We are encouraged to rely more and more on government officials to do for us what we could equally well do for ourselves—and, maybe more importantly, not to do what might help us solve our own problems.
If we imagine a metric called the Pinocchio Scale, which measures the number of lies told by a politician as a percentage of his or her overall public statements, our current prime minister (for want of a better description), Airbus Albo, has moved well into uncharted territory.
As noted in Keith Windschuttle’s Chronicle (May 2012), Bob Brown received almost universal media derision for his speculations concerning the absence of contact with possible intra-galactic technological life-forms, and his support for “one-world democratic government”, somehow immune from takeover by some form of global autocracy. While Senator Brown’s thoughts concerning a global government seem in the “far out crazy” category, his comments regarding the “Great Silence” from some fifty years of searching (by SETI—“search for extra-terrestrial intelligence”— radio-astronomers) for some indication of another technology-based civilisation “out there”,are worthy of more serious consideration.
As the American radio-astronomer Frank Drake has pointed out, we can multiply together a sequence of estimated probabilities, none of which can be zero, to calculate the number of technology-based civilisations—at least one—among the Milky Way galaxy’s billions of stars, many (perhaps most) of…
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Madam: Archbishop Fisher (July-August 2024) does not resist the attacks on his church by the political, social or scientific atheists and those who insist on not being told what to do.
To claim Aborigines have the world's oldest continuous culture is to misunderstand the meaning of culture, which continuously changes over time and location. For a culture not to change over time would be a reproach and certainly not a cause for celebration, for it would indicate that there had been no capacity to adapt. Clearly this has not been the case
A friend and longtime supporter of Quadrant, Clive James sent us a poem in 2010, which we published in our December issue. Like the Taronga Park Aquarium he recalls in its 'mocked-up sandstone cave' it's not to be forgotten
Latest Articles
When Respectability Loses Her Virtue
We are encouraged to rely more and more on government officials to do for us what we could equally well do for ourselves—and, maybe more importantly, not to do what might help us solve our own problems.
John O’Sullivan
Sep 08 2024
10 mins
Airbus Albo’s Flights of Fancy
If we imagine a metric called the Pinocchio Scale, which measures the number of lies told by a politician as a percentage of his or her overall public statements, our current prime minister (for want of a better description), Airbus Albo, has moved well into uncharted territory.
Peter O'Brien
Sep 06 2024
5 mins
Dancing with Whales: The Lore-Fare Twist
Tony Thomas
Sep 05 2024
16 mins
Our Galactic Significance
John O’Connor
Jul 01 2012
7 mins
As noted in Keith Windschuttle’s Chronicle (May 2012), Bob Brown received almost universal media derision for his speculations concerning the absence of contact with possible intra-galactic technological life-forms, and his support for “one-world democratic government”, somehow immune from takeover by some form of global autocracy. While Senator Brown’s thoughts concerning a global government seem in the “far out crazy” category, his comments regarding the “Great Silence” from some fifty years of searching (by SETI—“search for extra-terrestrial intelligence”— radio-astronomers) for some indication of another technology-based civilisation “out there”, are worthy of more serious consideration.
As the American radio-astronomer Frank Drake has pointed out, we can multiply together a sequence of estimated probabilities, none of which can be zero, to calculate the number of technology-based civilisations—at least one—among the Milky Way galaxy’s billions of stars, many (perhaps most) of…
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What to read next
Letters: Authentic Art and the Disgrace of Wilgie Mia
Madam: Archbishop Fisher (July-August 2024) does not resist the attacks on his church by the political, social or scientific atheists and those who insist on not being told what to do.
Roger Franklin
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6 mins
Aboriginal Culture is Young, Not Ancient
To claim Aborigines have the world's oldest continuous culture is to misunderstand the meaning of culture, which continuously changes over time and location. For a culture not to change over time would be a reproach and certainly not a cause for celebration, for it would indicate that there had been no capacity to adapt. Clearly this has not been the case
Andrew Paterson
Aug 20 2024
23 mins
Pennies for the Shark
A friend and longtime supporter of Quadrant, Clive James sent us a poem in 2010, which we published in our December issue. Like the Taronga Park Aquarium he recalls in its 'mocked-up sandstone cave' it's not to be forgotten
Clive James
Aug 16 2024
2 mins