The Science of Aliens

Clifford A. Pickover
Basic Books, 1998, ISBN 0-465-07314-X
Dozens of Illustrations!

"Pickover just seems to exist in more dimensions than the rest of us."
- Ian Stewart, Scientific American

If extraterrestrials ever landed on Earth, they would find us extremely strange. Their first intimation of our existence might well be a presidential speech or the Olympic Games, a mud wrestling match or perhaps a T.V. show like Ally McBeal or 3rd Rock From the Sun. 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-and they might look completely different from us.

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 scientifically-based speculation at the far edge of knowledge-and beyond. Clifford A. Pickover, Ph.D., is on the research staff of the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center. He is a regular columnist for Discover Magazine and an Associate Editor for Computers and Graphics, Computers in Physics, Odyssey, and Theta. Previous books include Strange Brains and Genius, Keys to Infinity, Computers and the Imagination, Time: A Traveler's Guide, Black Holes: A Traveler's Guide, and The Alien IQ Test. Dr. Pickover lives in Yorktown Heights, New York.

Are We Alone?

I first became obsessed with the notion of alien lifeforms as a child watching black-and-white episodes of the 1960s' TV series The Outer Limits. You can't imagine how profoundly affected I was by the blurring of fact and fiction. The strange array of aliens, from the antlike Zanti Misfits to the noble Galaxy Being, made the unbelievable seem a frighteningly real possibility.

My interest was further stimulated in the late 1960s by the TV series Lost in Space which dealt with the travels of a human family exploring strange planets. Their mission, set in the not-too-distant future, was to begin colonization of a planet near the star Alpha Centauri. Unfortunately, their craft went off course, and they lost all contact with Earth.

The most memorable Lost in Space episode dealt with an intergalactic zoo. When the animals accidentally escape, an odd assortment of 2-legged, hairy, bug-eyed monsters came ambling, running, leaping, and shuffling from the zoo enclosure. It hardly occurred to me to ask myself what would it really be like to visit an intergalactic zoo. Would the creatures look like the ones on the TV show?

What if you could visit an intergalactic zoo filled with intelligent lifeforms? Would the aliens have heads, arms, and legs, or even be vaguely humanoid? The challenging task of imagining aliens from other worlds is useful for any species that dreams of understanding its place in the universe.

Are humans alone in the universe? This question is one of the oldest questions posed by philosophers and scientists, and it and has profound implications for our world view. For the first time in history, questions about extraterrestrial life have left the realm of theology and science fiction and entered the real of experimental science. Recent advances in biochemistry and molecular biology  suggest that life -- even life on Earth -- can exist in incredibly diverse and bizarre environments. Recent discoveries of life living miles under the Earth in utter darkness, or in ice, or even in boiling water, tell us: that which is possible in nature tends to become realized. My personal view is that almost everything happens in our universe that is not forbidden by the laws of physics and chemistry. Life on Earth can thrive in unimaginably harsh conditions, even in acid or within solid rock. On the ocean floor, bacteria thrive in scalding, mineral-laden hot springs. If microbes thrive in such miserable conditions on Earth, where else beyond Earth might similar life forms exist?

Here is the book's Table of Contents. The numerous, fantastic images (and references to popular culture) should appeal to readers of all ages.

Table of Contents:

Related Pickover books include the best-selling The Alien IQ Test also published by Basic Books and Time: A Traveler's Guide published by Oxford University Press. 

Terms Indexed in The Science of Aliens

(This is meant to give a clearer indication of topics covered.)

Abduction, 175-190 Abiogenesis, 110 Abyormenites, 22-23 Acid lovers, 73 Acidophiles, 73 Acontium cylatium, 74 Adams, Fred, 79 Aging, 58 Alkali lovers, 74 Aldrin, Buzz, 137 Algae, 71, 73 ALH 84001, 117 Alien IQ Test, 175 Alkalophiles, 74 Alpha Centauri, xi, 137, 199(n12) Amino acids, 98, 103-104 Anacridium, 130 Anaerobes, 70, 202(n 3) Anderson, Dale, 73 Anderson, Pamela Sue, 7 Angler fish, 35 Ankistrodesmius, 72 Antarctica, 71, 73, 76 Anthony, Piers, 131 Antifreeze, 71 Ants, 40, 88 Appearance, 13-44 Archae, 58 Archaebacteria, 64 Arcus electricus, 111 Arecibo, 152 Argus, 162 Aridophiles, 76 Arms, 28 Arrhenius, Svante, 96 Art, 87, 146 Artemia franciscana, 169 Astroplankton, 96 ATP, 98, 105 Azadians, 132 Aztecs, 172 Ball, John, 174 Barlowe, Wayne, xi Barnes, John, 137 Barophiles, 76 Basidiomycetes, xiv Bats, 54 Baywatch, 7 Beavis and Butthead, 7 Becker, Craig, x Bees, 37, 40, 51-52 Behaviors, 43 BETA, 158 Big Crunch, 80, 84 Bishop, Michael, 145 Black Cloud, 83, 99-100 Black holes, 80 Black Sea, 93 Black widow, 35 Bonnelia, 35 Borgs, 39-40 Bracewell, Ronald, 154 Brains, 9, 25-27, 29, 57, 102, 182 Brin, David, 61 Brown dwarfs, 80, 84-85, 92, 203(n5) Burial, 8 Burroughs, Edgar Rice, 116 Burrowers, 88 Capek, Carol, 83 Carnap, Rudolph, 142 Carpenter, John, 173 Carr, Terry, 145 Casti, John 152 Caves, 69 Cetacea, 27 Chalker, Jack, 42 Chaos in Wonderland, 102, 112-114, 126, 130 Cheela, 90-91 Childhood's End, 61 Chimpanzees, 59, 183 Chlamydomonas nivalis, 72 Chlamydomonas, 121 Chloromonas, 72 Christianity, 172 Clarke, Arthur, C., vi, 61, 112 Cleaner fish, 125 Clegg, James, 169 Clement, Hal, 22, 73, 88 Close Encounters of the Third Kind, 15 Close to Critical, 73 Clouds, 100, 102 Cluster, 131 Codes, 144, 148 Cohen, Jack, x Cold lovers, 71 Colonies, 37-38 Columbia Plateau, 78 Comets, 106 Communication, 36, 46, 58-59, 81, 101, 135-162 Communion, 5, 15, 178 Conscience Interplanetary, 35 Contact, 157 Coxiella, 118 Crabs, horseshoe, 20 Crick, Francis, 97, 112 Cronin, John, 104 Crosse, Andrew, 111 Cryers, 35-37 Cryonics, 168-169 Crystalloluminescence, 93 Cuttlefish, 26 Cyanidium caldarium, 71, 74 Cycle of Fire, 22 Cygnans, 31-32 Dark lovers, 69, 85, 92-93 Darwin, Charles, 77 Davis, Joe, 144 Death of the Cosmos, 80 Death, 168 Deep biology, 65, 78 DeVries, Ken, 53 Dexterity, 55, 183 Diaea ergandros, 130 Diamond, Jared, 183 Diffuse Ones, 80-82 Digestive system, 24 Dimorphism, sexual, 35 Diplozoon paradoxum, 124 Dirdir, 127 Disch, Thomas, 145 DNA, 64, 68, 71, 72, 98, 103, 105-106, 109, 144, 152, 194 Dolphins, 16, 27, 184, 188 Dragon's Egg, 90 Drake, Frank, xi, 9, 13, 43-44, 45, 57, 156, 157 Dryness lovers, 76 Dunaniella salina, 76 Dyson, Freeman, 83, 101, 182 Echinoderms, 25 Eels, 54 Eggs, 125 Eigenmannia, 55 Einstein, Albert, x, 8, 164 Electric senses, 28, 46, 54 Elephant fish, 54 Enceladus, 112, 116 Encouter with Tiber 137 End of the Universe, 80 Energy, 63, 81, 94, 167 Epidemics, 98 Epilepsy, 178-181 Etruscan, 148 Eubacteria, 68 Eukaryotes, 68 Europa, xiv, 112-115, 193 Everett, Hugh, 17 Evolution, 16-17, 27, 50, 59, 64, 77, 183, 200(n2) Extremophiles, 61-78 Eyes, 50, 54, 69, 87, 93, 146 Falwell, Jerry, 7 Farmer, Philip Jose, 131 Fatty acids, 73 Feinberg, Gerald, 101, 109 Feynman, Richard, 167 Fire, 188 Fishes, 86 Flatlander, 61 Flicker-fusion, 51-52 Forsberg, Johan, x, 13, 133 Forward, Robert, 90 Frequency, radio, 205(n 1) Freudenthal, Hans, 149 Frogs, 126 Fromm, Eric, 197 Fungi, xiv Galaxies, 43-44 Galaxy Being, xi Galileo probe, 193 Ganymede, 112-113 Gardner, Martin, 142 Gates, Bill, 8 Genecore International, 64 Genetics, 143-144 Genocides, 145 Gestures, 43 Gibbs, Nancy, 27 Gimenez, Eduardo, x Glass, Dave, xi Glise 229B, 85 Glycopeptides, 71 God, 18, 53, 141-142, 180, 192 Gold, Thomas, 65 Gould, Stephen J., 182 Grasso, Michael, 185 Gravity, high, 87-91 Green, Joseph, 35 Group minds, 37-40 Gymnarchus, 46 Haldane, J. B. S., 96 Halobacterium, 75 Halophiles, 75 Hamster, 129 Hawking, Stephen, 80, 195 Heat detection, 46 Heat Lovers, 70 Heinlein, Robert, 18, 99, 119, 133, 145 Hermaphrodites, 121, 124-125, 131 Herschel, William, 112 Heteromita globosa, 73 Heterotrophs, 73, 75, 202(n 8) Hiji, 8 Hill, Betty and Barney, 185 Hive minds, 37-40 Hoagland, Richard, 112 Hocker, Mike, xi Holly, 58 Hollywood, 15 Homosexuality, 122 Hoyle, Fred, 83, 98, 99-100 Humor, 132 Hybernation, 169 Hydras, 25 Hydrocarbons, 108 Hydrogen sulfide, 63, 70 Hydrogenosomes, 70 Hyenas, 122 Hyperthermophiles, 64 Iain Banks, 132 Ichthyosaur, 16 Immortals, 56-57, 58, 66, 79-80, 168 Independence Day, 14-15, 19, 26, 28, 135 Intelligence, group, 37 Intelligence, 27-28, 174, 183 Intercourse, 128 Interidal zone, 187 Io, 116, 193 Ixchels, 52-53 James, William, 180 Japan Marine Science Center, 76 Japan Trench, 76 Jastrow, Roger, 112 Jellyfishes, 21, 25 Jesus, 78 Jokes, 132 Jonas David, xi, 37, 49 Jonas, Doris, xi, 37, 49 Jung, Carl, 140 Jupiter, 112 Kaufman, Walter, 167 Kirk, James T., 122 Kishi, Greg, xi Klass, Phillip, 186 Knife fishes, 54 Known Space, 61-62 Koans, 195 Krauss, Lawrence, 167 Kraus, Karl, 190 Kurtz, Paul, 163 L'Engle, Madelein, 53 Lake Hoare, 73 Lake Nakuru, 75 Lake, David, 131 LaPlante, Eve, 178-179 Lasers, 156 Lateral line, 85-86 Laughlin, Gregory, 79 Leandra, 101 Leary, Timothy, 8 Legs, 28, 59 Leinster, Murray, 146 Lem, Stanislaw, 145 Leptospira, 99 Lewis, C. S., 190 Lichens, 58, 73, 76 Light speed, 163-165 Limbic system, 27 Lincos, 149-150 Lipids, 73 Lobsters, 55 Lost in Space, xiii Lovecraft, H. P., 56 Lovejoy, C. Owen, 183 Low-energy creatures, 81 Lowell, Percival, 112 Luxons, 165 Mack, John, 175, 178, 184 Mad-cow disease, 107 Major Operation, 41 Mansfield, Brian, 39, 52, 56, 89, 171, 177 Many-worlds, 17-18 Mars Attacks, 19 Mars, 65-66, 97, 116-118 Marshall, Brad, x Mass increase, 167, 207(n 1) Mathematical tests, 150-152 Mathematics, 140-142, 146-147 Matriphagy, 130 Mayr, Ernst, 157 McKay, David, 117 McLean, Jim, xi, 189 Melrose Place, 7 Memoirs of a Spacewoman, 22 Mesklinites, 88-89 Mesophilites, 72 Messages, 135-162, 150-152 Messengers, 153-154 META, 158 Metal, worlds without, 189 Metalophiles, 66-67 Meteorites, 97, 103, 117 Methane, 68 Methanothermus fervidus, 63 Michaund, Michael, 82 Milky Way, 43-44 Minks, 130 Mission of Gravity, 88 Mitchison, Naomi, 19 Moffit, Donald, 31-32 Mohammad, 180 Moles, 88 Monkeys, 59, 127 Moons, 116, 187 Mormyrids, 55 Moses, 180 Mosquitos, 48 Moth Book, 183 Moth, emperor, 47 Moth, luna, 50-51 Moth, yucca, 9 Mountains of Madness, 56 Movile Cave, 69 MTV, 7 Music, 136 Mycanthococcus, 72 Narcophiles, 170 NASA, 72, 162 Navanax, 130 Negev Desert, 76 Nervous system, 25-27, 57 Neutron stars, 80, 91-92 Niven, Larry, 61-62 Notonecta, 128 Number systems, 138-139 Octopuses, 26, 28-29 Old Ones, 56-57 Onstott, Tullis, 65 Orgel, Leslie, 97 Origin (of life), 64, 79-94 Osmosis, 75 Ostrea edulisOther Senses, Other Worlds, 37, 49 Outer Limits,xiii Oxygen haters, 70 Palace of Eternity, 146, 166 Palomar, 156 Panspermia, 95-98 Parallel universes, 17-18, 163, 176, 195 Paramecium, 121 Parasites, brain, 4 Parthenogenesis, 125 Penises, 124, 126-127 Percholorethylene, 62 Persian, 6, 11 Photosynthesis, 85 Phyla, 63 Pickover, Clifford, 213-214 Picrophilus oshimae, 74 Pizzarello, Sandra, 104 Plasma life, 194 Plasmodes, 101 Playboy, 7, 49, 87, 184 Player of Games, 132 Playnereis megalops, 124 Pohl, Frederick, 82 Polarians, 131 Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, 117 Prairie dogs, 38 Pressure lovers, 76 Pressure, 87-91 Priests, 84 Prime numbers, 139 Prohaptors, 4 Project Phoenix, 158 Prokaryotes, 68 Proteins, 107 Pseudocopulation, 122 Psychrophiles, 71 Puppet Masters, 99 Pyrococcus furiosus, 63, 80 Quantum mechanics, 17-18 Quarantine, 189 R.U.R., 83 Rabiner, Susan, xi Radiates, 22 Radiation, 67, 96 Radio telescope, 199(n1) Radiobes, 101 Raphionema, 72 Ravera, Mark, 144 Reactions, oscillating, 101-102 Rebek, Jules, 109 Relativity, 164 Reproduction, 100 Rheobatrachus, 126 Rhinoviruses, 98 Rimicaris exoculta, 92-93 RNA, 64, 105-107, 109, 188 Roberts, Dave, xi Rodents, 38 Rodriguez, Carol, 176 Roumiantseva, Dina, x Sagan, Carl, 9, 96, 112, 136, 157, 194 Salt lovers, 75 Saxenmeyer, Martie, x Schistosoma heamatobium, 130 Scotophiles, 69 Sea monkeys, 169 Sector General, 41, 61 Self-organizing systems, 38 Senses, 26, 28, 37, 45-60, 85-86 SERENDIP, 158 Serromyia femorata, 124 SETI, 6, 152, 157-162, 195 SETI Institute, 157 SETI League, 159-162 Sex, 33-35, 119-134 Sex changes, 122, 124-125 Sexual canibalism, 124, 130 Sexual differentiation, 120 Shapiro, Robert, 109 Shaw, Bob, 146, 166 Shells, 55 Shrimp, 92-93, 169 Shuch, H. Paul, x, 159-160 Silicon, 35, 107-108, 204(n 5) Simak, Clifford, 146 SKAI, 159 Skates, 54 Sleep, 170 Smell, 46-49 Snakes, 46, 48 Sobel, Dava, xi Soda Lakes, 64, 75 Solaris, 145 Solfataras, 74 Spaceships, 164, 167, 173 Species 8472, 171 Speech, 32-33, 59 Sperms, 128-129 Spiders, 35 Species, 119 Spielberg, Steven, 15, 158 Spores, 96 Squids, 26 Star Trek, 14, 19, 39, 165, 171 Starfishes, 25 Starship Troopers, 145 Stelarc, x, 196 Sternophygus, 55 Stranger in a Strange Land, 133 Strieber, Whitley, 5, 14, 175, 178-180, 186 Subterranean life, 64, 69, 78 Sulfolobus acidocaldarius, 74 Sullivan, Michelle, 22-23, 32, 36, 127, 177 Sullivan, Walter, xi, 91, 105, 129 Super Bowl, 7 Suspended animation, 169 Symmetry 18-21 Symmetry, bilateral, 14, 24, 50 Symmetry, radial, 19, 22, 24 Tachyonic aliens, 164-165 Tachyons, 165-166 Taghizadeh, Jalil, x Tail, prehensile, 17 Tanais, 121 Tarsier, 143 Technetium, 156 Technological aliens, 30 Temperature sensing, 86 Temporal lobe epilepsy, 178-181 Tenn, William, 131 Termites, 37-38 The Jupiter Theft, 31-32 The Three Stooges, 7 Theresa (Mother), 8 Thermophiles, 62-63, 70, 93 They Live, 173 Thiobacillus ferrooxidans, 74 Third Rock from the Sun Tide pools, 188 Tide 1, 85 Time and Again, 146 Time dilation, 82 Tiniest life, 118 Titan, 102-103, 194 Transformation, 180 Travel (space), 163-174 Tribbles, 121-122 Trichloroethylene, 62 Trilobites, 20 Triton, 193 Troglomorphy, 70 Tsiolkovsky, Konstantin, 172 Tull, Jethro, 190 TV shows, 7, 155 Ultraviolet, 51, 201(n 1) Umwelt, 59 Vacuum, 77, 83, 203(n 3) Vallee, Jacques, 163 Van Dover, Cindy, 92 Vance, Jack, 127, 145 Venter, J. Craig, 67 Vents, hydropthermal, 64, 92 Verschuur, Gerrit, 189 Viruses, 98 Vision, 29, 50-51, 54-55, 85-87, 92 Voyager, 136 Voynich manuscript, 149 Wald, George, 135 War of the Worlds, 99, 145 War, 172-173 Water worlds, 30, 187 Well of Souls, 42 Wells, H.G., 99, 145 Whales, 27 White dwarfs, 80 White, James, 41, 61 Wickramasinghe, Chandra, 98 Winarski, Dan, xi Witten, Edward, 195 World at the End of Time 82 Worm holes, 170 Worms, 63, 121, 130 Worms, ice, 76 Wrasse, 125 Wrinkle in Time, 52 X-Files, 1 Zanti Misfits, xi Zinder, Stephen, 62 Zoo, 174

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