The Expanding Universe was a very informative and interesting series. The first three programs offered some basic information about the nature of the universe. The Big Bang explained the beginnings of universe and its effect on astronomical bodies thirteen and a half billion years later. The Sun and Other Stars focused on the life cycles of stars and the influence of the Sun on our planet. The Planets explored the nine (now eight) planets as well as several important moons in our solar system. Searching for Other Life Forms was about the quest to find life on other planets, whether it be simple bacteria, or intelligent beings. It was this final episode where the topic started getting very theoretical and mysterious.
The program Searching for Other Life Forms touched on major ideas of life on other planets that people are generally familiar with through the news and other sources. These include the presence of water indicating life, the comparison between Earth and other possible life-bearing planets, and the search for solar systems similar to our own. The aspect of trying to communicate with already formed and intelligent life via radio and light signal was also covered. The show took a very optimistic stance on the topic and left a lot of room for favorable speculation. It also seemed to support those who dedicate their lives searching for other life and transmitting signals.
I personally felt that the final program was a bit far stretched and rather silly. First, it seems unnecessary to find life on other planets, as it is very unlikely that humans will ever come in physical contact with martians due to sheer distance. Also, as the movie pointed out, bringing any type of life, even samples of bacteria to Earth can be very dangerous to life here. Besides that, the approach that is being taken to find life is full of assumptions and seems to be too self-reflecting. By this, I mean that we are applying our limited knowledge of life onto other possible life forms. For instance, the idea that intelligent beings somewhere in the universe may pick up signals that we send to them depends upon the chance that they have developed the same technologies that we have. The same is true for sending martians messages in different languages because it is possible that they may speak one of the languages that we speak on Earth; if they speak at all. I was surprised to learn that qualified scientists were dedicating their lives to a job that is based purely on a scant likelihood. To get another point of view on this, I looked up information on searching for life on other planets. I found the opinion-based article from NewScientist, Alien hunt is too exciting to ignore.
This article takes a rather defensive stance on the search for unknown life forms. In fact, the columnist values the search for extraterrestrial life above all else, stating that "Finding alien life would be the most important discovery in history." The article also argues that the space administrations are both not receiving enough funding as well as not approaching the task as they should. According to the writer, the search should be hands on and direct, with big, expensive projects and equipment. Also, there should be no shying away from being open and enthusiastic about the tests that the scientists are running and the voyages that they are going on.
In comparison with the editorial, the program Searching for Other Life Forms also placed a lot of value on searching for life on other planets. It presented the topic in an exciting and worthwhile manner, something that the article proclaimed there needed to be more of. The program reflected that it is human nature to want to search for life beyond our own existence, and therefore is an exciting and inevitable feat that we will undertake. The reader realized that same drive or motivation while reading the article: "...but arguably there's a bigger one: is there anyone out there?"
To contrast the editorial and the AV presentation, the article was much more critical of the actions of the audience (the people, the citizens, etc.) and the actions of the space administrations, particularly NASA. While watching the movie, I got the sense that many people were spending many hours with very advanced technology enthusiastically searching for other life forms. According to the online entry however, there is not enough of this forward drive that will potentially lead to an incredibly important discovery. It also becomes apparent in the news piece that the writer feels that NASA is acting too "coy" about the process, while the scientists who were interviewed in the movie were very open about exactly what they were doing and how they were doing it.
Clearly the search for life on other planets is a very debatable topic. The program Searching for Other Life Forms sheds some light on the issue and generally allows the viewer to form their own opinions on the various aspects of this feat. Beyond anything mentioned in the movie, searching for alien life is not only a complex scientific problem, but also a moral and social dilemma. There is quite a bit to this issue, but for now, it is mostly just speculation with a slow, but forward movement towards firm action.
In its entirety, The Expanding Universe was a very good series that I would recommend. All in all, the result was a galaxy's worth of good, solid fact with a sparkling shimmer of controversy and mystery.
