第20部分(第4/7 頁)

　the　astronomers　and　physicists　who　considered　the　possibility　of　contact　with　extraterrestrial　life　imagined　wonderful　benefits　to　mankind　from　such　a　contact。　But　other　thinkers；　philosophers　and　historians；　did　not　foresee　any　benefits　to　contact　at　all。

For　example；　astronomers　believed　that　if　we　made　contact　with　extraterrestrials；　mankind　would　be　so　shocked　that　wars　on　Earth　would　cease；　and　a　new　era　of　peaceful　cooperation　between　nations　would　begin。

But　historians　thought　that　was　nonsense。　They　pointed　out　that　when　Europeans　discovered　the　New　World…a　similarly　world…shattering　discovery…the　Europeans　did　not　stop　their　incessant　fighting。　On　the　contrary：　they　fought　even　harder。　Europeans　simply　made　the　New　World　an　extension　of　pre…existing　animosities。　It　became　another　place　to　fight；　and　to　fight　over。

Similarly；　astronomers　imagined　that　when　mankind　met　extraterrestrials；　there　would　be　an　exchange　of　information　and　technology；　giving　mankind　a　wonderful　advancement。

Historians　of　science　thought　that　was　nonsense；　too。　They　pointed　out　that　what　we　called　〃science〃　actually　consisted　of　a　rather　arbitrary　conception　of　the　universe；　not　likely　to　be　shared　by　other　creatures。　Our　ideas　of　science　were　the　ideas　of　visually　oriented；　monkey…like　creatures　who　enjoyed　changing　their　physical　environment。　If　the　aliens　were　blind　and　municated　by　odors；　they　might　have　evolved　a　very　different　science；　which　described　a　very　different　universe。　And　they　might　have　made　very　different　choices　about　the　directions　their　science　would　explore。　For　example；　they　might　ignore　the　physical　world　entirely；　and　instead　develop　a　highly　sophisticated　science　of　mind…in　other　words；　the　exact　opposite　of　what　Earth　science　had　do