JUNE 16, 2022 – (Cont.) “From there we continually outdid ourselves in the pursuit of technology and production of stuff, fueled by coal and oil—fossil fuels—which heated the foundries that made the steel from which clever humans made heavy railroads, heavy machinery, and tall buildings, all in turn heated propelled and lubricated by the same …

JUNE 15, 2022 – (Cont.) “To be sure,” I continued, “throughout the planet’s epochs, the natural order produced periods of inhospitable climate. Many of these epochs preceded our tree-bound ancestors, but many untoward phases followed our first recognizably deep-throated (and fully attired) appearance—times involving regional droughts, ice ages (big and mini), warming of polar regions, …

JUNE 14, 2022 – (Cont.) The alien’s filaments blinked—at an evenly pace, as if signaling patience while I assembled a response to the “why” of our myopia. Hadn’t I explained myself clearly enough? Dopamine plus a limited life span. Simple enough. But what about the original question of this phase—the notion of our “worst bad …

JUNE 13, 2022 – (Cont.) “Dopamine and myopia are easy to come by,” I said. “You start with fat and sugar to create fast food. Once you have humans hooked on burgers, fries, and chocolate shakes, dopamine flows fast and furiously. Then you step things up. You dream up, design, build, distribute, and sell more …

JUNE 12, 2022 – (Cont.) “You see, because of our biological needs, we’re very short-term creatures. No oxygen, we perish in minutes. No water, a couple of days. No food, a bit longer, but not much longer. And even if we have plenty of food, water, and oxygen, one way or another our bodies give …

JUNE 11, 2022 – Blinking but without humming or saying a word, the alien rose from the table and gracefully exited through the central screen panel of the porch. It then soared to the top of a neighbor’s maple tree and rested there, pulsating, for several minutes before retracing its course back to the tabletop. …

JUNE 10, 2022 – (Cont.) And I hadn’t gotten to Beethoven yet. I found a YouTube recording of his Ninth performed by the Berlin Phil, Herbert Von Karajan conducting. I went straight to the fourth movement featuring Schiller’s Ode to Joy and let it rip. If the alien had the equivalent of socks, surely this musical …

JUNE 9, 2022 – (Cont.) “Bach the church musician, wrote St. John Passion and St. Matthew Passion, ‘John’ and ‘Matthew’ each being a gospel writer, four gospels—plus the Epistles and the Book of Revelation constituting the New Testament . . .” I stopped, realizing I’d slid recklessly back down the rabbit holes of religion, scripture, …

JUNE 8, 2022 – (Cont.) “Bach himself wrote a preface to his collection of Inventions. Let me read it to you,” I said, “which I found on the internet—arguably one of the other great inventions of human civilization”: Forthright instruction, wherewith lovers of the clavier [precursor of the modern piano], especially those desirous of learning, …

JUNE 6, 2022 – (Cont.) “Can I ask,” I said, “if the concept of beauty exists on your Goldilocks planet?” The alien’s luminous filaments expanded, then contracted rhythmically, as if part of a philosophical pulmonary function. My question had registered, but absent a verbal explanation, I couldn’t divine the alien’s bottom-line reaction. “Yes,” said the …

JUNE 5, 2022 – (Cont.) As seconds became minutes, I felt tension within my indecision. The question before me was the most critical the alien could pose. Thus far in our conversation, the information and insights I’d provided were sorely inadequate or worse; at best, a mixed bag. Now I faced a renewed quandary in …

JUNE 4, 2022 – “Tell me,” said the alien. “What’s your best stuff?” I was taken aback. Was the question posed with low expectations or . . . by my having mentioned the human capacity for self-reflection, did the alien think I’d edified the case for humanity? And where to begin with a response?! This …

JUNE 3, 2022 – (Cont.) If Putin is a monster by modern standards (he’s responsible for dastardly deeds in Syria, Mali, and elsewhere too), he has considerable catching-up to do to rival his 16th century predecessor, Ivan the Terrible, who, to teach the upstarts of Novgorod a lesson, ordered 50,000 residents to be hacked to …

JUNE 2, 2022 – (Cont.) “But many other phenomena weren’t so obvious. Why, for example, was bad stuff—storms, earthquakes, pestilence, attacks by wild animals—continually happening? Without clearly observable causes, the human psyche had to create them. What moved this process along were dreams. Yes, dreams in which all sorts of weird stuff occurred—including the appearance …

JUNE 1, 2022 – (Cont.) “I’m feeling an alien concept,” said the . . . alien. “Huh?” “On Planet Goldilocks, reason rules. Apparently that’s not the case on earth. The absence of omnipresent reason is new to me.” “Hold on,” I said defensively. “The ability to reason at the human level distinguishes us from all …

MAY 31, 2022 – (Cont.) “But that’s only half the problem. The other half is our quintessentially human subjectivity. You can see it played out a million ways every day. In the face of complete, accurate, empirical data and iron-clad logic, people still succumb to subjective judgment. “In this regard I’m reminded of a conversation …

MAY 30, 2022 – “Just a sec,” I said, pretending to take a big swig of lemonade but really only gathering my thoughts. I liked the familiar manner of the alien’s communication. It was reassuring, given that the creature’s physical aspect bore no resemblance to any Hollywood conception of space aliens, good or evil: it …

MAY 29, 2022 – (Cont.)“What’s another critical function of Vikings vs. Packers football?” “It’s a good way for people to burn off emotions. The original Vikings were wild, seafaring Norseman from Old Scandinavia, mostly Danes and Norwegians (the Swedish Vikings were more into trade), who descended mostly upon the British Isles to wreak havoc wherever …

MAY 28, 2022 – “Well, on a happy note and apropos of our individualism is the diversity of our personal interests beyond mere existence. This results from our social and technological evolution and revolutions that have allowed us to flourish, despite our destructive behavior.” “What on earth are you talking about now?” I liked the …

MAY 27, 2022 – (Cont.) “In short, if you think each of the 7.8 billion galaxies is always in perfect balance, steady harmony with itself 24/7, you’re mistaken.” “What’s ‘24/7’?” “Sorry. It’s a reference to time, as in constant. ‘Twenty-four-seven’ is a relatively recent linguistical development. Twenty years ago no human would’ve understood it—mostly because …

MAY 25, 2022 – (Cont.) “Hello?” I said. “Here.” “Do you have any reaction to what I’ve said about human independence, loneliness and insecurity?” “It’s all strange,” it said. “Where I’m from, there’s no ‘I,’ just ‘we.’ We use ‘I’ only because of our imperative, ‘When in another’s world, adapt to the surroundings.’ Since you’re …

MAY 24, 2022 – (Cont.) “That might explain,” said the alien, “why in my approach I saw so much light on the dark side of your planet.” I laughed reflexively, but conveniently, I’d just taken a swig of lemonade and was thus able to disguise my impolite outburst as coughing. “Actually,” I said, “those weren’t …

MAY 23, 2022 – “Geologists tell us,” I said, “that the earth was formed around 4.5 billion . . .” “Skip the science stuff,” said the alien. “I’m well-versed in it. How do you think I found my way here?” “You’ve got a point,” I said, “but where, then, should I begin?” “I wanna know …