Name: 我們要嘗試與外星人溝通嗎？| BBC Ideas (Should we try to communicate with aliens? | BBC Ideas)
Uploaded: 2025-11-13T18:23:55.000Z
Duration: 5 min 22 s

嗯，這就是問題所在，不是嗎？

Has been for as long as anyone can remember.

這問題存在已久，久到我們記不得了。

the universe is so vast, many scientists think it's unrealistic to imagine we're the only form of life in it.

宇宙這麼浩瀚，許多科學家認為想像我們是唯一的生命形式是不切實際的。

Alien life may also be what we would consider intelligent.

外星生命也可能是我們認為的智慧生命。

But as the physicist Enrico Ferguson fermi asked in 1950, if we're not alone, where is everybody?

但正如物理學家 Enrico Fermi 在 1950 年所問的，如果我們不孤單，那大家都在哪裡？

The universe is full of natural radio waves generated by stars and planets and galaxies.

宇宙充滿了恆星、行星和星系產生的自然無線電波。

That's Mike Garrett, an astrophysicist and active member of seti, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.

他是 Mike Garrett，一位天體物理學家，也是 SETI 的活躍成員，SETI 是搜尋外星智慧。

Artificial radio waves are very spiky because they convey information.

人工無線電波非常尖峰，因為它們傳遞資訊。

So we're looking for anomalies, the signature of potentially other intelligent civilizations out there broadcasting to the universe.

所以我們在尋找異常，尋找宇宙中其他可能正在廣播的智慧文明的標誌。

What SETI assumes is that the aliens are very motivated, that they're going out of their way to send us intentional signals for our benefit.

SETI 的假設是，外星人非常有動機，他們會不遺餘力地向我們發送有益的訊號。

And that's Douglas Vacoach, the founder of meti, which stands for Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence.

而這位是 Douglas Vakoch，METI 的創始人，METI 代表傳送外星智慧。

Maybe we should do the heavy lifting by reaching out first.

也許我們應該主動出擊，先伸出援手。

Making the first move in any relationship has its risks.

在任何一段關係中，先採取行動都有風險。

Opening oneself up to rejection or worse.

敞開心胸面對被拒絕，甚至更糟的情況。

Stories of alien fleets visiting Earth with the sole intention of wiping us out are common ground for science fiction.

像是外星艦隊造訪地球，唯一的目的就是要消滅我們，這些故事在科幻小說裡很常見。

But there is a theory that if we're not careful, this could become science fact.

但有個理論認為，如果我們不小心，這可能會變成科學事實。

I think one of the things that Stephen Hawking, famous cosmologist, was said about this idea of transmitting signals is that it might not turn out very well for us here on this planet, just like it didn't turn out very well for the Native Americans when Columbus first settled there.

我想史蒂芬霍金這位著名的宇宙學家，對於傳送訊號這個想法曾說過，這對我們地球人來說可能不會有好結果，就像哥倫布剛到美洲時，對原住民來說結果也不太好一樣。

But METI is amongst those who see this argument as a red herring.

但 METI 卻是認為這個論點是轉移焦點的人之一。

Douglas and his colleagues believe that through TV and radio broadcasts, not to mention mobile phone towers, Earth has been leaking radiation into space for decades.

Douglas 和他的同事認為，透過電視和廣播，還有手機基地臺，地球幾十年來一直在向太空洩漏輻射。

This leakage is exactly what sets it look for as signs of life elsewhere.

這種洩漏正是尋找外星生命跡象的關鍵。

So it stands to reason that if aliens are listening, they could probably already hear us.

所以，如果外星人正在收聽，他們很可能已經聽到我們了。

One theory, known as the zoo hypothesis, is that aliens already know we exist.

一個稱為動物園假說的理論認為，外星人已經知道我們存在。

But rather than making contact, they're studying us from afar as if we were animals in a zoo.

但他們沒有接觸我們，而是從遠處研究我們，就像我們是動物園裡的動物一樣。

Douglas thinks that by sending out regular messages, we can demonstrate both our intelligence and and desire to communicate.

Douglas 認為，透過發送定期的訊息，我們可以展現我們的智慧和溝通的意願。

If you Imagine we go to the zoo and we're walking around and we see a bunch of giraffes.

想像一下，我們去動物園，走來走去，看到一群長頸鹿。

What happens if one of them turns around, looks us in the eye, and

如果其中一隻轉過來，看著我們的眼睛，然後

starts pounding out a series of prime numbers with its hoof?

用牠的蹄子敲打出一連串的質數，會發生什麼事？

We're trying to be the galactic giraffes here.

我們在這裡試圖扮演銀河長頸鹿的角色。

But for SETI and Mike, this remains problematic, though not against communicating per se.

但對 SETI 和 Mike 來說，這仍然是個問題，儘管並非反對溝通本身。

Mike argues that we need to think much more carefully about what we want to say and how we want to say it.

Mike 認為，我們需要更仔細地思考我們想說什麼以及如何說。

Who speaks for Earth and who has the right?

誰代表地球說話，誰才有權利？

When I see a lot of these signals being sent, they don't represent all of this planet.

當我看到這麼多訊號被發送出去，它們並不代表這個星球的全部。

You know, just arbitrarily sending signals out into space is not very democratic.

你知道，隨意地向太空發送訊號，這很不民主。

If humans were to enter a dialogue with an alien species, how would we get them to understand us?

如果人類要與外星物種展開對話，我們要如何讓他們理解我們？

Because of the enormous distances involved, we're also dealing in difficult timescales.

由於涉及巨大的距離，我們還必須處理艱難的時間尺度。

If we send a message to a life form thousand light years away, it will take 1000 years to reach them.

如果我們傳送一個訊息給一千光年外的生命體，需要一千年才能抵達。

And assuming their technology is similar to ours, we'd wait another thousand years for the reply.

假設他們的科技跟我們差不多，那我們還要再等一千年才能收到回覆。

It's almost like you get an email from someone 10 years ago and they say, yes, sounds great, but

這有點像是你收到十年前的電子郵件，對方說「嗯，聽起來很棒」，但是

you don't even remember what it was about.

你已經不記得那封信是關於什麼的了。

This only works if it's something embraced by generations to come.

這只有在後代子孫都能接受的情況下才有效。

The first message sent into space for the benefit of aliens was in 1974, more than 50 years ago.

第一則為了外星人利益而發送到太空的訊息是在 1974 年，距今超過 50 年了。

這則訊息後來被稱為 Arecibo 訊息。

And so far, we've received nothing in return.

到目前為止，我們還沒有收到任何回覆。

Which returns us to Enrico Fermi's question, where is everybody?

這又回到了 Enrico Fermi 的問題：大家都在哪裡？

Meti will continue reaching out to those planets that orbit within what's known as the Goldilocks Zone.

METI 將會持續聯繫那些繞著所謂「適居帶」運行的行星。

Not too hot, not too cold, just right for potential life.

溫度不會太熱也不會太冷，剛剛好適合潛在生命存在。

Meanwhile, Mike and SETI will keep an ear to the sky, advancing techniques to pick up signals from other worlds.

同時，Mike 和 SETI 會持續監聽天空，精進接收來自其他星球訊號的技術。

And maybe one day, just maybe, if we detect a signal and we know that we are not alone in the universe, I think that should make people happy.

也許有一天，真的，如果我們偵測到訊號，知道我們並不孤單，我覺得這應該會讓人很開心。

If we discover another civilization and they're very different from us, we'll realize actually how similar we are to our neighbors.

如果我們發現另一個文明，而且他們跟我們很不一樣，我們會意識到其實我們跟鄰居有多麼相似。

Should we try to communicate with aliens?