N = R* fp ne fl fi fc L

The statement slightly north of here is, as any fule kno, the Drake Equation. The great man himself was on the radio the other day and listening to him sparked off some Quizzical thoughts. Possibly the biggest thoughts any Observer can have.

The Drake Equation suggests a solution for the number of communicating intelligences in our galaxy. As I understand it, the solution on our current estimates for all the variables in the equation gives a pretty small number. But it's greater than zero. Now, since our galaxy is only one of quite a lot in the universe (we don't know, but estimates go from 100 billion upwards), that's potentially a lot of communicating intelligences.



Tell you what, let's boil this back down to the kitchen table, slightly drunk on a Friday night. (And why would a table be slightly drunk, you ask? If you saw the amount of spilled liquor in the Observer household, you'd know. But moving along.)

To what seems to me to be one of the Big Two questions - are we alone in the universe? - there can be only two answers. Yes. Or, of course... No.

Eeeek. Now there's a thought. Either way, there's a thought.

The other of the Big Two questions is of course to do with God - does She exist? Again, we would appear to have a pretty simple set of possible outcomes to this one but, again, with huge consequences either way.

Fortunately, I'm an atheist, so I only have to fret about Question One.