WE ARE ALL DESIGNIST NOW:

Some people hate to be alone. They like to think there must be somebody or something out there, beyond the limits of the Solar System. I see it otherwise - the possibility that we are the first intelligent species makes me feel special.

I've been contemplating the status of humankind because of two recent announcements. First, the Kepler Space Telescope team announced that they found an Earth-like planet named Kepler-452b in our galaxy, a mere 1,400 light-years from Earth.  

Second, the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence, SETI (now in its 55th year of listening to resounding silence), received a boost with the announcement that Yuri Milner, a wealthy Russian technology investor, will donate $100 million to give the program a makeover.

As a species we are naturally curious about whether we are alone. Milner believes the reason we've not found extra-terrestrial life is because haven't searched hard enough. As he put it: if you put a cup in the ocean and draw it out empty, that doesn't mean there are no fish.  

But it could mean no fish.

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