The search for “alien” intelligences isn’t only looking to outer space: some biologists are convinced that weird and wonderful forms of intelligence already exist right here on earth, and that they hold the key to understanding intelligence itself. In this article, Michael Levin tries to shake us out of any assumption that intelligent beings must be embodied in a conventional way. Instead, he suggests, patterns in a medium might be intelligent, and any distinction between thinkers and thoughts is in the eye of the beholder. SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, is a scientific endeavor with two key things going for it. First, it would have obvious and enormous impacts on our world if it were to succeed. And second, regardless of whether any extraterrestrial intelligence is found, it’s fascinating in and of itself because it forces us to ask fundamental questions in science and philosophy:What exactly are we looking for, and how do we know if w…

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