Over the past several decades, the discovery of thousands of exoplanets has, for many scientists, made the prospect of intelligent life elsewhere in the Universe seem far more likely. However, the increasingly powerful instruments that have expanded our reach into the cosmos are still yet to find any such proof. Essentially, we’re still projecting ourselves into the void. And, as this entertaining video by the Swedish video essayist David Wångstedt (aka LEMMiNO) details, it’s a centuries-old scientific tradition.
From 19th-century theories of civilisations beneath the cloud-cover of Venus and the ‘canals’ of Mars, to Nikola Tesla’s belief that he had received an interplanetary radio greeting, LEMMiNO provides a brief history of how even brilliant scientific minds have tended to fill knowledge gaps with theories of intelligent alien life. And, as recent examples, including speculation about ‘Oumuaua’s origins suggest, it’s a phenomenon that’s likely to continue until – if and when – we finally make contact.
Video by LEMMiNO
video
Animals and humans
Why be dragons? How massive, reptilian beasts entered our collective imagination
58 minutes
video
Biology
How the world’s richest reds are derived from an innocuous Mexican insect
5 minutes
video
Physics
The abyss at the edge of human understanding – a voyage into a black hole
4 minutes
video
Chemistry
Why do the building blocks of life possess a mysterious symmetry?
12 minutes
video
Cosmology
Tiny, entangled universes that form or fizzle out – a theory of the quantum multiverse
11 minutes
video
Metaphysics
Simple entities in universal harmony – Leibniz’s evocative perspective on reality
4 minutes
video
Biography and memoir
Passed over as the first Black astronaut, Ed Dwight carved out an impressive second act
13 minutes
video
Engineering
A close-up look at electronic paper reveals its exquisite patterns – and limitations
9 minutes
video
Cognition and intelligence
What’s this buzz about bees having culture? Inside a groundbreaking experiment
8 minutes