Hi!
Hawking made his pronouncements about aliens more than three years ago,
but the debate about statements made by scientists cum media figures
continues. Stephen Freeland wrote this insightful article on the
occasion. His observations still bear thinking about.
"Scientific knowledge is quite different from the authoritatively-voiced
opinions of a famous scientist. The remarkable scientific successes that
have brought professor Hawking well-deserved fame (and thus a voice that
the public wants to hear) also bring a responsibility to clearly
distinguish these two different types of information when commenting on
the potential dangers of an encounter with extra-terrestrial
intelligence. Listeners are otherwise led to one of two incorrect
inferences: that scientific knowledge exists where it does not, or that
speculation is the best that science can currently offer."
http://glasswings.com.au/essays/dangerous-aliens.html
Peace,
Katherine
