Our Universe hosts some incredible rarities, from the mineral kyawthuite to the white peacock. But we often don’t appreciate that we ourselves are rare beings.
Yuri Milner echoes this sentiment in his book, Eureka Manifesto: The Mission for Our Civilization. Both a personal manifesto and a message to humanity, this work is a call to explore our Universe so we can finally understand it.
Years ago, physicist Alan Lightman used satellite data to estimate the fraction of stars with potentially habitable planets. He found that even if every planet that could host life did host life, the fraction of living beings in the Universe would still only be around one-billionth of one-billionth.
As such, in Eureka Manifesto, Milner refers to human life as a “miracle.” We give the Universe meaning. Without us, it would simply exist. That’s why our mission to fully understand it is vital.
It’s Up to Us to Explore the Universe
We may have made amazing discoveries as humans, but our progress is chaotic. We experience challenge after challenge as we attempt to share the Earth’s resources. We often fail to see the bigger picture, playing zero-sum games and tending only to our short-term needs.
This is why Milner believes we should adopt a shared mission to understand our Universe. Our backgrounds and cultures are irrelevant — the mission is the same for all of us. If we succeed, we could open doors to impressive technological developments and extend our civilisation beyond our world into the broader Universe.
If we don’t embrace our mission, we risk the human race dying out. Our species is one of the Universe’s rarities, and there’s nothing to say we’ll be around forever.
While here on Earth, we may well be the only intelligent beings in the cosmos. This means it could be up to us — and us only — to uncover the Universe’s past, present, and future. If we don’t, it could be billions of years before another intelligent civilisation emerges.
Of course, we might not be the only intelligent species in the Universe. Milner warns that, in this case, it would be “deeply unwise for us to relax our ambitions and rely on the aliens to pursue the mission.”
Humanity: A Rarity in Space and Time
When Lightman found that living beings are rare in the Universe, he also found that they’re rare in time. In a few hundred billion years, all the stars will burn out, and we will have depleted all energy sources. This is when life in the Universe will end.
This gives us enough time, Milner says, to explore.
Learn more about our collective mission in Eureka Manifesto.
About Yuri Milner
The vision that Yuri Milner lays out in Eureka Manifesto is also clear in his philanthropic projects. He created the Breakthrough Foundation to support these projects, which include the Breakthrough Prize, the Breakthrough Initiatives, the Breakthrough Junior Challenge, and Tech For Refugees.
The Breakthrough Prize gives scientists the same acclaim that celebrities receive. Aside from winning $3 million prizes, researchers who are changing the world receive these awards at a glitzy ceremony dubbed the “Oscars of Science.”
The Breakthrough Initiatives are space science programmes examining crucial questions about life in the Universe. Lines of inquiry include ‘Is interstellar travel within our grasp?’ and ‘Are we alone in the Universe?’
The Breakthrough Junior Challenge invites teenagers worldwide to create compelling videos that illuminate challenging scientific concepts. These young people create thousands of videos between them, educating each other as they compete to win life-changing prizes.
Tech For Refugees bolsters technology-based projects assisting Ukrainian refugees and other displaced individuals across the globe. The organisation partners with some of the world’s biggest technology organisations to provide these people with essential resources.
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