The Possibility of Life (Jaime Green)

The Possibility of Life: Science, Imagination, and Our Quest for Kinship in the Cosmos
Jaime Green
Hanover Square Press
Nonfiction, Media Reference/Science
**** (Good)

DESCRIPTION: Are we alone in the cosmos? Ever since humans realized we are not the center of the universe, many have looked to the skies and wondered if, somewhere beyond our tiny sphere, other minds were looking back at us. But where might such life be found? What would it look like? Would we even recognize it if we saw it? What would happen if we ever made contact? Could we even begin to communicate with extraterrestrials? Drawing on experts and sources in history, science, and visionaries in science fiction, the author explores the possibilities of life beyond Earth.

REVIEW: - Given the sheer scale of the universe at large, the idea that Earth alone has been blessed with life of any sort seems almost ludicrously self-centered. Whether that life ever moves beyond single-celled organisms, let alone achieves the level of civilization required to be detected, let alone initiate communication with us, is another matter altogether. In exploring how people have approached the notion of extraterrestrial life and potential for civilizations beyond Earth, the author demonstrates how it's as much about learning more about ourselves and our world - not just on a sheer biological level, but psychological and cultural levels - as it is about speculative evolution.
Drawing on both fact and speculative fiction - Green explores how our fiction about aliens has evolved, and how it reflects both the eras in which it was crafted and ultimately reflects human hopes and fears and understanding - the book explores a broad variety of topics encompassed in the seemingly simple question of whether or not alien life exists. In doing so, it reveals how much we still don't understand about ourselves and our fellow terrestrial life forms past and present; even the definition of "life" itself is slippery, let alone defining life as it might have sparked and evolved under vastly different conditions. On Earth, convergent evolution tends to arrive at similar solutions to general problems - as prehistoric reptiles and whales and fish arrived at roughly similar body plans for optimal aquatic survival, for instance, despite not being closely related - but would that be the case elsewhere? And then there's the matter of brain biology and psychology. When we have great trouble envisioning the world as, for instance, a dolphin or bat experiences it, would we even have a chance of understanding a hypothetical alien ambassador standing right in front of us? There is rarely consensus on any given topic, and Green tends not to rely on just one expert or source. She also acknowledges how cultural biases have colored speculations, even beyond our inherent human thought processes.
There are a few blind spots, particularly in the science fiction works she cites and which she chooses to explore in depth. (How could she discuss aliens thinking and communicating in barely-comprehensible-to-humans ways without mentioning the creations of C. J. Cherryh, who in at least one book (The Pride of Chanur) had a species speaking in matrices that even other aliens often struggled to understand?) A few topics also felt less deeply explored than others, though that's an understandable issue given that, thus far, the whole subject matter of the book is hypotheses and speculation, let alone the bits and pieces that make up that subject. The whole, however, is an interesting enough look at the matter of alien life, and how it ultimately often becomes a mirror in which to better understand our own selves and the futures we both fear and hope for.

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