In Memoriam: Ernst Mayr (1904-2005)

by Amir Alexander

February 5, 2005:

Ernst Mayr

The Planetary Society has learned with great sadness of the death at the age of 100 of Ernst Mayr, one of the giants of the biological sciences in the 20th century. Mayr was a friend of the Society and in 1995 he engaged in a lively debate with Society co-founder Carl Sagan over the chances of success of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). The debate appeared in The Planetary Report and is now available online on The Planetary Society website
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In Memoriam: Ernst Mayr (1904-2005)

and

With the development of technology and our present understanding of the laws of nature, humanity is now in a position to verify or falsify the belief in extraterrestrial civilizations using experimental test. SETI is the quest for a generally acceptable cosmic context for humankind. In the deepest sense, this search is a search for ourselves.

Since the seminal paper by Giussepe Cocconi and Philip Morrison in 1959, the "orthodox view" among SETI proponents has been the following:
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Can SETI Succeed:
Carl Sagan and Ernst Mayr Debate

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