Blah, blah, blah . . . Aliens!
Just a short thought experiment on astronomical archeology
Imagine a faint radio signal that is received and determined to come from the Andromeda galaxy.
The Andromeda galaxy formed in its current shape about 2 to 3 billion years ago. It is about 2 to 3 million years away from us now.
AI is able to decipher the radio signal. Through the new power of AI translation, it figures out the contents and context of the radio transmission. It is a hodgepodge of the goings on of a mundane, random day of a long lost civilization.
Since this signal was detected by numerous independent sources and verified independently as well, it is widely accepted as authentic.
The reaction is anything but mundane.
However, rather than shaking the foundations of all we hold dear, the contents of what is discovered rings quite familiar.
It is more than analogous to a past we remember and a future we can imagine. It is more closely a mirror of our own existence.
It serves as confirmation bias and validation. It neither challenges nor defeats what we believe.
Yet for those who truly absorb the greater meaning, it gives us pause. That which previously seemed enormous now appears trivial.
For the vast majority is substantiates the crusades they are questing. For some select few it offers a chance to truly see what matters and what does not.
To learn of fellow travelers helps some to see the destination and helps others to see the virtue in the journey.
We hold it up and see what we wish to see. Lessons learned are of our own making.