評論
打印
Now we come to a critical point. Why should a line of evolution that has proceeded unchecked for hundreds of millions of years suddenly stop at the particular level of intelligence that we call "human"? Homo erectus had less brain power than Homo sapiens has; the successors to Homo sapiens should have more. If the past is any guide to the future, our descendants a billion years from now will surpass us in intelligence. And if the Earth is typical of planets in the cosmos -- and everything we know in astronomy and geology tells us that it is -- intelligent beings who live on planets billions of years older than the Earth have already reached that advanced level of intelligence that our successors will only achieve in the distant future.
現在，我們要談一個關鍵問題：為什么持續了數億年的不斷的進化過程在一個特定的智慧水平上，即我們稱之為"人類"的水平上突然中止了呢？智人比猿人的腦力發達;智人后代的腦力應該更發達。如果過去可以啟示將來，從現在起10億年后，我們的后代在智慧上將要超越我們。如果地球是宇宙中一個典型的行星的話——我們的天文和地質知識告訴我們事實正是這樣——那么居住在比我們的地球古老數十億年的星球上的智慧生物其智能早已達到了我們的后代在遙遠的未來才能達到的那種高級水平。
This argument, proceeding step by step on the basis of evidence acquired in the basic scientific disciplines, leads to the conclusion that life on other worlds is not only billions of years older than man, but also billions of years beyond him in intelligence.
這一論點是根據基礎科學學科研究中所獲得的證據一步步推導出來的。它導致了這樣一個結論：其他世界上的生命不僅比人類古老幾十億年，而且在智慧上也超過人類幾十億年。
What does a billion years mean in the evolution of intelligence? For an answer, look again at the fossil record. One billion years ago, the highest form of life on the Earth was a simple, wormlike animal. The creatures who dwell on planets a billion years older than the Earth must possess an intelligence that surpasses ours by as much as we surpass the mindless, soft-bodied creatures who burrow through the soil of our gardens.
在智慧進化中十億年意味著什么呢？讓我們再次從化石記錄中找尋答案。十億年前，地球上最高的生命形式是簡單的蠕蟲似的動物。住在比地球古老十億年的行星上的生命在智力上超越我們的程度，就如同我們超過那些在我們花園的土壤里鉆洞爬行的沒有思想的軟體動物一樣。
These considerations bring me full circle to my opening statement: According to the best scientific evidence, intelligent life on other worlds is likely to be as far beyond man as man is beyond the worm.
這些思考又使我回到開頭的論述。根據最有力的科學證據，其他星球上的智能生物可能遠遠超過地球上的人類，就像人類遠遠超過蠕蟲一樣。
Why is it so important, in a discussion of UFOs, to establish a scientific foundation for the existence of races more intelligent than man? The answer is related to the fact that the distances between the stars are so enormously great.
在有關不明飛行物的討論中，為什么確立比人類更聰明的種族存在的科學根據如此重要呢？其答案與恒星間那遙遠的距離有關。
If a UFO reaches the Earth, its crew must have covered those enormous distances somehow; they must have started out from someplace beyond the edge of our solar system. They cannot come from the Earth's sister planets, because no intelligent life exists in this solar systemexcept on our own planet. All the evidence acquired by NASA spacecraft in the past few years regarding Venus, Mars and Jupiter points to that conclusion. It follows that UFOs, if they arrive here, have come from another star.
如果一個不明飛行物飛達地球，其乘員一定是設法走過了那十分遙遠的距離，他們一定是從太陽系邊緣以外的某個地方出發的。他們不可能來自我們地球的姐妹行星，因為在太陽系中，除了我們自己的行星以外，沒有別的地方存在有智慧的生物。美國國家航空和航天局近幾年獲得的一切有關金星、火星和木星的證據都證實了這一結論。因此，如果有不明飛行物前來這里，那一定來自另一個恒星。
