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Product Description
By what criteria should we judge whether we are alone in the cosmos, and how should we set about detecting extraterrestrials? Jean Heidmann answers these questions in this engaging discussion of extraterrestrial intelligence. Using clear explanations, including new and updated information, he covers the entire subject of extraterrestrial intelligence including the SETI project and what might happen if actual contact takes place.
Amazon.com Review
Science fiction writers have given us many fine novels contemplating humankind's first contact with intelligent extraterrestrials. But our nonfiction world has not thought much about what to do if we are actually faced with this situation. Jean Heidmann, Chief Astronomer at the Paris Observatory (and self-styled bioastronomer), offers a book on the subject that is at once serious and fun. Heidmann's obvious joy in raw speculation--all of it grounded in real science--is contagious. If aliens send us a message from many light years away, for example, how should we respond? Heidmann reviews the protocols established in the SETI Declaration and then offers his own suggestion: send them the entire contents of the Encyclopedia Britannica
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