• DOI:10.1086/289729
Corpus ID: 120672390

Big Numbers and Induction in the Case for Extraterrestrial Intelligence

@article{Mash1993BigNA,
  title={Big Numbers and Induction in the Case for Extraterrestrial Intelligence},
  author={Roy Mash},
  journal={Philosophy of Science},
  year={1993},
  volume={60},
  pages={204 - 222}
}

• Roy Mash
• Published 1993
• Mathematics
• Philosophy of Science

Arguments favoring the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence nearly always contain an overt appeal to big numbers, often combined with a covert reliance on generalization from a single instance. In this paper I examine both motifs, and consider whether big numbers might actually make palatable otherwise implausible single-case inductions. In the end, the dispute between believers and skeptics is seen to boil down to a conflict of intuitions which can barely be engaged, let alone resolved… Expand