Synopses & Reviews
If extraterrestrials ever landed on Earth, they would find us extremely strange. Their first intimation of our existence might well be a Super Bowl broadcast or a stray transmission from the Playboy channel. But, of course, they might seem equally strange to us. How strange? Their senses could be entirely different from ours—they might see in the infrared or “hear” radio waves.What would aliens look like? An intelligent octopus-like creature is certainly plausible. What about odd numbers of limbs—a three-legged alien with three arms and three eyes? What about an entire planet of immobile, silicon-based “trees” that communicate with each other via electrical signals?The Science of Aliens gets weirder still. Could a giant interstellar cloud be “alive” and intelligent? Could creatures live at extremely high pressures and temperatures? And which of these many possibilities would be similar enough to us that they could communicate with them, or they with us? Would they have any interest in abducting us? Would they want to have sex with us?In classic Pickover style, here is speculation at the far edge of knowledge—and beyond.
Synopsis
They've been depicted as everything from little green men, to amorphous gelatinous blobs, to sky-scraper-tall, laser-blasting monsters. But if we actually met aliens from outer space, what might they really look like? Popular author Clifford Pickover leaps light years beyond current knowledge to offer an eye-popping look at beings from beyond.
Packed with stunning descriptions and drawings that offer close-up looks at life out there, this fanciful book introduces creatures that see in the infrared or hear radio waves. It ponders beings that possess super brains within an octopus-like body, and three-eyed, three-armed creatures that look like high-tech versions of Dr. Seuss characters. Putting his imagination in hyper-drive, the author obliterates assumptions of life's limitations by contemplating a planet of immobile, silicon-based "trees" that communicate via electric signals, entities that survive at mega-high pressures and temperatures -- even interstellar clouds that can think. In classic Pickover style, here's speculation at the far edge of knowability...and beyond.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [209]-212) and index.