non-scientifically minded.

[@AtypicalPaul]

@@geoden rude

[@geoden]

@@AtypicalPaul Rude? Accurate you mean!

[@AtypicalPaul]

@@geoden no, I am highly scientific in my thinking and so his Avi

[@MultiBikerboy1]

He’s great to listen to I agree....however I would be really interested to hear what he has to say if the ‘Marco Rubio report’ coming out sometime in July shows that there is proof that they have been visiting for decades and longer, and accordingly he and his colleagues along with the rest of the inhabitants of this planet have been taken for schmucks. Interesting times indeed.

[@TheMrCougarful]

We've been hearing a lot from Avi Loeb lately, due to the article mentioned. Listening to this podcast I like the way he thinks, would enjoy hearing more from him in the future. He has a refreshing -- meaning honest -- frankness and openness. I really enjoyed this talk and learned a lot. He was intelligent and light-hearted, a perfect match to the host. Well done to both.

[@raidermaxx2324]

you should check out the audio book he just wrote ... its like listening to a 13 hour podcast by him , since he narrates it

[@reason5591]

Avi is part of the "Disclosure Project" that is happening now, but most haven't figured this out yet lol.

[@reubanrajan2679]

@@raidermaxx2324 will check it out then

[@jimkane7162]

This gotta be interesting. Thanks, Sean. Can't wait to go for a walk and listen to this.

[@TheChadavis33]

I think Sean needs to have Avi back, now with the news that Avi is heading the Galileo Project. This is historic

[@DrBlueCow]

no

[@treborheminway3814]

Don't be surprised by what you Don't Find, when you Don't Look!

[@MyStarPeopleExperiences]

Well said.

[@slackhackman9115]

Good one. 🤔

[@chrisbova9686]

We've been getting spoonfed this ridiculous deception for a long time. Assume gov't is lying if their mouth is moving, assume nothing is real until you can touch it, assume our reality is an illusion, and aliens will be found on their own frequency on the spectrum of radio stations, and if we commune, it implies that they are tuning us to their frequency.

[@geoden]

@@chrisbova9686 Nonsensical alien trash talk is increasing I'm sad to see. Acolytes want more intelligence-insulting lies spun, they are haters of truth for no reason!

[@StayPrimal]

I like your knowledge, style and approach to science sir, thx you for existing and bringing my faith back in humanity. Professor Caroll for presidence !

[@geoden]

Please don't think Prof. Carroll espouses a belief in aliens, he does not. If you follow any of his more serious interviews you will find he thinks like the vast majority of scientists.

[@virgilmccabe2828]

President? I would not wish that on my worst enemy. It’s a thankless job and no matter how well you do it a lot of people will think that you are wrong

[@kjhman]

I knew that Sean would press Avi more than the other podcasters he’s been visiting. I think Avi is stretching a bit here with his assumptions. Refreshing to hear.

[@thephuntastics2920]

exactly.

[@geoden]

Yes, Sean was kind to him. Other podcasters are are not so well credentialed as Sean.

[@trudycole1720]

You wouldnt be thinking he was stretching a bit if you saw a huge craft in the sky above your head like many sane people have seen, president jimmy Carter for one.

[@kjhman]

@@trudycole1720 How in the hell does that have anything to do with Omuamua? It’s an object in space that we can’t view with our current technology. I think what you’re saying is quite a leap in comparison.

[@trudycole1720]

@@kjhman he was talking about more than just Omuamua.

[@AdiMaco]

Excellent podcast, one of the best!

[@genxjud7578]

Great interview! Great discussion! 👍

[@Dweesil]

Really good podcast. Loved it!!

[@MrUms431]

Thank you Doc for interviewing Avi, your one of the best!

[@yafy.5158]

Thank you Sean Carroll! Your videos are enlightening the internet thus the humanity.

[@sunsaverfromnhh9184]

This is so awesome, that i am listening to it for a second time (I NEVER watch the same video or movie twice, unless i am looking for a specific scene, or quote, or image, or other, forensic work; or unless it's Star Wars, and it's the year 1977, and i am eight years old. As it is, being a fifty something with a photographic memory, even the special effects classics are difficult to sit through, when i already know the ending and every scene that is about to appear. However, when it comes to the subjects of science, quantum physics/high energy physics, and especially cosmology and/or anything to do with "aliens" - these two geniuses got my full attention (and respect, admiration, appreciation for the entertainment, "Sean"- and grateful for the continued progress in the field of exobiology "Avi". Awesome podcast! I could put you on "repeat"- which is great praise from me (albeit someone with my particular type of mental defect, lol!). "Hey- the Crazy Bike Guy thinks these two people are science authorities who should command our attention..."- Oops! It might not actually be helpful to your academic standing to be found in association with "the guy who thinks he invented artificial reality ("virtual reality", US Patent no. 5394029, John Gay and Billy Smith, Monroe, La.) P.S. I think Sean should really investigate recent crop circles and look at the evidence that amateur scientists have found... do some home work (you ain't too old)... ET is here and communicating (or at least trying to). Some of these crop circles look like they where printed on a HP, laser jet printer- NO EFFING WAY some art school college kids hoaxed this with strings, compasses and squares. Stalks are woven in hundreds of tiny, identical islands of "microwaved stalks" that have visible heat damage and imploded fibers, etc. Some farmers have even filmed "light balls" or "ball lightning" flying over their fields at night, where the massive, intricate patterns, with mathematically coded concepts and art, seems to appear, overnight. The patterns have gotten increasingly complicated over the years, and still- no "college art students" have ever been busted vandalizing their fields of wheat, or spending all night, twerking individual stalks into thousands of identical, tiny, baskets. I could image a swarm of nanobots or Boston Dynamics dogs out there, all night, in silence... but eliminate the obvious, and "aliens trying to communicate" actually seems like the most, logical, Sherlockian, Susskinian answer. Folks should realize that so far, the evidence is that life is found in just about every, extreme, environment we have looked. Exoplanets in "habitable zones" are being found, every day now. Folks need to get over their "alien bias", IMHO. And i think 60% of the public are open to ET, while 30% are true believers (because we've seen some sh!t...).

[@annie333oakley7]

Great interview. More please.

[@cipaisone]

Assumption on life being common or uncommon are like saying that something is big or small, without having any meter to compare to. we just do not know enough.

[@TREXX8111]

I personally hate the "Ant" analogy. It's just a bad argument from the premise alone. It doesn't take into account that we live in an isolated Galaxy that will never be reached by an external species due to the speed of light. So therefore there is only a very limited possiblity of intelligent life in our Galaxy. So the analogy should be more like discovery the only Ant nest on Earth. Since it's incredibly unique we would be highly curious about the nest, no matter how unintelligent to us they may be.

[@617pockets]

Well written

[@geoden]

Because of science, we know enough to realise the possibility of alien presence here or even contact, is very, very close to zero! There may be aliens somewhere in the cosmos, but that means nothing because of the vastness of this Universe alone. The simple fact is that people don't understand or worse, don't want to hear scientific facts. I have yet to find anyone willing to put money where their mouth is when I offer a bet! The possibility of being wrong brings them down to Earth, so to speak!

[@a121509]

@@TREXX8111 Yes, I heard Avi use this argument on Event Horizon and I don't think it's a convincing analogy. For one thing, scientists study ants and all kinds of very simple creatures because they are inherently interesting things.

[@geoden]

@@TREXX8111 Nice to hear someone other than myself who speaks sense on the ''alien'' nonsense that usually besieges us.

[@alexismamadou2193]

Oumuamua was loosely inspected but those chuckles were caught on tape lol

[@HarryNicNicholas]

the driver on Oumuamua locked his doors and drove right by.

[@rbee6507]

What a great episode and guest. Very constructive discussion and great to hear two very competent minds discussing it without overly simplifying it... Main takeaways....The truth is out there, and Avi's nickname is "Rico Suave".

[@billr9125]

According to Arthur C Clarke's "Rendezvous with Rama" artificial interstellar probes always come in 3's, so we just have to be patient and wait a bit for the next one...

[@spinning-around]

I wonder why Hollywood has still not adapted it. Could be quite good movie

[@davidkubisa1647]

Yeah and their always shaped to mimic giant turds.

[@phitsf5475]

Thanks Sean, you're a great educator.

[@sam615kk]

Was looking forward to a physicist like Sean talking to Avi after watching him on Rogan.

[@geoden]

Sean is a real physicist, he doesn't talk alien nonsense, Avi is a dreamer!

[@Baleur]

Avi is the first astronomer that actually thinks about the universe the same way i've always thought about it all my life. God that is so refreshing. Also, we need to look at Tabby's Star again. Because we still havent explained why that star BOTH had the light dimming, AND the structured repeating radio signal, which everyone seems to have forgotten about..

[@paintspot1509]

Who has '"forgotten about it". Have you actually checked to see how many publications have either been written about or referenced this star? Not to mention it gets observed yearly by multiple telescopes...

[@bradstewart8663]

I read a book called rendezvous with rama a while back. This reminds me of the book in a lot of ways

[@edwardlee2794]

Great interview on interesting subject. Curiosity and imagination to the point of delicious innocence is what is needed to unleash scientific ventures. Echo chamber is an addiction to avoid. Meanwhile good science is enlightening and entertaining. Thanks Dr Sean and keep up the good work. From Hker worldwide

[@kurtschlesinger8257]

Avi is a clever man and brave to come out with aliens

[@michaeldebellis4202]

The guy is head of Astrophysics at Harvard. What is so brave about pushing crackpot theories that will enable you to sell books to rubes rather than do actual research that your peers respect? He’s not brave he’s a sellout who puts self promotion above good science: kzbin.info/www/bejne/l4qcaWinr9Nqpassi=CtBxejv4jY5xn-ow

[@gio.k291]

Is light sail technology available?

[@z3fs8]

We're so fortunate to be alive in this day and age

[@reason5591]

I have totally mixed feelings

[@z3fs8]

@@reason5591 at least we're not serfs and not at the mercy of medival medicine?

[@MultiBikerboy1]

It’s going to get interesting on 1st of June.

[@z3fs8]

@@MultiBikerboy1 stupid question. What's coming up?

[@MultiBikerboy1]

@@z3fs8 sorry....should not assume it’s common knowledge...the Senate intelligence committee is releasing a report on UAP’s (UFO’s). Could be a biggie. Avi might need to get his head round it.

[@skateebee]

Damn Avi is doing an all out media blitz to promote his new book! How refreshing to see this!

[@trudycole1720]

I'm gonna buy that book, I like his refreshing authenticity

[@rayn_0ff]

Didn't expect to find so many close minded people in the comments 🥺 Aperantly to have an idea and to want to put it to test is an awful thing...

[@paintspot1509]

What idea and what test?

[@reason5591]

They just love to expose themselves publically as well lol. Every Avi video Ive seen so far has a comment section just full of the brainwashed gallery...know what I mean? "Faith" lol

[@paintspot1509]

@@reason5591 I do not know what you mean. Can you explain?

[@paintspot1509]

@Dick weed literally no idea.

[@paintspot1509]

@Learn Linux there is no religion in science, but there certainly is brainwashing in religion.

[@trevor9603]

What was elons answer to oumuamua on the last rogan, they specifically cut his answer out at 47:30 in!

[@benwilliams868]

Great podcast

[@EejuVava]

the guy cites his students on all collaborative work. the guy is model other professors can try emulate a bit.

[@reason5591]

Avi is upstanding man

[@nyrdybyrd1702]

.. a bit?. yes, but only a bit. 🤏

[@RWin-fp5jn]

A Great podcast! Avi is such a rare combination of independent thinking, intelligence, modesty and courage. We should cherish him holding such a prestigious scientific position at Harvard. As for Oumuamua: The physical arguments that Avi gives for it being of alien origin vs. a rock/comet are logical and convincing. You’d have to add quite some epicycles (which mainstream is eager to do) to suggest this might yet be a natural object. As for Avi’s argument Oumuamua would be rather a broken piece of alien technology vs. an active alien craft; Here, the science is not at all settled: Avi’s philosophical argument of ‘humanity not being interesting enough to visit’ is a bit weak. Drake’s equation suggests there should have been countless planets in the past harboring civilizations with advanced technology, potentially with colonizing ambitions. This implies (human) life on Earth could very well be the result of such colonizing efforts, in which case we would likely be subject to their occasional ‘check up’ visits. And one does not have to be religious to acknowledge the bible mentions the phrase in Genesis: ‘..Let US create man in OUR image..’ In Hebrew: ‘Elohim’ plural. But there are also observational arguments against Oumuamua being simply 'technology debris'; First and foremost we have the extreme eccentricity of the parabolic fly-by, which would be remarkable for any random fly-by of an observable interstellar object. Let’s say this is a 2 sigma event, putting it at 5% probability. Next we have to account for Oumuamua being at exactly the right segment of Earth’s orbit around the Sun. Earth’s orbit spans 940 million km. A passage at 24 million km distance means another 2 sigma event at a chance of roughly 1 in 40. Multiplied, the suggested trajectory has about 0,12% probability of being random. From this simple stochastic, logic suggests this was not a random event. And lets also not forget we did NOT see Oumuamua closing in on Earth even though perhaps we should have, considering its size and pulsating EM reflection. We only saw Oumuamua on its way OUT and from this we all merely ASSUME it also had an incoming trajectory. But as an active craft, it might have had NO incoming trajectory at all. Oumuamua might just as well have been stationed at e.g. the far side of the moon. Perhaps disappointed of our status it decided to leave in October 2017, keeping its departure intentionally obscured by the moon itself, and only taking a sharp turn when it became visible to us on its way out, which would also (better) explain its non-compliant gravitational trajectory? Taking this a step further; its EM oscillation in visible light is may not be the result of an a ‘object tumbling’ solar light reflection but more likely due to its engines producing a 3 axial oscillating EM field pinching the solar 'wind' into a high energy-density linear exhaust behind it, getting its thrust that way? A 3 axial manipulated Bose Einstein condensate might be at the core of such technology, making good use of ‘surfing’ the relatively weak charged ‘solar wind’ and the stronger intergalactic plasma fields outside of our solar system, the reality of which the voyager crafts are increasingly facing. I would hope Avi also sees the argument for a non-random visit and work out this option as well. Maybe a nice project for a grad student? Anyway, thanx for this interview and all the best for you Avi !

[@ParalysedGekko]

Your arguments are like science in 2021 in general: if there's a way to explain the weirdest behavior of trespassing matter through our solar system, science will TALK it down instead of HUNT it down to watch and learn. Instead scientists continue with their incredibly stupid ideas like String Theory or Multiverse Nonsense, where not even the slightest slice of evidence ever showed up. All these ideas based on non-proven, non-evidental ideas are still worked on and are still wasting money big scale. But stuff that isn't proven but right before our eyes is not even worth throwing a probe at. What a bunch of stubborn non-determinists scientist have become today.

[@paintspot1509]

@@ParalysedGekko sorry, that does not make any sence at all. Your understanding of science and theoretical modelling is incorrect. String theory and multiverse are just mathematical constructs to explain some holes in out current understanding of the universe. This is how we have always done science, you do the math, then you look for ways of proving it. This is literally how we found the Higgs particle. Saying "aliens did it" is a fun little thought experiment, but does not further our understanding of anything any more so then saying God did it. Hence why it was a couple of sentences as a side remark in a paper. Astronomy is full of difficult to explain phenomena but we have tools to investigate these scientifically.

[@paintspot1509]

Sorry but your whole comment is scientifically inaccurate. You also seem to forget how big the timescales we are looking at are. Even if you 0.12% chance was remotely accurate, its had billions of years to occur.

[@RWin-fp5jn]

@@paintspot1509 thats not how stochastics and statistics work. We need 1000 interstellar Oumuamua's passing us to get on average only 1 extreme close passage to Earth as we witnessed. If we purely look at this trajectory mathematically (void of the 'alien' discussion'), this is so extreme that any statistician would say it is absurd to suggest this passage was the result of a 'natural' Gaussian distribution. No sir. And don't forget we did NOT see it coming in, where we actually should have seen it closing in with the solar STEREO 1A telescope. Again, mathematically seen, the preference would be nr1. this is not part of a parabolic incoming U turn trajectory, but a simple curved exit line form Earth only (no incoming trajectory). nr 2. A targeted incoming trajectory nr 3:. a natural incoming trajectory. This order of logic is not opinion , it is just mathematical fact. the community can't handle this truth

[@paintspot1509]

@@RWin-fp5jn again, all of this is nonsense. Who is this "we" you speak off. Your understanding of statistics and physics is wrong, but "1000 interstellar oumuamaus" per 13 billion years is nothing, also a random a nonsensical number. I am not sure why you think STEREO, a solar imaging and sensing telescope would have seen it approaching. This satellites mission is solar observations and is not designed to go searching for interstellar objects. To cut a long story short, you do not understand the math or science enough to make these claims. Although there is always the slim chance is was aliens, it is a pretty useless remake as we do not gain any more information by giving up and claiming it was aliens. Hence why the scientific community have devolped models to explain it based on our understanding of the universe. You may as well just say God did it and go home.. You are also using the word stochastics wrong.

[@fastintegra]

Is there no video? Or just this podcast?

[@redmed10]

Wouldn't be ironic if we discovered life on another planet and their technology was 5 minutes ahead of ours but that was enough to destroy us.

[@HarryNicNicholas]

sounds like the plot from a sci-fi.

[@jimkane7162]

When I first saw Avi on JRE, I was hoping that Sean invites him.

[@Abbieabma]

podcast with lex fridman was much better then jre in my opinion

[@trudycole1720]

Avi Loeb has an awesome outlook and is braver than most scientists today.

[@paintspot1509]

@@trudycole1720 how so? Most scientists i know think there is a probability of extraterrestrial life, just none that are capability of reaching us yet. You cannot publish work that says "we don't understand it so it must be aliens". So these conversations happen on podcasts like this.

[@trudycole1720]

@@paintspot1509 ok. I get that. But I've seen a triangle craft and a saucer. So they must be ours if no aliens have made it here yet.

[@paintspot1509]

@@trudycole1720 saying he is braver then most scientists is a pretty bold claim.

[@jsgdk]

Avi making some good points.

[@emrazum]

I really like the hypothesis that technological civilization is inversely correlated to longevity (we could easily go extinct by 2100), and we see so few remnants of previous civilization because most species are smart enough to treat it as a fool's errand. Out of the thousands of species on Earth, only one started industrial civilization, and even then it came at the cost of colonialism and global ecosystem collapse

[@petermiesler9452]

30:00 ish Wouldn't CFC's stand out in current spectral imaging of planets - and be spotted by scientists review current observation data? Thank you Sean Carroll for pushing back! It makes me want to continue to hear what comes next.(Avi nails it with his critique (32:00 ish) of exoteric physics and that it's more intellectual jousting with mathematical problems than anything concerning the interests of the masses of human lives and experiences. I'm surprised SETI hasn't been mentioned yet, another reason to keep listening.

[@petermiesler9452]

I couldn't help but think of Occam's razor. Avi dismisses bio-signatures, he thinks very advanced civilizations would have other signatures. But even the most advanced biological creatures, would depend on a biological world and the billions of years of evolution required for the easy life, Archaea to evolve into something like an advanced human mind. I fear Avi might be an example of insufficient appreciation for the pageant of evolution. All too common throughout society, and we are witness the real world consequences of that. SETI was never mentioned, I wonder why? 1:26:00 ish If we can't get technology to save humanity here on our home planet Earth, how in the universe are we going to make it anywhere else. Now, I definitely believe that the reality of evolution here on Earth is something that has never interested Avi, so there's no incorporating it into his speculations. Sean your style has much to teach. Thank you!!

[@Young.Supernovas]

I think the simplest explanation of the available data is that life is not that rare, but life which is like us is exceedingly rare. I think perhaps that's a more subtle cobtemporary anthropocentrism than Aristotle's heliocentrism. Perhaps when we appeal to an abstract concept like "intelligent life" we're conferring on what is really just one of our biological traits a more metaphysically fundamental/important status than it actually has. I mean, if elephants looked to the stars and despaired at how alone they were because they found no other species out there with tusks and trunks and big flappy ears... would that be all that surprising? The natural process we call evolution sees no difference between human intelligence and elephants' trunks; they are both just traits that evolved due to natural selection.

[@sarthakmunda3914]

1:03:08 I may be wrong but I seem to remember he called them dirty balls of ice but it later turned out to be icy balls of dirt

[@HarryNicNicholas]

great (dirty) balls of fire!

[@placer7412]

that intro theme reminds me of the spyro theme

[@drzecelectric4302]

Yes!

[@SuperHuia]

Thank you. Fascinating interview. The Pentagon's confirmed 'tic tac' UAP encounter certainly opened ones eyes to new possibilities.

[@czerskip]

How? There's nothing in those videos that can't be easily explained by old, well know, human technology.

[@SuperHuia]

@@czerskip agree totally. Sorry..was just trying to say that the encounter was very compelling and hard to dismiss. Clearly something happened we don't understand and seems like an off-world event if anything does.

[@czerskip]

@@SuperHuia Something happened and we're not sure what that was is all you can say. The most compelling explanations are perfectly understood phenomena that we've observed countless times. Why would anyone offer out of this world guesses to observations that can be explained without those unsubstantiated guesses? It's an inherently fallacious position to take called argument from ignorance, most commonly used by religious apologists in a form of "we don't know therefore god". The best answer is "we don't know" if we don't know…

[@SuperHuia]

@@czerskip "we dont know therefore god" is ridiculous to bring up here and irrational on any single occasion. The subject of this interview was that alien technologies might be one possible explanation for strangeness of ʻOumuamua'...and something that shouldn't be dismissed. The 'tic tac' event might be also worth considering in the same way and warrant further investigation to prove or disprove the idea. That's all.

[@virgilmccabe2828]

@@SuperHuia I agree. All possibilities should be explored and dismissing any hypothesis on the basis of low probability is very shortsighted. I am very skeptical by nature but I keep an open mind. I have serious doubts about the work of many scientists including Einstein, Bohr, Guth and Penrose but I don’t dismiss their theories entirely. Fact is a very big word to use and it is used much too often. Proof is a bigger word especially when you are working from a long string of assumptions made by previous scientists

[@poedinding]

Loved this episode ❤

[@drako7222]

So I was thinking has anyone tested the quantum wave theory using slits in two different surfaces that have vastly different masses to see if the wave pattern is different? If so it would show that it may not be quite that photons move in waves but that the mass of the wall containing the slits is curving the light

[@paintspot1509]

Gravitational lensing is a known outcome from general relativity. Although you need a mass of the order of a solar mass to see this, so no a "wall of higher mass" won't make any difference.

[@woody7652]

I'm an alien, I'm a legal alien.

[@jellymop]

Now you’re a legal eagle 🦅

[@gregoryrollins59]

Hey woody i like your comment. It made me think of hebrews 11:13-16. 59:11:13-16. Which if you think about it, its what he said about seeking a place of there own. Plus if your going to go through a man's garbage you should knock on his door. Maybe he's like Galileo and has been cancelled for life. I suppose dont prove the chruch wrong still stands. Peace and agap'e.

[@aaronwatch3214]

Hi Sting.

[@gregoryrollins59]

@nig‎ger_google_is_a_bad compan‎y isn't that what hernan Cortez once said before wiping out the Aztecs or is that what the Vatican told him to say. Either way it's moorish at best and it's what a liar would say. Like your name would suggest. Sandy, Hook or by crook just like hernando Cortez. So your name must be in honor of oaxaca Mexico and all the afro-Mexicans.

[@gregoryrollins59]

@nig‎ger_google_is_a_bad compan‎y If i take you name and and were to assign a value to the blank spaces I'd take the value of the first and last letter of each word. Which is 59_ 75_ 91_1_24_37. Under the assumption there a missing_ between bad and company. Then if i take the difference between the _ then between 97 is 1, 59 is 4, 11 is 0, and i assign a value of n to it. 12 is 1 and 43 is 1. So that's 14n11. If you read it right to left 1=19=s, 1=a, n, 4=d, 1=z or sandz. The z is for Cortez. Hi AOC. What will people think now with a name like that?

[@cloudrouju526]

The pedestrian and ants analogy is so popular in explaining the Fermi paradox but I really don’t think it makes sense because it only answers the alien’s question of “why don’t I care about those mere earthlings”. While the pedestrians don’t bother to stop and talk to the ants, the ants should sure as hell beware of the pedestrians’ footfalls.

[@dentonfender6492]

I assume the Scientists studying 'Oumuamua' subtracted the acceleration of the object caused by the Sun's gravitation to determine the detected acceleration.

[@michaelderosier3505]

Did they analyze the path to see where it came from?

[@bozo5632]

IMHO Oumuamua was more likely a jettisoned Whipple shield than a defunct light sail.

[@sasquatch1554]

Me too........me too! 52:45

[@MortuusTyrannus]

I’ve listened to several interviews with Avi. All of the interviewers told their audience they don’t agree with Avi about Omuahmuah (spelling?). But they didn’t share their specific disagreements with Avi. It would be so much more interesting to hear you guys speak to each other about why the evidence leans towards it being artificial or natural. Seems cowardly to ignore this. Still love the show.

[@paintspot1509]

You can read one of the many published papers about this. The problem with the "aliens did it" argument is there is no theoretical background to support it. Litterally, the scientific evidence stops dead and you may as well say God did it.

[@iraniansuperhacker4382]

@@paintspot1509 thats not true at all. There is no reason to suggest what happened on earth isnt repeatable and we know for a fact basic interstellar travel is possible so what part about aliens traveling here is outside of known physics and engineering? There literally is no scientific or engineering reason to suggest aliens are not liekly its just a bias in modern science. You can travel the galaxy in a few months or so subjective time if you are traveling fast enough so we know for a fact we can get between 10 to 20% the speed of light with modern tech them getting 99.99%+ is just a matter of having more energy to go faster isnt it? So if a hypothetical alien species is nomadic and travels in "tribes" around the galaxy at relativistic speeds and periodically meeting up with each other then from our perspective we would just see the same crafts showing up in our star system to refuel or do whatever before they jump off to relativistic speeds again for thousands and thousands of years. There is no point for this type of civilization to communicate at interstellar distances so they would appear silent to us and there is no point in them talking to any other non relativistic society since entire species might evolve and die within the time span of their missions.

[@paintspot1509]

@@iraniansuperhacker4382 you have kind of missed my point. Sure it is possible to travel around space, and there are theory's around warp drives. The problem is energy signatures, these kind of vehicles would require huge amounts of energy and we are more then capable of detecting these signatures. This is why the science stops dead with "aliens did it". You can't write a paper about an alien spacecraft and not answer fundamental questions like how does it move. Do you see what I mean, what experiments would you do to confirm your hypothesis that is it aliens? Because of this these questions are interesting, but not really science. Your understanding of travelling at relativistic speeds is a bit off. Remember time dilation would mean time passes much slower. A craft would either travel much less than this, or much faster. I hope this helps.

[@iraniansuperhacker4382]

@@paintspot1509 Funny because i copied exactly what I just typed from Dr. Kevin Knuth who has a phd in physics so what you are really saying is that he has no idea how relativity works. Can you point to this magic technology that exist that allows you to detect small objects moving even at a large fraction of the speed of light?

[@iraniansuperhacker4382]

@@paintspot1509 and he also wrote a paper that takes all the known data from the navy and proved that IF the navy is telling the truth about what happen in 2004 with the nimitz this was literally impossible to be human tech. Would you like the link to that paper? Also his ideas about relativistic nomadic societs isnt a hypothesis and obviously cant be one so maybe you should get off your high horse and actually pay attention to what people say? Its a fuckin idea that could explain how aliens could explore the galaxy very fast subjective time, do it without contacting other non relativistic societies, and could theoretically explain the navy said happened.

[@mayoluck]

1st time viewer haha,🤣 i was laying in bed with headphones on and we just went from aliens to working out in one smooth transition. I was thinking to my self when this happen "where the hell is this going? bc i need to work out but im lazy, oh well ill follow along anyways." then realizing it was an ad. 🤣

[@celltypespecific8988]

Avi took Sean to school!! Excellent work Avi!

[@geoden]

Get real!

[@andrear.berndt9504]

Thank you. This topic sounds controversial and strange , but I like it!

[@jimc.goodfellas226]

Avi is really on a whirlwind tour of all the podcasts etc

[@paintspot1509]

$$$$

[@lambda4931]

Thanks! Good stuff. Much better than politics.

[@TheEtAdmirer]

Hearing two intelligent respectable gentleman talk about this subject gives me hope . No later than spring hopefully before but no later. I think we all are ready for what awaits us. The Dawn. 🌅

[@davidhughes838]

U nailed it brother

[@smishi]

most iconic comment 2021

[@TheEtAdmirer]

@@markphc99 yes thank you l will correct that. I respect that and agree , we are on our own. Keep a open mind though . What we would expect might be just a little off. Perhaps that be the reason we have yet to notice. Never know all I know is they're not landing on the White House lawn anytime soon. Lol

[@malinkifox2011]

@Sean you really need to do Video podcast or at least Zoom video… just feels it’s holding your podcasts back.

[@tomatocan2502]

i like the Cool Worlds critique of his Ouegooymooeeikablooeuy... Theory

[@dennisgentile888]

What about if you were in a wormhole and you could create a wormhole or Stargate and fold the fabric of space in half and that you can get to the Centauri and almost an instant amount of time is that possible

[@Rich-rp9xy]

Watching him third time 😄😄

[@nancyrobertson9256]

Avi vs. Sean. LOL -- Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy ride.

[@darknem6]

28:35 Got'em! 🤣

[@KIYALongevity]

Other life forms are on earth just on different dimensions, which can be contacted through remote viewing.

[@hardergamer]

Excellent talk, and thank you, Sean and Avi.

[@varde6965]

I have become a big fan of Avi Loeb. Wish more harward professors where like him !!!

[@sunsaverfromnhh9184]

Dr. Loeb is the REAL deal (read about his credentials above), which makes this conversation so shocking and exciting, provocative, entertaining. Thanks for the video, Sean! I really enjoyed it, twice.

[@TheEverydayMax]

Those particles interact every week how come we can't find em?

[@miaodu1695]

lovely conversation！My brain fuel!

[@AdiMaco]

Oumuamua was an interstellar spaceship that has been wrecked by a meteor shower and they specifically changed course for the earth in the hope that we can rescue them because they knew that earth has the technology, but we are so damn dumb that we didn't.

[@danemassie3750]

Dumb? Yes. Terrifying? Absolutely! The artifact actually increased speed as it passed earth and exited the solar system. A 20 minute observation of the human race most likely flagged us as hostile and severely ignorant

[@freezoneproject567]

Unfortunately, scientists are rarely willing to consider all possibilities. NDT's dismissive comments on the recently released Pentagon report is a prime example.

[@lajosbaranyi7333]

That “humility” is nothing but an self inflicted insult. Intelligent life cannot be dismissed. It can grow exponentially and turn Universe into a very small place in a very short time when new technology allows it.

[@LuciFeric137]

Love professor Loeb.

[@adelehill7088]

As long as "I" am not dinner !!! lol

[@stormevans6897]

"When I go on vacation I often like to be close to a bitch" So do I Avi, so do I..

[@zutrong]

Avi Loeb did 3 podcasts in the same week?!

[@alexseioo610]

More like a dozen.

[@hauntedhose]

It’s called hype

[@keybutnolock]

The book.

[@reason5591]

This is part of the "Disclosure" so many of us have been anticipating.

[@MultiBikerboy1]

Not really to be honest....wait and see what the ‘Marco `Rubio report’ brings on 1st June....then ‘disclosure’ starts.

[@reason5591]

@@MultiBikerboy1 no no noooo disclosure has already begun, this will be some icing on the cake.

[@MultiBikerboy1]

@@reason5591 hope so....been waiting a long time for some badly needed truth. The tech’s real. Saw a saucer come right overhead at 1,000 feet one evening in the 70’s. Try holding onto that for over 50 years.

[@5GoldenR]

..we are in a closed system. We all live in a yellow submarine " " "

[@NWHSBL]

@@zamthoth4700 space is fake....? Really...

[@reason5591]

....and we are drowning

[@Cyborous]

29:39 Yeah that makes sense. if it’s something on our level, but if it’s something more advanced and technologically passed us. It might not be an indication either, because what if they have clean factories and clean manufacturing underground, on their home planet.. Leaving the surface for parks and nature. You wouldn’t pick up anything.. Because they could be past the stage of dumping pollutants into their air, depending on what kind of home planet they live on though. If we happen to find a earth like planet and try that we might not see anything.. because their structures could be subterranean.

[@expressionoffreedom7165]

Everything is too crazy to be a one off. How in the hell could everything only happen once?

[@bryandraughn9830]

Right? If nature came up with something as weird as humans why not do it again somewhere? Lol

[@expressionoffreedom7165]

I'm also not sophisticated enough to know...but we know the center of the earth is quite hot due to gravity. Now I don't think a planet would need to be within a range if the planet was large enough to create it's own heat keeping water a liquid at significant depths.

[@aaronwatch3214]

My feeling is this reputable scientist dropped that sci-fi paragraph into his boring paper to create the 'buzz' he's been riding to promote his book. Worked like a charm. He's got as much evidence to think that rock was sent by aliens as I have to think it was sent by God.

[@evehan2076]

Ć⁹i

[@caryd67]

Everyone has heard of Sentinel Island, an isolated place whose inhabitants are the few uncontacted humans left. It is known that they must be left alone, in order to preserve their way of life. Any visitors from the outside world could devastate their population. My hypothesis: Earth is The Sentinel Planet. No contact, no outside visitors allowed.

[@ruk3d]

Is there any news about ORC(s Odd Radio Circles)? Maybe it's the evidence of an aliens? xD

[@legender576]

Sir you should include face cam.

[@kapsi]

23:10 I would add to that the fact that amino acids that build life on Earth have been found in space

[@americalost5100]

Passed between Mercury and the Sun to get charged up : )

[@dentonfender6492]

Has anyone speculated how 'Oumuamua' was deflected toward the Sun?

[@cfffba]

This interview in a nutshell: Don't bully other scientists and always be open to unusual scientific ideas. With the exception of string theory and the simulation hypothesis because that's like being on drugs.

[@sarthakmunda3914]

I genuinely teared up laughing after reading this comment, thank you

[@Landrew0]

"I shall not look for I don't like what I may see."

[@dmtgallardo]

45:10 - Why would Sean so dismissively "nah" Avi's idea of putting up a plan to photo Oumuamua before it passed earth? It came up as very arrogant.

[@Hashishin13]

I think it was a muffled ah, not nah.

[@BigZebraCom]

Oumuamua sounds like some sort of Canadian Football League audience chant, similar to 'Oskee Wee Wee ' , used by fans of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

[@rajens1]

Why so much Oumuamua hype this month?

[@czerskip]

Because Avi has to sell his book.

[@abdelbassett.r564]

can't Oumuamua be redirected to earth and studied thoroughly?

[@peeinacan1]

no haha

[@channelbree]

Dr. James Benson reckoned you could use the Star shot program to intercept the next one. With some big telescopes coming online soon we will hopefully see more visitors and fire a robotic probe after it!

[@johnimusic12]

Aristotle is the OG of whistleblowers.

[@czerskip]

I'm curious how many of your listeners also watch Lex's channel. I understand Avi is promoting his book, but listening to a copy of the conversation with Lex just a few days after it's been published is somewhat awkward.

[@FormerLurker]

As an anecdotal data point, I did, and enjoyed both. This interview, to me, was more interesting. Lex has his strong points too, and the different styles are complimentary IMHO.