8–13 Jun 2025
America/Winnipeg timezone
Welcome to the 2025 CAP Congress Program website! / Bienvenue au siteweb du programme du Congrès de l'ACP 2025!

Indigenizing the Drake Equation.

9 Jun 2025, 10:15
30m
Invited Speaker / Conférencier(ère) invité(e) Gender Equity in Physics / Équité de genre en physique (DGEP-DEGP) (DGEP) M1-1 Celebrating Indigenous Physicists | Célébration des physiciens indigènes (DEGP)

Speaker

Hilding Neilson (Dept of Physics & Physical Oceanography, Memorial University of Newfoundland & Labrador)

Description

The Drake Equation is a thought experiment whose purpose is to understand the ingredients necessary for life and advanced technological civilizations to exist on other worlds in our galaxy. However, beyond reflecting on life on Earth we have no knowledge of many of these ingredients, such as the number of planets that have life, the number of with intelligent life, the number with advanced civilizations, and the lifetimes of these civilizations. In this talk I will review the Drake Equation and the biases that scientists have traditionally had in discussing this equation and how it has led to the current searches of biological and technological signatures. I will discuss how the Drake Equation looks different if we consider it through the lens of Indigenous methods and sciences and how these methods would lead to a dramatically different view of life in our Galaxy.

Keyword-1 Indigenous Methods
Keyword-2 SETI

Author

Hilding Neilson (Dept of Physics & Physical Oceanography, Memorial University of Newfoundland & Labrador)

Presentation materials

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